First water change with fish 😰

[Rocky998]

How should I do a water change without sucking up any of my precious gudgeons?

 

[Essjay]

Carefully. Keep one eye on the fish all the time. Hold the tubing part in the hand not in the tank so you can squeeze the tube flat to stop the flow in case fish get too close.
Some fish will hide in the corner until you've finished, others will come to see what's going on. I spend more time waving the tube round to chase fish away than vacuuming the tank bottom

 

[Rocky998]

Carefully. Keep one eye on the fish all the time. Hold the tubing part in the hand not in the tank so you can squeeze the tube flat to stop the flow in case fish get too close.
Some fish will hide in the corner until you've finished, others will come to see what's going on. I spend more time waving the tube round to chase fish away than vacuuming the tank bottom

Good idea! Thanks!

 

[PheonixKingZ]

I usually keep the tube in a corner of the tank, so there's less of a possibility of sucking up a fish/shrimp. If you need to vacuum the substrate, the fish should be scared of it and not get close to it. If they are curious, you can shoo them away and they shouldn't try to come near it again.

Just make sure to have dechlorinated water on hand so you can top off. Also make sure your heater stays submerged the entire time and you turn the filter off.

 

[Slaphppy7]

I usually keep the tube in a corner of the tank, so there's less of a possibility of sucking up a fish/shrimp. If you need to vacuum the substrate, the fish should be scared of it and not get close to it. If they are curious, you can shoo them away and they shouldn't try to come near it again.

Just make sure to have dechlorinated water on hand so you can top off. Also make sure your heater stays submerged the entire time and you turn the filter off.

I always just unplug heaters during WC's.

 

[Slaphppy7]

@Rocky998 , use a knee-high lady's stocking over the siphon end.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

I always just unplug heaters during WC's.

I used to do this, until I realized it takes a long time to get fired back up. If you keep it plugged in, but make sure it stays submerged, then it will immediately start heating the new water as soon as you add it in.

 

[Slaphppy7]

I used to do this, until I realized it takes a long time to get fired back up. If you keep it plugged in, but make sure it stays submerged, then it will immediately start heating the new water as soon as you add it in.

That's why I match my new water temp with the tank temp
...and with an inline heater on my canister, it MUST be unplugged if the filter isn't running

 

[connorlindeman]

My red-eye tetras like swimming up into the siphon.

 

[StandbySetting]

Aye my fish always swim towards the hose too, I normally keep my fingers near the ends to reduce the flow to prevent any accidental fish suckage. It has happened once and fortunately the fish in question survived

 

[connorlindeman]

Then after swimming in they just sit there staring at me

 

[PlasticGalaxy]

@Rocky998 , use a knee-high lady's stocking over the siphon end.

Must it be knee-high, or can I use thigh-high?

 

[Slaphppy7]

Must it be knee-high, or can I use thigh-high?

Depends on the size of your siphon, I guess, LOL

 

[itiwhetu]

Most fish don't care too much about the syphon. But white clouds and most of the danios I have found love the current so are generally a nuisance when water changing.

 

[Rocky998]

So this was a failure... I hope my fish dont die... Or me... I did good with the siphoning part but I used the garden hose (after letting it run for a bit) to fill it and that was horrible... The fish were being thrown everywhere and the temp went down about six degrees. The substrate was also disturbed. My parents said: "Eventually you'll get better at it or you can use buckets to pour the water in"... I wont get better at this... The water pressure is too much... I did figure out after wards that I can turn down the water flow... But the temp still scares me when it comes from the outdoor water. And I dont feel comfortable using a bucket cause I can not control the water flow coming out (in other words I'm really weak). I hated that... I hated it so much