Stirring The Sand

[kevin007]

The sand is around 3 cm deep with alot of cories, is it necessary for me to use a chop stick and go over the tank every water change

 

[dthoffsett]

As long as the cories are stirring up the sand, I wouldn't worry about it. I'm a little paranoid, so I'd probably still stir up the sand once a month.

 

[kevin007]

problem is that i dont know if they are going deep enough

 

[zoekin8yg]

Unless you want nasty patches then stir the sand regularly even with the cories

 

[kevin007]

What about the back? i have plastic plants, alot of them, im counting on the cories to stir those, the front of the tank can be stirred in 30 seconds

 

[Miss Wiggle]

you can't rely on any fish to do your jobs with aquarium maintenance, stir your sand yourself, your cories will do it to some extent but you can hardly guarantee they will do a good even thorough job so you need to keep doing it yourself

 

[Torrean]

malaysian trumpet snails are good at stirring sand.

 

[highfire]

My weather loached dig and burrow in the sand alot, but I still stir it with a net every couple of weeks.

 

[fishboy619]

i have cories and kuhliis to stir the sand, but being me i still stir the sand every month or so, i use a chopstick, push it in the sand, then drag slowely side to side, moving all the sand.i also have live plants so the roots help. stiring it up to much might cause problems with the filter

 

[kevin007]

I think i have some problems then, i have fully plastic planted (lol) tank its on the left hand corner, and it is really hard to get to the sand without ruining the look, any ideas?

 

[Torrean]

I'd get mts snails and not stir or infrequently stir that section...but that's just me

 

[andywg]

First off, why are you stirring it? If you don't like the black spots that can occur then just do it near the fron and sides you can see.

If you are worried about toxic gas building up, don't be. I have seen absolutely no one at all who has suffered any fish losses as a result of toxic gas building up. The gas which can form (Hydrogen sulphate) reacts with oxygen very quickly to form a less toxic gas. We know that there is a fair amount of dissolved oxygen in our tanks or else the fish would be gasping for "air" at the surface.

 

[Torrean]

andy...weren't you a part of the debate about this that went on a while back. I recall someone saying that a bubble rose from their sand as they were stirring it. A fish just happened to be right there and got smacked with the bubble or was very close to it I don't recall which. either way the fish started acting really wierd and died shortly thereafter. So I wouldn't go so far as to say don't worry about it it's nothing...more like don't worry about it just chase your fish away from where you are stirring and get a burrowing critter like mts snails to reduce the likelyhood and size of gas pockets forming.

Think about the bubble airator's we use. Very very little oxygen is actually diffused from the bubble, it's benefit comes from moving the water and creating surface disturbance. I assume it's the same with the anaerobic gases. Not enough of it get's diffused into the water to do any damage unless the fish is very very close to the gas as it passes through the water. And once it reaches the top of the water it's no danger to anyone (except for your nose) I'd think that even if the fish get's a direct hit from the bubble it would do little to no harm as long as the fish was far away from the substrate, because of the oxidation that andy spoke of.

 

[fishcollector7000]

I have sand ! my best solution is my Hoplo fish he stirs the sand for me in search of food! and filters it through his guills hes a excellent tribute to any tank that needs abit of stirred sand!! hehe

 

[andywg]

andy...weren't you a part of the debate about this that went on a while back. I recall someone saying that a bubble rose from their sand as they were stirring it. A fish just happened to be right there and got smacked with the bubble or was very close to it I don't recall which. either way the fish started acting really wierd and died shortly thereafter. So I wouldn't go so far as to say don't worry about it it's nothing...more like don't worry about it just chase your fish away from where you are stirring and get a burrowing critter like mts snails to reduce the likelyhood and size of gas pockets forming.

I am unsure of what you speak. Someone made a vague reference about a bubble, but I cannot think og anyone who has had such a problem. When you consider the years of fishkeeping experience on this forum with some of the more senior members, and none of them have had a problem, then you see just how minor a risk it is, if at all.

The toxic gas is likely to change before it gets out of the substrate. the upper levels of a sand bed will contain oxygen, so as the bubble works up it will then oxidate. One could hypothesise that by disturbing the bubbles you are placing your fish at a higher risk of exposure as the bubble is suddenly released.

I worry as much about gasses building up in sand as I do of catching botulism from my tank.