Hello everyone, I am new to the site and thought you may be able to offer me some helpful information. I have a large pumpkinseed sunfish (9'') in a large aquarium (50 gallon). He has taken well to his surroundings and started eating a day after he was placed in the tank. I noticed many of you keep smaller sunfish and several at a time. How do you go about keeping your aquarium clean? It's common sense that larger fish=larger droppings, so my question is how often should the tank be cleaned? Is there any bacteria/fish/creature that aids in the breaking down of unwanted materials on the bottom? Any information you have would be greatly appreciated. Thank You!
-Justin
Sunfish Care
Started by
Guest_JustinTheGr8_*
, Apr 25 2008 01:21 AM
2 replies to this topic
#2
Guest_Newt_*
Guest_Newt_*
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- Guests
Posted 25 April 2008 - 09:24 AM
Hello and welcome to the NANFA forum, Justin!
There's a lot of info to go through here, but here are some basics:
Fish produce nitrogenous waste in the form of ammonia. Ammonia is toxic to fish. Fortunately, there are aquatic bacteria that make their living by breaking down ammonia into nitirites (still toxic) and nitrates (relatively inert). These bacteria will become established in your tank automatically when you introduce your fish, but it takes time; the process of getting these bacteria established is often referred to as "cycling" the tank.
De-nitrifying bacteria live primarily in the gravel and filter media. You do have to clean both of these periodically; how often depends on your particular situation, but once every other week is probably good for a lightly stocked tank like yours. A gravel vacuum or syphon is the best way to clean gravel, and it sucks out a lot of water as well. This is good; you have to perform water changes periodically to remove the excess nitrates and other wastes that build up, and to replenish the minerals in the water. You can replace the water you remove with tap water that has been treated with a dechlorinating chemical such as Prime or Amquel. Try to make sure the new water you add is similar in temperature to the water in the tank.
Cleaning filter media is easy as well, especially if you have a hang-on-back style filter with a sponge medium in it. Just take the sponge out, swish it in the water you just removed with your water change, and replace it. Don't use tap water to rinse the sponge, as this can kill your denitrifying bacteria.
There's a lot of info to go through here, but here are some basics:
Fish produce nitrogenous waste in the form of ammonia. Ammonia is toxic to fish. Fortunately, there are aquatic bacteria that make their living by breaking down ammonia into nitirites (still toxic) and nitrates (relatively inert). These bacteria will become established in your tank automatically when you introduce your fish, but it takes time; the process of getting these bacteria established is often referred to as "cycling" the tank.
De-nitrifying bacteria live primarily in the gravel and filter media. You do have to clean both of these periodically; how often depends on your particular situation, but once every other week is probably good for a lightly stocked tank like yours. A gravel vacuum or syphon is the best way to clean gravel, and it sucks out a lot of water as well. This is good; you have to perform water changes periodically to remove the excess nitrates and other wastes that build up, and to replenish the minerals in the water. You can replace the water you remove with tap water that has been treated with a dechlorinating chemical such as Prime or Amquel. Try to make sure the new water you add is similar in temperature to the water in the tank.
Cleaning filter media is easy as well, especially if you have a hang-on-back style filter with a sponge medium in it. Just take the sponge out, swish it in the water you just removed with your water change, and replace it. Don't use tap water to rinse the sponge, as this can kill your denitrifying bacteria.
#3
Guest_JustinTheGr8_*
Guest_JustinTheGr8_*
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Posted 29 April 2008 - 07:20 PM
Thank you for all the info, all is well and the tank looks great (and clean!)
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