Would like some advice regarding the cleaning of my 32 gal freshwater tank.....

mags2313

I am a new aquarium hobbyist.. My bf and I have a 32 gal Freshwater tank with 2 Pink Kissing Gourami's, 6 Bloodfin Tetras, and 4 Sterbai Corydora's...

Anyway, I have already done one successful water change (20%) and have been continuing to read and research on all aspects of keeping an aquarium.

I have read that some people take out all of their decorations and fake plants everytime and rinse them out, and that they also take apart bits of the filter and rinse those out also...

I mean, I know that it's good to clean the motor of the filter every three months but should I be taking out all the decorations and fake plants every single time I clean my tank? Would this not cause more stress to my fish?

We have had our first tank now for three weeks.... and am also treating for ich right now (but that's another story another post, lol lol)

Thank you in advance to anyone who replies... :)

chevy305

i personaly clean my tanks however my mood is!!!Haha sometimes i pull everthing out includeing gravel!heres how i proceed when i do that.i fill up to trash cans full that are 20 gal.!put the fish in them of couse they are clean!pump out the rest take out everydecoration and gravel and give everything a therow cleaning!now this is not the best to do alot i do it like every 4 months!but when i clean my big tanks i use a gravel cleaner u can pick up @ your local store and change the 30%of my water!and clean my filters dont clean off ur fake plants everytime its got good living bactirea on it

iamntbatman

You definitely never want to give your tank a "thorough" cleaning. Every surface in your aquarium - the glass, decorations, gravel, your filter and filter media - is home to beneficial bacteria that keep your tank cycled and your fish happy and healthy. Cleaning everything in the tank at once is going to eliminate huge numbers of these bacteria which could result in a mini-cycle and kill your fish. Personally, I try do clean roughly 1/3 of the floor space of the tank during each weekly water change with the gravel vacuum. I rotate which area of the floor I clean for even cleaning. I don't remove the decorations unless they get a lot of algae buildup. I also don't clean my filters very often. When I do, I do a little a time - intake tube one week, impeller the next, filter media the next week. You don't have to replace your filter cartridges unless they are physically falling apart. If they get really gunked up, just swish them around in some of the water you remove from the tank during a water change. There should never be a need to remove the gravel from the aquarium. Just let your gravel vacuum do its job during water changes.

Just a heads up: kissing gouramis grow to be really big fish, too big for your tank.

jeaninel

I agree with batman. You don't need to remove everything for every water change. I do a water change with gravel vac each week. About once a month I'll lift up any large driftwood or decoration and gravel vac under it. My filter cartridges get swished in used tank water every other week. I haven't touched my biowheels.

mags2313

Thank you batman. I definitely won't be cleaning my decorations that often.
And yes, I found out how large our kissers get AFTER we got them (lol great planning eh) I am hoping to add two more (prefferably female, since my males battle very often)and that having four of them may stunt their growth and maybe they won't get so large.... Any thoughts on that one?

THanks so much!

iamntbatman

I wouldn't do it. Stunting a fish's growth isn't something you should do on purpose to keep them small enough to stay in your aquarium. When placed in crowded quarters, stunting can occur, but this can have serious long-term health problems for your fish. Fish should really only be placed in a tank where they can reach their full growth potential, and care should be taken to put them in a suitably sized tank early enough that stunting does not occur. Instead, I would think about getting a larger tank if you plan on keeping them, or otherwise finding them new homes and getting a fish more suitable for your tank size, such as pearl or opaline gouramis.

Cody

That is just another myth that people think.
"My fish will only grow to the size of my tank."

No need to repeat what Batman said. He made a *very* good point. It would be best to return the Gouramis.