Glasstapper
02-28-2007, 07:48 PM
"The tank doesn't look very dirty, and the fish seem fine. Why does everyone insist I feed so little and change out so much water? I thought water changes was only to reduce nitrates, and they never get very high"
Does that sound like you? I asked the same questions and decided to do a little experiment to see what would happen when I stopped changing out water, stopped siphoning the gravel, and left uneaten food in the tank.
No fish were harmed in this experiment. The last maintenance I performed was 3 days before I removed all of my fish to give to a new owner. 2 of those days the fish were not even fed so they wouldn't pollute their water in their bag for the 6 hour drive to their new home. Since they've been removed, no water changes were performed, and I still added a small once daily feeding of the usual food. (I normally fed twice a day, but I'm guilty of overfeeding, so I only added what I thought was leftovers from my fish that I wasn't removing)
A result of overfeeding and not enough tank maintenance can lead to planaria worms. They are relatively harmless as long as you keep their numbers minimal. I noticed a few of my fish doing some slight "flashing" (flashing is when your fish rub or glance off of decorations or gravel), but I couldn't see any white specks on their body, so I knew it wasn't ich. I was still performing once weekly 30% water changes with gravel siphoning and glass wipedowns until the fish were removed.
The worms grow very rapidly, especially when they have food. If their numbers are growing to the point where they look like my picture and video, do a large water change right away, wipe down all of your glass, siphon your gravel thoroughly, and wipe down your decorations if possible. You MUST not overfeed and if there is any uneaten food, remove it as soon as possible to avoid causing harm to your fish. In large numbers, planaria CAN be harmful to fish, so it's up to you to keep their numbers small, keep your fish's home clean, and monitor your feeding and water change schedule.
If anyone else has experienced these worms before, I'd like to here your story, too.
Also, if anyone has anything else they would like me to try or add to my experiment before I tear my tank down, please let me know.
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Does that sound like you? I asked the same questions and decided to do a little experiment to see what would happen when I stopped changing out water, stopped siphoning the gravel, and left uneaten food in the tank.
No fish were harmed in this experiment. The last maintenance I performed was 3 days before I removed all of my fish to give to a new owner. 2 of those days the fish were not even fed so they wouldn't pollute their water in their bag for the 6 hour drive to their new home. Since they've been removed, no water changes were performed, and I still added a small once daily feeding of the usual food. (I normally fed twice a day, but I'm guilty of overfeeding, so I only added what I thought was leftovers from my fish that I wasn't removing)
A result of overfeeding and not enough tank maintenance can lead to planaria worms. They are relatively harmless as long as you keep their numbers minimal. I noticed a few of my fish doing some slight "flashing" (flashing is when your fish rub or glance off of decorations or gravel), but I couldn't see any white specks on their body, so I knew it wasn't ich. I was still performing once weekly 30% water changes with gravel siphoning and glass wipedowns until the fish were removed.
The worms grow very rapidly, especially when they have food. If their numbers are growing to the point where they look like my picture and video, do a large water change right away, wipe down all of your glass, siphon your gravel thoroughly, and wipe down your decorations if possible. You MUST not overfeed and if there is any uneaten food, remove it as soon as possible to avoid causing harm to your fish. In large numbers, planaria CAN be harmful to fish, so it's up to you to keep their numbers small, keep your fish's home clean, and monitor your feeding and water change schedule.
If anyone else has experienced these worms before, I'd like to here your story, too.
Also, if anyone has anything else they would like me to try or add to my experiment before I tear my tank down, please let me know.
[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]