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A question about detritus


Leo2o915
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I was cleaning my 10 gallon where I have a small hap growing out with 4 dwarf chain loaches to put size on him so being doing water changes every two days and feeding more but first time I actually cleaned the substrate in that tank it’s been running for 2 to 3 months so had some left over in the tank floating around just installed a  tidal 35 will it pick it up or am I better off removing more water if the fish won’t be ok will all that floating in the tank ? 

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There is a lot to unpack there, but the short answer is the visible detritus itself isn't likely to hurt your fish. Many wild fish swim in murky water and even prefer it. 

That said, depending on how much substrate you disturbed, you might want to be on the look out for ammonia spiking up. I would watch for that, in case you have upset your cycle in any way...It isn't the floating stuff so much as the invisible stuff that can be released that causes harm. Most of the time, you will be fine, once in a while the ammonia can do a quick bounce as the bacteria re-establishes or increases to match the new load. Also, watch the filter for clogging, and rinse or replace floss as needed. Should clear in a short time.

 

Edited by Brandy
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1 hour ago, Brandy said:

There is a lot to unpack there, but the short answer is the visible detritus itself isn't likely to hurt your fish. Many wild fish swim in murky water and even prefer it. 

That said, depending on how much substrate you disturbed, you might want to be on the look out for ammonia spiking up. I would watch for that, in case you have upset your cycle in any way...It isn't the floating stuff so much as the invisible stuff that can be released that causes harm. Most of the time, you will be fine, once in a while the ammonia can do a quick bounce as the bacteria re-establishes or increases to match the new load. Also, watch the filter for clogging, and rinse or replace floss as needed. Should clear in a short time.

 

I added some Fritz 360 just in case I did disturb the cycle to be safe and will do another water change tomorrow 

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43 minutes ago, Daniel said:

I put detritus (or mulm) under the microscope recently. For the most part it was broken down plant material and other biofilmy organic stuff full of protists and microbes. Oh, yeah and baby cherry shrimp too.

 

Thanks 😊 

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