Cleaning the Glass

[SlimmSnake]

Hi... I've read on a number of other posts, when doing regular water changes, experienced people say they always wipe down the glass of the tank every time. An obvious reason to wipe the glass seems to me to be to remove algae that's growing on there (which is the main thing that prompts me to wipe down the interior glass of my tank), but is there any OTHER reason you all wipe down the glass? Especially if you're doing water changes every day or every other day, you're not going to get any significant algae growth, so is there another health benefit to the fish of keeping the glass clean that I'm not aware of?
Thanks!

[ericNH]

I'm curious about this too. Right now I wipe mine down only once a week.

[tvoydan]

With my old tank, I didn't wipe the glass down until I realized that the sides of the tank became very slimy. As I understand it, the slime coat of the discus starts to buildup on the glass, a breeding ground for bacteria.

I now keep a small pleco in my tank, and it does a good job of keeping the glass clean (I still wipe it down periodically, just not every water change). The downside to the pleco is they generate a lot of poo (seriously) and can bother the discus when they get bigger. I usually give them away if they start bothering the discus.

[Kirbs]

I'm only doing mine once per week too.

[Akili]

With my old tank, I didn't wipe the glass down until I realized that the sides of the tank became very slimy. As I understand it, the slime coat of the discus starts to buildup on the glass, a breeding ground for bacteria.

I now keep a small pleco in my tank, and they do a good job of keeping the glass clean (I still wipe it down periodically, just not every water change). The downside to the pleco is they generate a lot of poo (seriously) and can bother the discus when they get bigger. I usually give them away if they start bothering the discus.+++ that's about it, clean up the slime and plecos are a poo factory

[SlimmSnake]

My pleco never touches the glass. He wants REAL food, heh. I do have a few otocinclus that do eat the algae on the glass, but they can't nearly keep up with it all in a large tank, so I wipe the algae off the glass manually anyway. I am not super-exhaustive about cleaning the glass, though - I clean "most" of it, but not usually ALL of the glass, so I was wondering if I'm doing the fish a disservice somehow by only doing the hard-to-reach spots occasionally.

[jmf3460]

I have pleco's, otocinclus, and nerite snails in my tank with my discus, and I wipe down the sides maybe once a year. just saying

[Yoda466]

With my old tank, I didn't wipe the glass down until I realized that the sides of the tank became very slimy. As I understand it, the slime coat of the discus starts to buildup on the glass, a breeding ground for bacteria.

I suspect the slime you feel is actually produced by bacteria on the glass, not the other way around. And those would be beneficial bacteria. Similar minor slime is probably also present inside most people's aging containers. Are people wiping those down every day?

[ericNH]

I suspect the slime you feel is actually produced by bacteria on the glass, not the other way around.

While I don't really know, this has the ring of truth to it.

[Yoda466]

While I don't really know, this has the ring of truth to it.

I really don't know either. And I am far less experienced and knowledgeable than most posters here. But I do share the original posters skepticism about the importance of wiping down tank sides. There is currently another thread running here about whether it is important to remove any algae growth as algae is probably removing the same substances that we want to remove via water changes. I don't know, but I am enjoying the discussion.

[Las Vegas]

Put a good piece of driftwood in the tank. It will have enough stuff growing on it for the fish. Wipe your glass to keep it clean looking. Don't you want to be able to see your beautiful discus?

[jeff12]

Since most people have barebottom tanks, does BB grow on the tank glass too?

[rickztahone]

If for nothing else, wiping down your tank makes viewing your discus much easier, is that not reason enough?

A slime builds up in the fish tank, especially those that feed beef heart. Beef heart is by no means a clean food, and leaves a horrible residue behind. It can create a breading ground for nasties on your glass, tank floor and every other place in your tank. You want to wipe down daily or simply often to avoid this building up significantly.

[SlimmSnake]

Ricardo - that makes total sense, about the beef heart. I have noticed how beefheart, and turkey, which I also feed, can put a slight layer of oily fats or something on the surface of the water. Just due to the nature of all meat having some fats in its composition. I never thought about that also sticking to the glass and everything else in the tank also, but that totally stands to reason, now that you mention it. Now THAT is a good reason to clean the glass.

[HappyFace]

I use an aquarium cleaning magnet daily. They are convenient and don't seem to bother the fish as much as wiping the insides down plus I don't get wet. Once a month I wipe down the portions of the tank that the magnet can't reach.

[afriend]

Hi... I've read on a number of other posts, when doing regular water changes, experienced people say they always wipe down the glass of the tank every time. An obvious reason to wipe the glass seems to me to be to remove algae that's growing on there (which is the main thing that prompts me to wipe down the interior glass of my tank), but is there any OTHER reason you all wipe down the glass? Especially if you're doing water changes every day or every other day, you're not going to get any significant algae growth, so is there another health benefit to the fish of keeping the glass clean that I'm not aware of?
Thanks!

SlimmSnake,

This is a very good question. The short answer is yes, there is another reason for wiping down the glass other than to remove algae. The in-depth answer involves the whole reasoning behind why large water changes and tank maintenance is necessary for healthy discus. It all involves organic compounds that are present in food. Organic compounds are not toxic to the fish, however two undesirable things occur when they are introduced. First, there are pathogens (bacteria, virsus, and parasites) present in every aquarium. These multiply greatly when they feed on the food. Second, the food decomposes and this process produces other compounds that are toxic to the fish. These toxins cause stress on the fish, and that makes them more vulnerable to attack by the pathogens. It's important to know that this is occurring in the tank even if the water appears crystal clean.

When food is placed in the tank it is transported in the water column and adheres to the glass and everything else in the tank. This is where a large portion of the pathogens exist and where decomposition occurs. A good indicator that decomposition is present can be attained by removing something (decor, artificial plants or whatever) from the tank and giving it the "sniff test" by holding it close to your nose. A foul odor indicates the presence of decomposing organic material. Decomposition is a common process in nature as evident by the foul smell of a dead animal or decaying vegetation. I wonder if discus can smell, and how it affects them if they can.

The number one purpose of large water changes and tank maintenance is to reduce the amount of food available to the pathogens (thus limit their number) and to reduce the toxins that result from decomposition (thus reducing stress). A more detailed explanation of this is provided in the following link:

http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?120956-What-Are-Bioload-and-Biomass-and-Why-They-Are-Important

There's more to the story about organic compounds. I have a non-planted show tank with adult discus, and have implemented a filtration system that strips the water column of nearly all of the organic compounds. This is accomplished with the use of a product called Purigen. Purigen absorbs organic compounds, and it is very effective at doing so when used in a reactor. With this I have achieved what I consider very good results. Other than water changes, the only other tank maintenance that I do is done once a month. Uneaten food and feces are automatically removed by the filtration system. Decomposition has been reduced to the point where the tank remains pristine clean without any intervention on my part, other than a monthly cleaning. Algae is completely eliminated and the glass, bottom, and decor remain spotless for an entire month. Bassically what happens is that once the organic compounds are eliminated, the tank stays clean. Here's a link that illustrates the results that have been achieved, along with the method implemented to achieve these results:

http://forum.simplydiscus.com/forumdisplay.php?372-Adult-Discus-Show-Tank-(afriend)-NW-Arkansas

The above link has several stickies at the top. The results achieved are contained in Parts 2 and 3. The filtration system is explained in Parts 4 and 5. Please be advised that it takes more than just the addition of a Pruigen reactor to achieve the results.

Another thing that the above filtration system permits is to achieve a nice looking bare bottom tank. Some people might not think so, but I like my bare bottom tank so much that I prefer it to a substrate. Here's a link showing the results:

http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?122530-How-to-Take-the-Ugly-Out-of-a-Bare-Bottom-Tank

Hope this is helpful for you.

Paul

[SlimmSnake]

Thanks so much for the incredibly detailed post, Paul! I am still working through it all, and am putting serious thought into all this advice!

[afriend]

Thanks so much for the incredibly detailed post, Paul! I am still working through it all, and am putting serious thought into all this advice!

SlimSnake,

Your welcome. If I can assist you, please feel free to ask.

Interesting name you have.

Paul

[Goldenmelondiscus]

My pleco never touches the glass. He wants REAL food, heh. I do have a few otocinclus that do eat the algae on the glass, but they can't nearly keep up with it all in a large tank, so I wipe the algae off the glass manually anyway. I am not super-exhaustive about cleaning the glass, though - I clean "most" of it, but not usually ALL of the glass, so I was wondering if I'm doing the fish a disservice somehow by only doing the hard-to-reach spots occasionally.
It's time to trade your pleco in if he's only eating real food. I trade my plecos in every so often at my LFS for smaller plecos, who seem like to eat algae. I'm not particularly very fond of them, but they do a job.

[SlimmSnake]

Aw, Eric, but I love my pleco! He's totally funny, he makes me smile every time I see him scurry out to snatch some food that has managed to make it to the bottom. I know he's a poo/waste liability, but I'm keepin' 'im.

(And I've been more diligent about scrubbing my glass after this series of posts!)
Thanks to everyone for your responses.

[Goldenmelondiscus]

Will a pleco suffice in keeping the glass clean or do I need to clean the glass myself?

Snake if you like your pleco then keep him! Maybe get another one. When I had my 55 gallon I had two plecos. I usually keep two plecos in my tank, a clown and butterfly(?) and when they get too big or stop doing their job I replace them.

[rickztahone]

Aw, Eric, but I love my pleco! He's totally funny, he makes me smile every time I see him scurry out to snatch some food that has managed to make it to the bottom. I know he's a poo/waste liability, but I'm keepin' 'im.

(And I've been more diligent about scrubbing my glass after this series of posts!)
Thanks to everyone for your responses.

the more you scrub the glass, the more the pleco will be encouraged to eat real food since you are depleting his natural food. The main thing to look out for is them attaching to the side of the discus. Once they get the taste of the discus, it is time for the pleco to go. It will never go back to not sucking on the discus.

[SlimmSnake]

Ricardo, I hear you. So far so good... I've only had the discus for about 5 months now, and the pleco hasn't bothered them (I had the pleco several months before I got the discus). But I've read in a lot of posts on here about plecos wanting to eat discus slime coats, so I DO watch for that. Meanwhile, I have let the lower portions of the glass (near where the pleco hangs out) get pretty seriously algae-ified at times past, and he doesn't eat the algae off the glass. He'll eat "some" algae off of the rocks and driftwood, but not the glass, for whatever reason. Just spoiled probably, prefers to grab any fish food that hits the bottom. So scrubbing the glass pretty thoroughly is probably a good thing for me.

[rickztahone]

Ricardo, I hear you. So far so good... I've only had the discus for about 5 months now, and the pleco hasn't bothered them (I had the pleco several months before I got the discus). But I've read in a lot of posts on here about plecos wanting to eat discus slime coats, so I DO watch for that. Meanwhile, I have let the lower portions of the glass (near where the pleco hangs out) get pretty seriously algae-ified at times past, and he doesn't eat the algae off the glass. He'll eat "some" algae off of the rocks and driftwood, but not the glass, for whatever reason. Just spoiled probably, prefers to grab any fish food that hits the bottom. So scrubbing the glass pretty thoroughly is probably a good thing for me.

If you are watching for signs, you can do two things, A) See what the pleco does during the night, do you have a moonlight in your tank? and B) watch the side of the discus for little round marks. If you find one, the pleco has finally attached to the discus.

[Goldenmelondiscus]

I had a chinese algae eater do that to one of my angels. He was dismissed from my aquarium. The Chinese algae eaters are permanently banned from my tanks.