# Dealing with fish - Tank maintenance question?



## Talmon Firestone (Jan 28, 2010)

Hey everyone,

A few months ago I did a major tank overhaul, taking out a large piece of driftwood to boil for a few hours (Because I noticed something that looked like fungal growth as well as the beginning of hair algae) as well as a major plant clipping.

It's been almost a month and my fish still seem to be scared shitless of me! They used to swim around normally before the overhaul and have since spent most of their time hiding amongst the plant life whenever I'm even close to the tank. They barely respond to feedings until I walk away from the tank. 

Luckily that seems to be changing back to normal very recently but I want to do another plant trimming. 

I was thinking that perhaps I should try to move my fish into a small bowl while I do the trimming in the hopes that this temporary move is less traumatic than just leaving them in the tank while I trim.

What do you guys think?


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 28, 2008)

Moving them into another bowl would be even more traumatic than leaving them to their own devices in your current tank.

Do keep in mind that every time you do a major rescaping, the fish will be thrown for a loop. Imagine a large pair of hands coming down into your house and rearranging all your furniture 

You can keep the stress to a minimal by doing weekly or biweekly maintenance, on portions of your aquarium, rather than a total rescape once a month.


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## Riceburner (Mar 14, 2008)

I tear apart my tank every week during the WC. It goes back almost exactly the way it was and the fish are fine right away. BUT...I recently pulled most of the wood out of the tank a couple of days before the regular WC and they were spooked a bit for a day or so. They were fine after the regular WC though. So mine are used to the regular weekly tear down and rebuild, but a change to the build spooks them a bit.

It's got a third more rock in it since this pic...


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