[jeffandcole]

I am trying to clean my bettas rocks they have algae and he wont go in the bucket it is kind of big and takes up half of the tank. He wont go in the bucket he hides on the bottom of the tank where i cant get him hes trying to run away i didnt mean to freak him out but the bucket is like half the size of his tank can i leave it in there and hope he goes in or how do i help him i dont want him to get sick from this algae and yuckyness

 

[Micho]

Fish can't really get sick from algae.

I suggest you leave him there in the tank, by rocks do you mean gravel? You can vacuum the gravel by buying a gravel vacuum. If you mean literal rocks, just take them out of the take and clean them with a cloth to get the algae off. Other than that, I find that removing the fish themselves when doing water changes or cleaning the tank is more stressful for the fish and the owner.

 

[Bethydan]

I heartily second Micho. The only time my boys get removed is if they're being treated for something in the hospital tank, which has happened once. Otherwise they stay in. Even during cleanings. I just use the gravel vacuum.

 

[EvilVOG]

For fish i'm selling, they're generally in 1 gallon or smaller jars. I have to do a complete change. and if the fish won't cooperate to be cupped, i resort to the net. If the container's big enough you just have to be fast and it shouldn't harm the fish any. otherwise you can pour it out into a net, but it helps to have a bucket or something under that for a jumpy fish.

But for the other fish, it's a rare occasion for me to have to empty them 100%, so i vacuum around them, stick my hand (clean but not soap cleaned) in to sponge the glass if need be (you would be surprised how much that entertains the fish) and refill without removing the occupant(s) from the tank.

 

[jeffandcole]

ok i just dont have a gravel vaccum and so i was trying to get him out so he wouldnt be harmed when i dumped his rocks into a seperate bucket i was trying to make it safe i just decided not to do it and put his stuff back and im going to get a strainer to get the rocks out of the tank later sometime so i wont have to remove him

 

[Shadyr]

I kept the cups my bettas came in, they are a good size for taking water in and out during changes. As such, the bettas seem to be used to seeing them, and don't hide. I've only taken one completely out of his tank once so far, when we were doing a complete tank revamp, and in that case I just put the cup in near him, and scooped him right up. Maybe a smaller cup would work to capture him? You could then add him to the bigger bucket of water scooped from his tank.