can water changes be bad?

[marge02144]

I've read that when you do a large water change it can get rid of the beneficial bacteria. I thought the bacteria lived in the filter and stuff, not the water. I just did about a 60% water change because I was siphoning fry, but there are more fry that I need to get and I just wanted to know if I do too many water changes, would that effect the beneficial bacteria and such?

 

[bud29]

You are correct, the bacteria colonize on surfaces and hardly any live in the water.

 

[brennae]

depending on tank conditions you could shock the fish with a huge water change. If you are changing your water every week I bet there is no problem. The problem occurs when tanks havent been cleaned or the water changed for a very long time and then a huge water change is done. The fish become shocked by the new water parameters.

 

[paytertot]

Wait.. you're sucking up your fry? D:
But no most of the BB is in the filter and on surfaces, I've done two 70% changes back to back before. It's fine.

 

[christine2012]

I think they mean they were moving them lol. Best way to do it is a sucking device like a Turkey baster

 

[aqua_chem]

As long as you dechlorinate and make some effort to temperature match, you can't hurt your tank with water changes (old-tank syndrome excluded).

 

[marge02144]

yeah i used my gravel vacuum to get the fry from the bottom of the tank. but thanks for the info!