Maintaining a healthy aquarium environment

[onika9]

I'm curious, do you guys just tidy up around your rocks or do you actually move them to clean?

My main concern is that I'm worried if I start shifting rocks, the whole setup might come crashing down.

Moving the plants is easy, so that's not an issue.

Is it just better to clean around the rocks instead?

[daxton]

I usually just vacuum around the rocks, that's the easiest way for me. I do have a few loose rocks that aren't part of the main setup, I'll take those out and vacuum underneath. One time I did take out all the rocks, but that was when I was rescaping the whole tank. I'll probably do it again soon when I'm trying to sex the fish and get a better male-to-female ratio going.

[sorcia]

My rocks are hollow and sectional, so I take them all out. I vac the area, then move the rocks around to a completely different formation each time. I only leave two in place at one end of the tank initially, then move them to the other end to finish the vac. I check each rock in a vessel for fry or hiding fish. The fish take a while to re-establish their territory after that.

[onika9]

I'm a bit concerned that completely stripping the tank will stress the fish out.
Removing everything and rearranging it must be quite overwhelming for them.
I'd rather not risk triggering ICH, that's the last thing I need.

[sorcia]

I'm curious, do you guys just tidy up around your rocks or do you actually move them to clean?

My main concern is that I'm worried if I start shifting rocks, the whole setup might come crashing down.

Moving the plants is easy, so that's not an issue.

Is it just better to clean around the rocks instead?

Been doing it this way for a decade now, no issues to speak of. I've found that rescaping at each water change helps prevent territories from forming, which in turn reduces aggression and stress. The way the fish interact with my hands during this process seems to keep them entertained, and I've grown quite fond of their little 'attacks'.

[swiftfly]

Honestly, rescaping weekly seems like a lot to me.

I do a water change, about 5-10 gallons, and really stir up the tank, trying to get as much debris as possible with my gravel vacuum. I then refill the tank with water from the garden hose, since it's conveniently located next to the window, and use the hose to blow out any tight spots, assuming my fish haven't spawned in the meantime. If they have, I just wait until the next water change to clean up the rest of the debris. I try to blow out the crevices every other water change, so it doesn't get too dirty.

Edit: I think it's worth noting that a dirty tank isn't going to give you ich - that's usually from introducing something infected into your tank. If you quarantine new additions for a few weeks, you should be able to catch any potential issues. And as for freshwater diseases, ich is actually pretty easy to get rid of - I've used copper in tanks without inverts, and it's been effective. Saltwater ich, on the other hand, is a real challenge.