[pumh]

So i am going to be putting sand in my 29 gallon tank soon. I was wondering if anyone knows of some good non-ciclid species that will/can co-exist with cichlids to help prevent anarobic (can't remember but i think that's what they're called) air bubbles.

thanks, pumh

 

[Glaneon]

Not sure it's worth worrying about honestly.

and anaerobic air bubble is a bit of an oxy moron... as anaerobic means no air.

 

[shellies215]

snails work, but I'm not sure of which kind to get. I don't have any snails, I just "rake" through the sand with my fingers while cleaning/water changes. Occasionally I have seen some trapped gases released from the sand while doing this, but that is not necessarily an anaerobic pocket.

 

[jd_7655]

Melasian Trumpet snails or MTS work but you don't want them they take over. I don't think you have much to worry about just stir the sand once a month or syphen it.

 

[Rhinox]

Not sure it's worth worrying about honestly.

and anaerobic air bubble is a bit of an oxy moron... as anaerobic means no air.

Actually, anaerobic means "no oxygen", not no air per se. There can be pockets of air without oxygen, in theory.

 

[Glaneon]

I suppose.. if you're drilling for natural gas, etc.

 

[dielikemoviestars]

Isn't it generally agreed upon that if the sand is less than 2" deep (average) then you won't really need to worry?

 

[prov356]

Isn't it generally agreed upon that if the sand is less than 2" deep (average) then you won't really need to worry?

Depends on the fish. My brevis can muck up 1/2" of sand. Gas bubbles constantly. Other fish, deeper sand beds, and I never have to even stir it. I've seen my nerite snail burrowing through sand, but not sure how effective they'd be at stirring it all.

 

[Rhinox]

I suppose.. if you're drilling for natural gas, etc.

I think you're missing the point. The whole theory is that if your sand bed is too deep, then whatever oxygen is down there gets used up by the first growth of aerobic bacteria. Without stirring the deeper sand, oxygen from the water I guess doesn't make it down there, so anaerobic bacteria can start to grow. Once they do, they start to convert nitrate into nitrogen gas. The nitrogen gas isn't toxic and just bubbles harmlessly to the surface. The gas pocket in the sand isn't whats toxic - part of the anaerobic process that converts nitrate into nitrogen gas is a conversion back into nitrIte. So, if one of these anaerobic pockets forms and then gets disturbed, you see nitrogen gas bubble to the surface, assume you hit a toxic "gas pocket", and any fish nearby can be exposed to a locally high concentration of nitrite until it gets used up by the aerobic bacteria in the filters, etc.

So there you go. I don't worry about any of that, but I did research the heck out of it at one point and thats the info I managed to retain. Little more to it than "anaerobic means no air". There is no air in the tank water, but plenty of oxygen, which is why the aerobic bacteria grows in the first place 8)

 

[krfhsf]

I had some horsehead loaches that lived under the sand. I only saw them once or twice a year. You will have to carefull when you rearange rocks so you don't squish them.

 

[Lestango]

Just for clarification, anaerobic means no oxygen. Air is what, 71% nitrogen and 29% oxygen. Somewhere close anyway! Gas bubbles can have no oxygen or nitrogen at all if it were a gas such as methane, which is a deadly hydrocarbon; "swamp gas".

Please someone jump in and correct me if I am wrong.

 

[Glaneon]

Yes, I was being less technical when I said no air.

Still, have never heard of if being an issue.

 

[Lestango]

You are right on, I think :thumb: