Hey guys; I have a 125g setup that's been up and running for 7 months or so. The fish however, have virtually all been together for 18-20 months or so, they were simply given a tank upgrade as they grow. That said, I also stocked the tank with live plants (something I had never done before). After a few experiments in a 10g test tank I set the tank up with what I believe is tiger vallisneria which grows extremely fast to the point where it twists around the surface of the tank until pruned, a patch of dwarf hairgrass that I cannot seem to get to spread, an anubia whose root system is huge, and amazon sword that has birthed 7 runners, all of which are flourishing with the exception of 1 I currently have tied down to a piece of driftwood (results pending).
Basically, everything has been doing extremely well in the big tank (with occasional pruning of damaged stalks from the voracious appetite of my 2 plecos). Buttttt I am CONSTANTLY re-adjusting my sand substrate because of my bala sharks. They love to suck up the sand surrounding where the roots meet the substrate on my swords and hairgrass. They don't uproot the swords or do any damage but they do pluck individual stalks of hairgrass. My question is A) why are they even doing this? There's no food there and I've read plenty saying they're actually fantastic with hairgrass as they commonly use it as a place to lay eggs and B) Why would I only suddenly have this issue?
In the event that tankmates are brought up here is the list but note- I have literally zero issues with bullying or anything of that nature. No parameters have changed, I have duel filtration and maintain 33%-40% water changes weekly without disturbing plants.
1 Angelica Catfish (6 inches)
5 Bala Sharks (Ranging 5 to 8 inches)
4 Roseline Sharks (Ranging 3-5 inches)
1 Common Pleco (6 inches)
1 Blue Phantom Pleco (6 inches)
1 Rope Fish (14 inches)
1 Black Ghost Knife (9 inches)
1 Chocolate Zebra Pleco (3 inches)
Basically, everything has been doing extremely well in the big tank (with occasional pruning of damaged stalks from the voracious appetite of my 2 plecos). Buttttt I am CONSTANTLY re-adjusting my sand substrate because of my bala sharks. They love to suck up the sand surrounding where the roots meet the substrate on my swords and hairgrass. They don't uproot the swords or do any damage but they do pluck individual stalks of hairgrass. My question is A) why are they even doing this? There's no food there and I've read plenty saying they're actually fantastic with hairgrass as they commonly use it as a place to lay eggs and B) Why would I only suddenly have this issue?
In the event that tankmates are brought up here is the list but note- I have literally zero issues with bullying or anything of that nature. No parameters have changed, I have duel filtration and maintain 33%-40% water changes weekly without disturbing plants.
1 Angelica Catfish (6 inches)
5 Bala Sharks (Ranging 5 to 8 inches)
4 Roseline Sharks (Ranging 3-5 inches)
1 Common Pleco (6 inches)
1 Blue Phantom Pleco (6 inches)
1 Rope Fish (14 inches)
1 Black Ghost Knife (9 inches)
1 Chocolate Zebra Pleco (3 inches)
