BGK tank cleaning advice

[aidenboyjon]

So I am concerned because up until this point I have been changing around the decor so that I can
1 get underneath it to vacuum
2 set it up so they all have their own spaces and territories
3 i cannot remember for the life of my exactly how they were set up in the tank before taking them out
my main concern is that they keep fighting over new territories and it is kind of brutal
do any of you who keep bgk do this, or do you just leave the decore as is and not worry about vacuuming under it?
the tank is sand bottom with plantlings that are taking time to grow
my main focus is my fish so the plants i am choosing are low maintenance so that they do not take presedence over my fish with c02 tabs or ferts that can be harmful if done incorrectly. id rather not risk my fish to this and just use easy going plants.
anyways im just looking for advice about the hardscape when it comes to cleaning.

 

[Fishman Dave]

Personally, with a few fish like knives in the tank or certain catfish I would not change the decor around unless adding someone new, and then , yes you can expect squabbles.
Before you try leaving the decor alone and vacuuming round it (which I would be ok with) why don’t you take a picture of the tank and decor so you can put it back the way it was.
But even doing this you may still find they squabble afterwards as they had their home removed and were kicked out, they may not automatically recognise it’s just the way it was before. And it may trigger a less dominant fish to try his luck for a better property.

 

[aidenboyjon]

Personally, with a few fish like knives in the tank or certain catfish I would not change the decor around unless adding someone new, and then , yes you can expect squabbles.
Before you try leaving the decor alone and vacuuming round it (which I would be ok with) why don’t you take a picture of the tank and decor so you can put it back the way it was.
But even doing this you may still find they squabble afterwards as they had their home removed and were kicked out, they may not automatically recognise it’s just the way it was before. And it may trigger a less dominant fish to try his luck for a better property.

I have thought about doing that with a pic, but yeah. It's super difficult because my hose doesn't get under the decor unfortunately and some of the stuff sticks to the sand too..