Dark pocket in sand
- Thread starter SANND
- Start date
It was an anaerobic area in the substrate where no water movement had caused it to turn...well anaerobic. If you smelled it, it probably would have smelled like rotten eggs/sulfur. Over time, if the substrate becomes like that all over, it will release the stinky gases as bubbles up through the water, which is noxious to the fish.
Stirring the gravel every so often will prevent this from happening (because it allows air/water movement in there. If you find a dark spot like that again, you can just till it up to the surface. Come back the next day and it should be regular sand-colored sand again
It happens more with sand and smaller particle substrates because they compact more. I've experienced it in a sand tank, too.
"http://www.aquarticles.com/articles/plants/kumar_substrate.html"
A small blurb in there under "Substrate Particle size" says basically what I just said.
Stirring the gravel every so often will prevent this from happening (because it allows air/water movement in there. If you find a dark spot like that again, you can just till it up to the surface. Come back the next day and it should be regular sand-colored sand again
It happens more with sand and smaller particle substrates because they compact more. I've experienced it in a sand tank, too.
"http://www.aquarticles.com/articles/plants/kumar_substrate.html"
A small blurb in there under "Substrate Particle size" says basically what I just said.
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In the first weeks after I started my tank, I had anaerobic pockets that I had to keep stirring up. A good natural solution is to plant something with an extensive root system that will stir and oxygenate the sand. My Amazon Swords have grown to the point where their roots cover pretty much all of the sand areas of my tank and I no longer have a problem with anaerobic pockets.
