Fish Tank Gravel Vacuum Directions

How to vacuum my betta’s gravel properly?

I just purchased a gravel vacuum for her tank. I would like to vacuum it tonight or tomorrow morning at the absolute latest. Do fish need to be removed from the tank during this procedure? I know moving a betta from its tank is stressful on them. Also, how do I go about actually vacuuming the gravel? There is no opening on the bottom of the tank for me to get the vacuum in. I don’t know how to do this and any advice and directions would be very much appreciated.

Your fish don’t need to be removed from the tank if the tank is more than 10 gallons. Just be extremely careful and try not to scare them. It is BEST to remove them, but not necessary. The easiest way that I’ve found is to submerge the entire vacuum under the water, and wait for all the air bubbles to flow out. Then place your thumb over the end of the hose (while still under water) and point it into a bucket. Move the vacuum up and down quickly, and while doing so remove your thumb off the opening and let the water drain into the bucket. Ta Da !