Questions about cleaning food from aquarium

I'm still fairly new to the hobby, I got into it in february, and although it took some time and a lot of learning, I have a healthy planted tank going right now. But one of the things that I've never been so sure on is how to go about cleaning uneaten food, particularly food that breaks apart easily (feeding in general has been a bit confusing for me, but I've been doing as much research as I can as to what my fish might eat and trying not to overfeed). I've heard a variety of opinions from different people as to how long its okay to let the food sit in the tank. Some say it shouldnt be any longer than 2 hours, some say its okay for a day or two. My issue is when it comes to cleaning that food out, as the only way I know how to do so without it dissolving and making a bigger mess is to use a gravel vacuum and a bucket, and then dump and replace the water. But I'm not so sure small daily water changes are really the way to go, everyone else seems to do normal maintenance water changes only 1-2 times a week. It doesnt seem to be doing any harm, my parameters are where they should be and all my fish seem healthy and happy, but it still just seems odd.

The tank that comes to mind most on this, is my tank that currently has 2 bristlenoses, 4 kuhli loaches, and a mystery snail. I feed the loaches omega one catfish pellets (and bloodworms on monday and friday.). The bristlenoses love to eat algae when it grows on the glass and their driftwood, but i still like to throw an algae wafer or two (i do zucchini on monday and friday and they love eating it without the mess) in at night just to make sure theyre getting enough to eat. I also try to do something besides fish food and zucchini on wednesday, like peas or green beans. Them and the mystery snail do eat it, but theres still a decent bit sitting on the substrate in the morning when I get up. Whats the best way to get it out of there without making a bigger mess and having to do a small water change? Should I just leave it in there longer and see if they'll eat the rest of it if so? I've also heard people mention using turkey basters, but I haven't tried that myself yet.

 

Turkey basters are handy for such things. Just grab the baster and suck up the food.

 

I have used a airline tube with a skewer attached and its like a small vac pen. Works pretty good too.

 

Honestly, my tanks have so much filtration that I feel it's unnecessary to remove the excess food. Besides, nutrients coming from the decaying vegetable matter continue to feed my BB colonies - AND the plants! This doesn't mean you should do the same with your tank, however, as it depends on the tank's volume, biological filtration, and amounts fed

 

For fish food I don't let it sit in the tank, everything is eaten immediately in 1 or 2 bites.

For shrimp food I feed things that can be eaten in 24 hours but if it is a big piece of vegetable I'll usually time it with a water change afterwards. For the shrimp tank I haven't fed much these days, just a few pellets once a week.