Two beginner questions..........

[Nordicat]

1. Do I need to add a water conditioner for stress every time I do a water change? (Every one to two weeks in my case.) I usually add nothing because we have no chlorine added to our water in this city. We have some Aqua Vital here at home that someone gave us but not sure how to use it.....I think it goes in the water for stress. (??)

2. I have neons, mollies, an algae eater and zebra danios. To help an ailing molly along I have heard a little higher heat is good. What about the zebras then.....they like the colder temps? (I keep the temperature about 25 C. (77 F.) If it "up it" for the mollies, will the danios and/or neons die off?


Just a comment I wonder about. Someone who kept lot of fish once told me you could go without feeding your fish for up to 2 weeks while on vacation and it wouldn´t hurt them. Is that true?

[Damon]

1. Yes you should always treat tap water with a dechlorinator.

2. Heat isn't always the answer for sick fish. Heat is commonly used to speed up the lifecycle of ich so it can be treated faster. It doesn't heal fish by itself. You need to find out whats wrong with your molly. A quarantine tank is best used so you can treat the sick fish and not stress out the others.


Healthy fish can go 7-10 days without feedings. It will stress them a bit but shouldn't be a problem for healthy fish. Automatic feeders are cheap enough now to avoid this problem.

[Nordicat]

Why should I treat the water with a dechlorinator when we have no chlorine added to our water here?? Seems like unnecessary chemicals to me.

Have you heard of Aqua Vital? (German, I think). I understand it is NOT for chlorine but not what is IS for.

[mrmoby]

I personally dont use any water conditioner for stress or any other reason. I just change the water and leave it at that. The only thing I would treat for would be Chlorine, but I use well water and don't have any. If you dont have chlorine in your water, leave well enough alone. I know you said your water supply doesn't have any chlorine, but I would make sure.

[Damon]

Dechlors also remove or detoxify heavy metals (copper, lead, mercury, zinc) which when allowed to buildup can kill fish.

[mousey]

so how does your town in Sweden treat the water to kill bacteria and other stuff?

[Nordicat]

haha.....good question! Surely they must. I´ll be ckecking on that, believe me!

[Vermifugert]

Originally Posted by Simpte

Dechlors also remove or detoxify heavy metals (copper, lead, mercury, zinc) which when allowed to buildup can kill fish.

Plain amquel or even amquel plus does not remove heavy metals. In fact to get this effect it’s recommended you use NovAqua + however bear in mind that NovAqua does no treat ammonia, chlorine or chloramines a the same efficiency as Amquel. . That’s why the novalek web site recommends you use both products when treating your tank.

[Damon]

Thats why I use AP's stress coat.

[mousey]

And how does ammo lock stack up in this discussion. That is what I have been using for a long time.
Never thought about removing heavy metals.
Ca you give a sticky on this topic or do we already have one?

[Vermifugert]

Originally Posted by mousey

And how does ammo lock stack up in this discussion. That is what I have been using for a long time.
Never thought about removing heavy metals.
Ca you give a sticky on this topic or do we already have one?

I have had very bad luck with ammo lock. I switched to Dry Amquel Plus. Much cheapter and does a wonderful job IMO. i just ad a little Novaqua to the mix and the water is pretty good.

[Sesa]

When treating my water for a WC I:

1) Fill up my 60L container from tap

2) Heat to 29C (84F)

3) Run an air pump

4) Add 1 teaspoon of sodium biphosphate (ph Down)

5) Put lid on, leave water for 24hrs then do the water change

Letting the water stand for 24hrs and running an air pump through gets rid of any chlorine and other unwanted chemicals. It also gives me time to adjust my temperature and pH. This way I dont need to keep spending money on buying instant chlorine neutralisation chemicals, and I can get my water to the right parameters at the same time.

Hope this helps, but I only do this because I keep discus (very sensitive to water quality)

In regards to white spot, I've never had to treat it so I dont know sorry. But I think raising the temperature may hinder the bacteria propagation somewhat, but you should consult an expert or your LFS on what to do.

Good luck

[Puffer Pita]

Using chemicals to adjust the pH isn't a good idea as it usually causes a swing in the pH which is much more dangerous for the fish than hitting a specific pH number. Fish can adjust to pretty much any pH level as long as its stable. Unstable pH can kill fish (I had two die yesterday from a pH crash).

[Sesa]

Oh yeah sorry, I meant to say I only add pH down because the water from my tap is very alkaline (7.6+) so I add a little of it to get it to around 7.

[Puffer Pita]

See my previous response.

[craftyflalady]

your better off using some drift wood that leaches tannens or some peat in your filter to lower ph then using those chemicals. Boxermom is right, when using those drops, it can mess with the chemistry of your water in a very bad way. Besides, it doesn't KEEP the ph down, It will go back up in about a day. And all that ph up...ph down stuff is harder on your Discus then letting them get used to your natural ph and and letting it drop naturally with drift wood or peat. In my opionion that stuff should not be even sold. It can do more damage than good on someones tank.

Kathy