Chemical to add after adding fish

[DoubleDutch]

That could have also just been luck.

Hahaha that was what I wanted to post. Stuff called Luck.
There isn't such a chemical. Chemicals like those are only for the benefit / profit of the aquariumbrand selling them

 

[Tyler777]

Hahaha that was what I wanted to post. Stuff called Luck.
There isn't such a chemical. Chemicals like those are only for the benefit / profit of the aquariumbrand selling them

And that's why I joined this forum to get answers from people with real knowledge n not trying to sell me stuff

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Here is the mistake, it wasn't a chemical, it was a magic potion that we have forgotten how to create. DOH!

I have excellent well water. I do not use any dechlor or anything like stress coat. I try only to buy my fish from sources which I am relatively certain know how to keep the fish they sell healthy and will never send them out if there is the slightest chance the fish are not healthy. Of course, none of us are perfect and sometimes we are not aware of a problem because it has not yet demostrated symptoms.

For some time years ago I hated what I had to do to sell my zebra plecos. people wantned pictures of the exact fish. This was a big deal for me to do. Break down the tank, select the fish, then take pics. They got sent to the prospective buyer. However, until I heard back I had to keep the fish segregated in a small tank set up fior that. next I had to wait for the buyer to respond and then wait for them to pay. This got old really fast.

So I came up with a way to avoid all of it. Not only did I offer the standard live arrival guarantee, I also offered a satisfaction guarantee. If I could skipp the photo etc, work when one received the fish,they could return them if they were not satisfied for any reason at all. If they had a fight with a spouse and change their mind, OK, it they did not like how the fish looked were size or any other reason at all, they could return to me.

As long as the fish came back in a similar condition to when they went out, I would refund 100% of the purchase , the shipping the have sent them and then the cost to send them back to me. I never had anybody return a bag of fish under that guarantee, But that was because I take pride in raising the fish I sell and having them be healthy and in shipping them properly.

I eventually stopped having to do this because apparently I developed a very good reputation. I never realized this for many years because I am not on any social media besides a few fish forums. Somehow people seemed to find me despite this. I guess i was lucky.

To circle around to this point of the thread, here is my quarantine methodology. For tank raised fish my quarantine is 30 days. For wild caught fish it is 3 months. Now this doesn't mean only that amount of time must pass. It means the fish must be totally free of any disease, parasite etc, for that number of consecutive days. If I have to treat a Q tank for something, the Q period starts over from day 0 only if and after the problem has been eliminated or cured.

I have had a Q tank mostly wiped out from rampant ich. 19 fish went in and 1 came out in the end. These were the last fish I ever bought from a pet store. The ich was not visible in the tank when I got them. It only became visible a couple of days later.

As always, this is just how I do it for whatever that is worth.

 

[Tyler777]

Here is the mistake, it wasn't a chemical, it was a magic potion that we have forgotten how to create. DOH!

I have excellent well water. I do not use any dechlor or anything like stress coat. I try only to buy my fish from sources which I am relatively certain know how to keep the fish they sell healthy and will never send them out if there is the slightest chance the fish are not healthy. Of course, none of us are perfect and sometimes we are not aware of a problem because it has not yet demostrated symptoms.

For some time years ago I hated what I had to do to sell my zebra plecos. people wantned pictures of the exact fish. This was a big deal for me to do. Break down the tank, select the fish, then take pics. They got sent to the prospective buyer. However, until I heard back I had to keep the fish segregated in a small tank set up fior that. next I had to wait for the buyer to respond and then wait for them to pay. This got old really fast.

So I came up with a way to avoid all of it. Not only did I offer the standard live arrival guarantee, I also offered a satisfaction guarantee. If I could skipp the photo etc, work when one received the fish,they could return them if they were not satisfied for any reason at all. If they had a fight with a spouse and change their mind, OK, it they did not like how the fish looked were size or any other reason at all, they could return to me.

As long as the fish came back in a similar condition to when they went out, I would refund 100% of the purchase , the shipping the have sent them and then the cost to send them back to me. I never had anybody return a bag of fish under that guarantee, But that was because I take pride in raising the fish I sell and having them be healthy and in shipping them properly.

I eventually stopped having to do this because apparently I developed a very good reputation. I never realized this for many years because I am not on any social media besides a few fish forums. Somehow people seemed to find me despite this. I guess i was lucky.

To circle around to this point of the thread, here is my quarantine methodology. For tank raised fish my quarantine is 30 days. For wild caught fish it is 3 months. Now this doesn't mean only that amount of time must pass. It means the fish must be totally free of any disease, parasite etc, for that number of consecutive days. If I have to treat a Q tank for something, the Q period starts over from day 0 only if and after the problem has been eliminated or cured.

I have had a Q tank mostly wiped out from rampant ich. 19 fish went in and 1 came out in the end. These were the last fish I ever bought from a pet store. The ich was not visible in the tank when I got them. It only became visible a couple of days later.

As always, this is just how I do it for whatever that is worth.

I enjoyed reading your post

 

[TwoTankAmin]

TY.

I try to share what little I have learned in the past 24 years. There are other members here whose knowledge and experience dwarfs mine. I try to make it a habit to only talk about my actual experiences. If I do not know something first hand, I will quote a good authority and say this is the case. But I do not do that often. I prefer to speak from first hand experiece as well as extensive personal research.

 

[Tyler777]

TY.

I try to share what little I have learned in the past 24 years. There are other members here whose knowledge and experience dwarfs mine. I try to make it a habit to only talk about my actual experiences. If I do not know something first hand, I will quote a good authority and say this is the case. But I do not do that often. I prefer to speak from first hand experiece as well as extensive personal research.

I do appreciate the advice of everyone who wants to help me but sometimes I get 2 different answers for the same question

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Many years ago i learned there were lots of voices on the net. The trick we all must learn is what people and what sites we can rely on and then ignore most of the rest.

Today this is a bit easier than in my early years. For one, there are fish clubs one can join. many of the folks in them have been keeping and breeding fish for some time. The one thing all of the menbers share however, is that we were all newbies at some time. So clubs welcome new members and are more than willing to help those newer to the hobby.

Next, there are weekend fish events which feature speakers who are respected and well know experts on a variety of topics. Whiel I have met and talked with some, I have listen to many more than that.

I work with a few pleco species and at events I have managed to meet and talk to oeople like Ingo Seidel, Hans-Goerg Evers, Shane Linder, Jools from PlanetCat, Barbie Fiorentino, Eric Bodrock, Dale Ernst, Leandro Sousa to name just a few. All of these people are internationally known experts on plecos, and many other species. The fact they would talk to me and answer some question still amazes me. And guess what, if you go to these events they will talk to you as well. And then there are the folks in the vendor room or, when available, doing sales from their hotel rooms.

Moreover, the people you meet at clubs and events are in a variety of areas. Some import fish, some breed fish, some write books and do presentations about fish and some sell them. But most of us are just avid hobbyists loving a weekend where everybody there wants to talk about fish. There when you tell people you proudly tell people that you have 20 tanks many don't look at you funny, they ask you, "Why so few?"

Next, you have to learn where/who the best sellers for the species that interest you are. And the same people above can help you with that. The best part about it all is a lot of the answers you get will be similar in many cases.

However, it is also important to realize that there are usually multiple different ways to do the same thing in this hobby and which are all a perfectly good way to do things. What matters is that what we do should be what is good for the fish. Healthy food can be made by multiple vendors and I may prefer one and you another and we can both be doing the right thing. All tanks pretty much need filtration, but again there are multiple options. What matters is that what we choose does the job well and hopefully both effectively and economically.

 

[sharkweek178]

Many years ago i learned there were lots of voices on the net. The trick we all must learn is what people and what sites we can rely on and then ignore most of the rest.

Today this is a bit easier than in my early years. For one, there are fish clubs one can join. many of the folks in them have been keeping and breeding fish for some time. The one thing all of the menbers share however, is that we were all newbies at some time. So clubs welcome new members and are more than willing to help those newer to the hobby.

Next, there are weekend fish events which feature speakers who are respected and well know experts on a variety of topics. Whiel I have met and talked with some, I have listen to many more than that.

I work with a few pleco species and at events I have managed to meet and talk to oeople like Ingo Seidel, Hans-Goerg Evers, Shane Linder, Jools from PlanetCat, Barbie Fiorentino, Eric Bodrock, Dale Ernst, Leandro Sousa to name just a few. All of these people are internationally known experts on plecos, and many other species. The fact they would talk to me and answer some question still amazes me. And guess what, if you go to these events they will talk to you as well. And then there are the folks in the vendor room or, when available, doing sales from their hotel rooms.

Moreover, the people you meet at clubs and events are in a variety of areas. Some import fish, some breed fish, some write books and do presentations about fish and some sell them. But most of us are just avid hobbyists loving a weekend where everybody there wants to talk about fish. There when you tell people you proudly tell people that you have 20 tanks many don't look at you funny, they ask you, "Why so few?"

Next, you have to learn where/who the best sellers for the species that interest you are. And the same people above can help you with that. The best part about it all is a lot of the answers you get will be similar in many cases.

However, it is also important to realize that there are usually multiple different ways to do the same thing in this hobby and which are all a perfectly good way to do things. What matters is that what we do should be what is good for the fish. Healthy food can be made by multiple vendors and I may prefer one and you another and we can both be doing the right thing. All tanks pretty much need filtration, but again there are multiple options. What matters is that what we choose does the job well and hopefully both effectively and economically.

It can be really difficult on the internet. Because anyone can create a professional looking website or make well produced videos. They look good and people mistake that as being legitimate.
The best you can do when you're new is to take in as much information as you can from as many different sources. Over time one gains experience and that helps to suss out the good info from the bad. Just be careful not to confuse what you want to hear with what's good information.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Well, what I mostly discussed above was dealing face to face with known experts and other people with years of practical experience. What you are doing is trying to deal with anonymous digital people who may be experts or may be idiots with big heads sfull of mush.

Find the people first, not the URLs. If you do that, then the URLs you find will be the good ones.

The Greater Pittsburgh Aquarium Society, Inc.

The first event i attended was the OCA weekend in 2003. It is hosted by the Ohio Cichlid Assosiation in Strongsville, Ohio (basically CLeveland). it is about a 2 hour drive from Pittsburgh. It has been going on for many years and is a great event. The is the link to last year's event. They are held in November shortly before Thanksgiving. https://www.ohiocichlid.com/extravaganza

There are weekend events all over the country. How far one is willing to travel is the only limiting factor. I drive 9 hours out on fridat and 11 back Sunday to attend the OCA event in 03. A number of the folks attending the bi-annual Catfish Convention fly to tthe Washington DC area from Europe.

 

[FishyD]

Well, what I mostly discussed above was dealing face to face with known experts and other people with years of practical experience. What you are doing is trying to deal with anonymous digital people who may be experts or may be idiots with big heads sfull of mush.

Find the people first, not the URLs. If you do that, then the URLs you find will be the good ones.

The Greater Pittsburgh Aquarium Society, Inc.

The first event i attended was the OCA weekend in 2003. It is hosted by the Ohio Cichlid Assosiation in Strongsville, Ohio (basically CLeveland). it is about a 2 hour drive from Pittsburgh. It has been going on for many years and is a great event. The is the link to last year's event. They are held in November shortly before Thanksgiving. https://www.ohiocichlid.com/extravaganza

There are weekend events all over the country. How far one is willing to travel is the only limiting factor. I drive 9 hours out on fridat and 11 back Sunday to attend the OCA event in 03. A number of the folks attending the bi-annual Catfish Convention fly to tthe Washington DC area from Europe.

I am just going to hope this wasn't addressed to me. What you mostly seem to be is arrogant TBH. I'll not bother you anymore with a post tag if it is impossible for you to be nice. I just came here for friendly conversation. It's a hobby.

 

[sharkweek178]

Well, what I mostly discussed above was dealing face to face with known experts and other people with years of practical experience. What you are doing is trying to deal with anonymous digital people who may be experts or may be idiots with big heads sfull of mush.

Find the people first, not the URLs. If you do that, then the URLs you find will be the good ones.

The Greater Pittsburgh Aquarium Society, Inc.

The first event i attended was the OCA weekend in 2003. It is hosted by the Ohio Cichlid Assosiation in Strongsville, Ohio (basically CLeveland). it is about a 2 hour drive from Pittsburgh. It has been going on for many years and is a great event. The is the link to last year's event. They are held in November shortly before Thanksgiving. https://www.ohiocichlid.com/extravaganza

There are weekend events all over the country. How far one is willing to travel is the only limiting factor. I drive 9 hours out on fridat and 11 back Sunday to attend the OCA event in 03. A number of the folks attending the bi-annual Catfish Convention fly to tthe Washington DC area from Europe.

I'm a member of GPASI. But when someone is just entering the hobby, unless they have an in person mentor, they'll probably start out by doing research online.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

I had no intention of upsetting anybody, If I did uspset, you please accept my apology.

I was just intent on making the point that to find good help one needs to find good people who can provide it. My experience has been that the easiest place to do that is in aquarium clubs and weekend fish events where some great speakers offer a lot of good info. These people are not anonymous screen names on a forum. And those speakers are also more than willing to help folks not only learn but also to become aware of sources that may not normally be available. I was in the hobby for almost a decade before I figured out I needed to joined a club. I should have done it way sooner.

My posts are not directed at specific people. They are directed at something that is said. In this case i was responding to I was responding to what sharkweek178 wrote this directly above my post:

It can be really difficult on the internet. Because anyone can create a professional looking website or make well produced videos. They look good and people mistake that as being legitimate.

If you believe I am rude/arrogant and that you do not want to engage with me, please add me to your ignore list and this will prevent any future misunderstandings by you about anything I might post. Incidentally, I had to go way back in this thread to find you first 2 posts. I saw nothing in either one of them which any of my posts even mentioned let alone to which I responded. I actually have no clue why you got upset. And yet I still apologize for whatever you think I said.

I have been on fish forums since 2001. I learned two things over that time. The first is that nobody every wins a forum fight so they are a waste of time. The other is that when I become disenchanted with a site, I do not complain, I vote with my feet. When I have and issue with another member or vice versa, I use Ignore. I have already added you to my list, please add me to yours so this all ends here.

 

[MaloK]

Sometime people that speaks with an affirmative tone sounds arrogant to others.

But it's just a matter of perception.

I like direct and founded. I never thought of anyone speaking with passion of a deeply known subject as being arrogant.

It's being affirmative of what is known and confident of what is said.

I felt the same both ways and never ignored someone because of this... feeling...

 

[TwoTankAmin]

I'm a member of GPASI. But when someone is just entering the hobby, unless they have an in person mentor, they'll probably start out by doing research online.

I post here suggesting to new folks they find a local club. Read some of my posts and you will see I even try to provide links to clubs in the area their info shows they live. I mention the events as well. I make it a point to explain that we were all newbies at some time and that the people in clubs and at events are more than willing to talk to and to help out the those new to this great hobby.

I wish somebody had done that for me. I attended my first show for just an afternoon as an unregistered visitor. I did so to meet a few of the people from the fish chat room where I was involved at the time. I was in the hobby less than only a few years if I remember right and may have had 4 tanks. I felt like I did not belong in the middle of so many experienced and knowledgeable people. And the idea of joining a club full of such people intimidated me even more.

I could not have been more wrong. Some of the best times I have had in terms of fish have been weekend events. I love the one evening a month I am in a room full of people who are all fish nerds. From the day I starting organizing my first tank I already suspected I might be a natural born fish nerd. It did take me a number of years to accept that fact.

So anything I can do to encourage people to access these great resources sooner rather than trying to figure out where the good information might be hiding on the net is something I feel very good about doing and I do not intend to stop. And I have no doubt what-so-ever that anybody who follows these suggestions to meet the many "expert" level folks in the hobby will be glad they did. Most are very nice and always willing to help. I cannot say that either too often nor loudly enough.

 

[Fishfunn]

I had fish for years, and I never remember any LFS recommending adding a chemical to an established tank for new fish. A lesson learned is to buy fish from a reputable LFS that quarantines and pre-treats their new fish before they are sold. With that being said, I agree with the posters that the best protection is to have a QT setup so you can do prescreening for disease before moving them to a beloved tank. While in the QT, if you see a disease, you can treat it there. Quarantine for 2-3 weeks to be sure.