Dechlorinator

[IovaykInD]

Is it really important to dechlorinate water before you put it into a tank? I've done everything when I set up my tank. Let the filter run for a couple of days, add the fish, etc. I've tried it a couple of times and after 4-5 days, all the fish would die(5 danios for cycling). I don't like to use dechlorinator because my dad says it's not needed, but I am beginning to doubt it. I checked my ammonia(.25ppm), and nitrite(0ppm) when the danios died, meaning they were not killed by that, since I don't think .25ppm of ammonia can kill danios.

Does chlorine and chlormine kill fish without symptoms? Please tell me about chloramine, because many people have pointed that out to me, that it was the cause of death.

Isaac

 

[shadow]

Chlorine will harm the fish. It is very important to dechlorinate your water.

 

[rdd1952]

If you are on city water that has chlorine and chloramine, chlorinator is probably THE most important thing you can put in your tank. Without it, your fish will die. If you have well water or use RO water, you probably don't need it. As an added extra, dechlorinating products like Stress Coat also are good for the slime coat of the fish and helps with the stress of the water change too.

 

[tttnjfttt]

YES, YES, YES!!!!! you MUST use dechlorinator for two reasons. The first is chlorine and chloramine are toxic to fish. Secondly, chlorine is added to kill bacteria in the water we drink. When it is put into the fish tank, it will kill or prevent the good bacteria from growing. One word of warning, if your water hs chloramine in it, DO NOT do large water changes because the dechlorinator will deal with the chlorine part of chloramine, but it will release ammonia into the water, which is also toxic to fish. More Info

Now onto the possible cause of death to your fish. Even though your ammonia levels should be tollerated by danios, it is still VERY stressful to them. When you consider they are stressed to begin with from the ammonia, then add chlorine which also stresses them out, and they are not happy fishies. You said there was no sign of illness, can you describe how the fish were acting? Were they holding their fins up or were they clamped down to their body? How active were they? Would they take food? Also, how big is your tank?

There is alot of information on this site about fishless cycles. It should be in the pinned topics at the top of the board. I would STRONGLY suggest doing a fishless cycle, by begging some gravel from the tank at your local pet store (LPS).

Goodluck!

 

[pjfish]

You can age water for a few days to allow the chorine to evaporate, but it's easier to use a dechlorinator IMO. If you want to try aging the water, you can probably search for more info about how to do that.

 

[tttnjfttt]

If you have well water ... you probably don't need it

Just because your water comes from a well, that doesn't mean you don't have chlorine in it. My entire town is on well water, and there is definately chlorine in it. Possibly for private wells, this is the case, but not something to generalize about

 

[iceolated]

Sorry to tell you, but your Dad is wrong on this one.

Chlorine and Chloramine are both deadly to fish. If you don't dechlorinate your water or use water that is known to be chlorine and chloramine free then you will kill your fish...it's just a matter of time.

Chlorine is usually added to water by means of Chlorine gas or Sodium Hypochlorite (bleach). It is good at killing bacteria, however it doesn't have a very long lifespan. It tends to dissipate very quicly especially when exposed to sunlight.

Because of this many utilities have switched to Chlroamine which hangs around in the water longer and doesn't break down quite so easily. Chloramine is a combination of Chlorine and Ammonia...two items that aren't good for fish. Have a look at this link.

If there's one thing I don't recommend skimping on it's dechlorinator. The only time you can get away with not using it is if you are certain your water doesn't have chlorine or chloramine. If in doubt, use dechlorinator.

If you intend to keep fish for any length of time it's really in the best interest of your fish to add dechlorinator to your water.

Regards,

Gary

 

[mlee0332]

Dechlorinators are the difference between a fishy grave yard, and a fishy paradise. Dechlorinators are SUPER important for fish if you have city water!!!


That is what happend to your fish. Not all of those bottles on the shelf are "luxuries". Some are infact required to help a fish live. Please, ask us what else you've been told isn't needed and let us tell you what's not important and what is!

Hope this helps!

EDIT: If you stop using dechlorinators after your tank has cycled, you will not only kill the fish (eventually after it has had time to build up), but you will kill your cycle, which will kill fish in the future if you don't keep up with water changes!

 

[rdd1952]

If you have well water ... you probably don't need it

Just because your water comes from a well, that doesn't mean you don't have chlorine in it. My entire town is on well water, and there is definately chlorine in it. Possibly for private wells, this is the case, but not something to generalize about

I was speaking of private wells but thanks for clarifying that.

You can age water for a few days to allow the chorine to evaporate, but it's easier to use a dechlorinator IMO.

Letting it sit for 24 hours works fine for removing chlorine but will not get rid of chloramine which is just as deadly.

 

[Tolak]

Even if you are on a private well with no chlorine added, you still have to be concerned with heavy metals. In this case I would look for a product with EDTA, which locks up heavy metals.

As far as chloramine being changed to ammonia & doing large water changes goes, I do 50-75% weeky on most all of my tanks with city water. Never had a problem with ammonia, or fish illnesses or losses associated with ammonia.

Tolak

 

[OohFeeshy]

I don't like to use dechlorinator because my dad says it's not needed

If your dads anything like mine, he's probably thinking of something like 'When I was a lad, we had 3 goldfish in a bowl. We didn't use any fancy dechlorinator and only cleaned it when we couldn't see the fish'. I'd imagine theres probably more chlorine in the water than there used to be, and fish were probably hardier then too.

 

[fishlover900]

yes, it removes lots of thing that can harm fish!!!!!!!

 

[IovaykInD]

Wow, one night of rest and eleven replies. Thanks.

I will get dechlorinator today, and add it to my fish tank. That might be the reason why the nitrites have never developed.

Is there such thing as chloramine detectors? I've never seen them in pet stores.

Isaac

*EDIT*
Seachem Prime Freshwater & Saltwater: Is it any good? It says it converts ammonia into a non-toxic form, is this true? Anyone have any experience with it? It also says it detoxifies nitrite and nitrate, pretty much meaning it will help for cycling. Will this product help me out a lot?

 

[Tolak]

Prime is neck and neck with Tetra Aqua Safe as the best declorinator on the market. I use Prime, never had any problem.

If you are cycling with fish, it's great, if you are doing a fishless cycle, you want a product that only removes chlorine & chloramines. You want that ammo in there for a fishless cycle to feed the bacteria.

Tolak

 

[IovaykInD]

I'm cycling with a RES. Is that the same, since it also produces ammonia? I seem to like using turtles for cycling much more because there is a smaller chance of the turtle dying.

Isaac