Distilled water

[newbie4]

Hi everyone! Let me thank everyone in advance for reading this and sorry if it gets kind of long....

We have a 10g tank which has 1 dalmation molly (f), 1 black molly (m), 1 molly fry (a surprise to us about 1 1/2 weeks old), 2 red wag platys (m), and 1 yellow balloon bellied molly (f) (our white balloon belly passed last night )

Let me give you some background...
The week before Thanksgiving we set up our tank (including gravel from our 5g tank we had had set up for our daughter) We let the heater, filter, and bubbler run for almost 2 full weeks. We then went and got the dalmation, black, and yellow balloon bellied molly from Petsmart. A few days later our dalmation gave birth unbeknowst to me until I found a fry hiding in our of our plants (which are all fake btw). This past Sunday we got a floating breeder tank for the fry, the white balloon belly molly (deceased) and the other red wag platy.

I just found out that last night my hubby noticed the white fish to be sluggish and almost immoblie, wouldn't feed. So he decided to vacuum the gravel and do a 25% water change. He replaced the water with distilled water, thinking this way we wouldn't have to use the dechlorinator (which I don't have any right now). So last night we lost that molly as I was preparing our 5g as a spare. Is distilled water harmful?

Today our dalmation is acting odd. She barely ate at feeding time and is staying in her favorite hiding places. While in these spots she stays about a half inch above the gravel and i don't know any other way to describe it but undulates. Last time I saw her hiding in spots like this (last week) i found the fry a few days later.

We are sooo new at this, and i know i have probably done everything wrong but we really like our tank and were thinking about getting another. I don't have anything to test with, whenever I asked at the lps about them they said i didn't need it so i never bought it.

Help?
Thanks
newbie4

 

[rykitten]

Hi Newbie 4,

It seems very likely that your fish are dying because your tank is still "cycling."
This is the process in which "good" bacteria are created to consume the ammonia created when the fish go potty.

There is a lot of information here in the beginner section about cycling your tank.

I am a newbie as well, and I lost a lot of fish because I was ignorant of the whole cycling process. Things are getting better now though. I'm going to wait a few more weeks before getting more fishies.

Good luck!

 

[thecichlidaddict]

distilled water is missing many of the elements that are healthy for our fish. I don't think using some in a water change would be the problem, but I would avoid using it.

I don't have anything to test with, whenever I asked at the lps about them they said i didn't need it so i never bought it.

The best advice I can give you is to always find out what you need to know, and then go into the fish store without having to rely on underpaid, unknowledgable employees.

Go get a test kit for Ammonia and NitrIte. You don't need to use it all the time, but it comes in handy, and is the first thing I test for if I notice anything funny in a tank.

In the meantime, do water changes, but don't vacuum the gravel too often or you are delaying the cycling process. Fry can be quite messy, and I'm sure they are having an impact on your system.

 

[newbie4]

Ok I admit I am completely ignorant to the whole cycling process. So far we have only lost the one fish, i guess my dalmation was just having a moody morning because she is ruling the tank now! Anyway shouldn't the tank have finished the initial cycling process and been ready for fish, we did use gravel from a veteran tank and it ran for several weeks before fish were introduced.

Thanks for the info, I'm definitely going to get a test kit and for my sales person at my lfs I totally trust her as I've been to her house and seen her 15 tanks, her breeding tank is a 20g.

Thank you everyone for the advice, I will take it all into consideration.

Oh one other question, our water/sewage company has specifically posted on their website to NOT use tap water even with a dechlorinator in fish tanks. What would you guys suggest if not distilled just like a gallon of spring water or something?

newbie

 

[Lateral Line]

>>>
has specifically posted on their website to NOT use tap water even with a dechlorinator in fish tanks
<<<

That could, (probably), mean they are using, temporarily or regulaly, Chloramine rather than simple Chlorine to sterilise the water. Chloramine is just as toxic, and it's break down products are as well. Good quality water conditioners will remove this as well, but at this point I'm only guessing. Does their web site say why you can't use the water? Could just be they are covering themselves for legal reasons. Maybe post the URL of their website so one of us can see what they are getting at?

Distilled water is harmless when added to "normal" tank water, wowever, as you change water, a progressively larger percentage of the water is distilled/de-mineralised. You will reach a point where your waters buffering potential is too low to prevent vast pH swings which will kill.

 

[thecichlidaddict]

Anyway shouldn't the tank have finished the initial cycling process and been ready for fish, we did use gravel from a veteran tank and it ran for several weeks before fish were introduced.

No, bacteria needs food to live, which is ammonia. Without fish in the tank for those weeks all fo the bacteria that was in that gravel is no longer.

 

[newbie4]

Thanks!