rdp50734
hates poor electrics :-(
I was curious as to if fish can live in chlorinated water. I understand that chlorine kills the bacteria in the filter, but does it actually do any harm to the fish?
Fish In Chlorinated Water
- Thread starter rdp50734
- Start date
Mine live in chlorinated water.
They are perfectly healthy and have vibrant colours, but mine are guppies so not sure about other fish but i know mollies, platies, swordtails, guppies, angelfish, plecos and corys can.
Alessa x.
They are perfectly healthy and have vibrant colours, but mine are guppies so not sure about other fish but i know mollies, platies, swordtails, guppies, angelfish, plecos and corys can.
Alessa x.
rdp50734
hates poor electrics :-(
Do you add any water conditioner?
rdp50734
hates poor electrics :-(
Let me rephrase this. Is it possible to keep fish in water that has not had water conditioner/dechlorinator added to it. Disregard the filter.
Chlorine will kill your bacteria in your filter!!!! This is just a question out of curiosity rather than an attempt to actually do it!
Sted you will need to dechlorinate your water! It is not a waste of money as chlorine will kill your filters bacteria.
Chlorine will kill your bacteria in your filter!!!! This is just a question out of curiosity rather than an attempt to actually do it!
Sted you will need to dechlorinate your water! It is not a waste of money as chlorine will kill your filters bacteria.
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Dechlorinator is not strictly necessary, however I am not recommending that you shouldn't use it.
Several of our members here don't use dechlorinator, and seem to be successful in doing so.
With regard to chlorine killing the filter bacteria, this is true but the reality isn't as straightforward as that.
Chlorine will damage your bacteria colony, this we know, however it depends on several factors. The most important ones being how much chlorine is present, the age of the filter bacteria, and the the size of the water change. If you changed 100% of the water in a newly cycled tank, you will likely do some significant damage to your bacteria colony. However, if you change 25% in a tank which has been cycled for a year, the effect on the bacteria will probably be minimal. Bacteria colonies strengthen with age and maturity, so the more mature your filter is, the less at risk you are from a disaster.
Also, some strains of our beneficial bacteria are thought to be resistant to chlorine. For example, when you first fill a tank and put a brand new filter on containing no bacteria whatsoever, how does it start a bacteria colony? Where do those first bacteria come from? The answer is they are in your water supply. There have been several studies which have identified nitrifying bacteria living in municipal water supplies. It is thought that they are able to consume the ammonia present in chloramine, leaving chlorine in the water which quickly gasses off at the surface. They therefore must be resistant in some way to the effects of chlorine and chloramine to be able to survive in such conditions.
I wouldn't recommend not using dechlorinator as although the effect on the bacteria can be minimised with some knowledge of what is actually happening, the effects on fish are less known. Many people report healthy colourful fish whilst not dechlorinating, but to play devil's advocate, many people also report happy healthy goldfish kept in tiny unfiltered bowls. I just can't accept that as evidence, and I'm not aware of any scientific studies in this area which we could refer to.
Also, you can never be sure when the water board are going to increase their dosage.
I personally don't think its worth the risk. I use pond dechlorinator which is much cheaper than aquarium dechlorinator. It works out that it costs me around £1 per year. I wouldn't worry about it if I ran out or forgot to add it one time, but for all it costs, I'd rather have the peace of mind it brings.
Hope that helps you.
BTT
Several of our members here don't use dechlorinator, and seem to be successful in doing so.
With regard to chlorine killing the filter bacteria, this is true but the reality isn't as straightforward as that.
Chlorine will damage your bacteria colony, this we know, however it depends on several factors. The most important ones being how much chlorine is present, the age of the filter bacteria, and the the size of the water change. If you changed 100% of the water in a newly cycled tank, you will likely do some significant damage to your bacteria colony. However, if you change 25% in a tank which has been cycled for a year, the effect on the bacteria will probably be minimal. Bacteria colonies strengthen with age and maturity, so the more mature your filter is, the less at risk you are from a disaster.
Also, some strains of our beneficial bacteria are thought to be resistant to chlorine. For example, when you first fill a tank and put a brand new filter on containing no bacteria whatsoever, how does it start a bacteria colony? Where do those first bacteria come from? The answer is they are in your water supply. There have been several studies which have identified nitrifying bacteria living in municipal water supplies. It is thought that they are able to consume the ammonia present in chloramine, leaving chlorine in the water which quickly gasses off at the surface. They therefore must be resistant in some way to the effects of chlorine and chloramine to be able to survive in such conditions.
I wouldn't recommend not using dechlorinator as although the effect on the bacteria can be minimised with some knowledge of what is actually happening, the effects on fish are less known. Many people report healthy colourful fish whilst not dechlorinating, but to play devil's advocate, many people also report happy healthy goldfish kept in tiny unfiltered bowls. I just can't accept that as evidence, and I'm not aware of any scientific studies in this area which we could refer to.
Also, you can never be sure when the water board are going to increase their dosage.
I personally don't think its worth the risk. I use pond dechlorinator which is much cheaper than aquarium dechlorinator. It works out that it costs me around £1 per year. I wouldn't worry about it if I ran out or forgot to add it one time, but for all it costs, I'd rather have the peace of mind it brings.
Hope that helps you.
BTT
rdp50734
hates poor electrics :-(
Thanks for the info, but if you disregard filters, bacteria etc if I had a tank with some tropical fish in it, I did not run a filter or dechlorinate the water at all. If when doing water changes I still did not dechlorinate and just had fish and tap water in the tank would it do any harm to the fish?
What effect does chlorine have on fish if any?
What effect does chlorine have on fish if any?
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