sudden death (no joke)

[vmong]

ok it was a firday afternoon, about 12 pm, i had changed my fish tank water, i used water straight from the tap and dont use that "dechlorinator2 as i think that its useless. and expensive, i have done it before and its been fine i have done it about 20 times previously without hassel or ich. i HAD a black tailed shark and 6 tiger barbs, 3 oldfish and pleco, and NOW i have 3 goldfish and a pleco. the others dies and some had their mouth open, i assume that the death was sudden because they were all fine the night before my brother woke me up and said that some fish had dies i though he was joking but he wasnt. is there any explanation??? please help me

 

[-cAtFiSh-]

maybe your tap water has been contaminated with something somehow. i would think not using a dechlorinator would be a not very good idea as it takes out all the crap thats in tap water. and how is it expensive?

 

[Crookster]

Sometimes I do use de-chlorinator and sometimes I don't.

The guy at my LFS says there isn't any chlorine in our local supply.

 

[Crookster]

Have you tested your water parameters?

if so what were the results?

 

[ryba]

IMO I prefer not to use dechlorinator..I keep water outside and let the cholorine and bad stuff out that way...I usually areate the water if I want it out faster. I found it works that way for me without using the chemicals ( I prfer it natural). I usually leave it for a day or two without aeration.

 

[luxum]

Aeration will not get rid of chloramines though, and many water companies have switched to it because it is more stable. Water companies also tend to up the chlorine or chloramine content in the water in summer. Use a dechlorinator that works for both chlorine and chloramine, it is a reliable way to ensure your fish are not exposed to chlorine or chloramine, is perfectly safe and is practically instant. It's not that expensive.

 

[Connor333]

I have never used dechlorinator in my life and all my fish are fine. But I guess I do use well water

 

[Lateral Line]

More and more utilities are switching to using Chloramines, which will not evaporate out. It is never a good idea to use tapwater without treating it - it is designed to be safe for us to drink not for livestock. Your water company will tell you this if you ask. I use Tetra AquaSafe, or WaterLife Haloex, both have the same stuff in.

Of course, straight from the tap does not match the water temperature either, so you probably chemically and thermally shocked your fish. Tiger Barbs are sensitive to poor treatment.

 

[nirvanarama]

i would reccomend using stress coat as it removes chlorine and chloramines, it also replaces slime coating on fish

 

[cometcattle]

I always have used Stress-Coat. No problems.

But.....

I forgot the brand that Inchworm uses, but it can't clog their gills like stress-coat can.