Do I need to filter my tank water?

[Remedios the beauty]

Tap water in the fish tank to keep my two catfishes. Do I need to filter the water with filter paper? What filter paper should I use if I need it?

 

[Jan Cavalieri]

Is this a joke? I'm so tired I'll assume it's not. Filter paper works quite well for coffee not too well to filter contaminants in fish tanks. First, the water should be first treated with a water conditioner such as "Prime" or many others - assuming you're on city water and not a well - city water plants treat water with chlorine and other substances dangerous to fish. You'll need to pour in the right amount of conditioner and wait at least overnight or your fish will likely die.

You should also look at the row of aquarium filters and know the volume of the tank. If it's a small tank the filters are usually smaller and inexpensive. Filters use a variety of media (sponges, charcoal, ceramic beads) to filter the water continuously and to establish a colony of bacteria beneficial to your fish (google "The nitrogen cycle") - or you may be able to get away without a filter by changing and treating the water in your tank or fishbowl daily (that mean's you'd always have to have treated water enough to refill the fishbowl on hand all the time.

Even with a filter you'll need to change part of the water in your tank weekly, every two weeks, monthly - depending on how much waste the fisth generate. I do about a 20-60% water change weekly on my three tanks Not overfeeding the fish helps reduce the amount of waste in the water so that also affects how often you have to do a water change. Remember to treat the new water with Prime or another water conditioner to eliminate chlorine in the new water.

 

[Jan Cavalieri]

Also - if these are tropical catfishes 5" or smaller that you bought at a fish store you'll likely need a small heater and thermometer to keep the water about 78 degrees. If these were local catfish you caught - you'll really need a pond that probably doesn't need to be heated - baby catfish like those we eat grow quickly and get quite "meaty" - so very soon they would need a large aquarium (100-200 gallons) or a pond. .

 

[Back in the fold]

Way back in the olden days when there was no such thing as a filter people did daily water changes and aerated the water with a flower watering can a few times a day. Now we use filters because they provide a home for friendly bacteria that are beneficial and they also aereate the water. Modern filters strain out larger floating particles but they do not do away with the necessity of periodic water changes. There are many types and sizes of filters to fit aquarium sizes and personal preferences and budgets. Get one and use it.

 

[Remedios the beauty]

Is this a joke? I'm so tired I'll assume it's not. Filter paper works quite well for coffee not too well to filter contaminants in fish tanks. First, the water should be first treated with a water conditioner such as "Prime" or many others - assuming you're on city water and not a well - city water plants treat water with chlorine and other substances dangerous to fish. You'll need to pour in the right amount of conditioner and wait at least overnight or your fish will likely die.

You should also look at the row of aquarium filters and know the volume of the tank. If it's a small tank the filters are usually smaller and inexpensive. Filters use a variety of media (sponges, charcoal, ceramic beads) to filter the water continuously and to establish a colony of bacteria beneficial to your fish (google "The nitrogen cycle") - or you may be able to get away without a filter by changing and treating the water in your tank or fishbowl daily (that mean's you'd always have to have treated water enough to refill the fishbowl on hand all the time.

Even with a filter you'll need to change part of the water in your tank weekly, every two weeks, monthly - depending on how much waste the fisth generate. I do about a 20-60% water change weekly on my three tanks Not overfeeding the fish helps reduce the amount of waste in the water so that also affects how often you have to do a water change. Remember to treat the new water with Prime or another water conditioner to eliminate chlorine in the new water.

Sounds like a joke. I regret when I posted, And really specific the guide is, A fish expert, Good man!

 

[Remedios the beauty]

Way back in the olden days when there was no such thing as a filter people did daily water changes and aerated the water with a flower watering can a few times a day. Now we use filters because they provide a home for friendly bacteria that are beneficial and they also aereate the water. Modern filters strain out larger floating particles but they do not do away with the necessity of periodic water changes. There are many types and sizes of filters to fit aquarium sizes and personal preferences and budgets. Get one and use it.

Probably because of environmental contamination. Water now is not the water it used to be, Fishes need to be stronger to live. Right.

 

[Remedios the beauty]

I am considering to let my fish go. I think he might prefer the Great Nature, Thanks! Bro, You let me understand something.

Also - if these are tropical catfishes 5" or smaller that you bought at a fish store you'll likely need a small heater and thermometer to keep the water about 78 degrees. If these were local catfish you caught - you'll really need a pond that probably doesn't need to be heated - baby catfish like those we eat grow quickly and get quite "meaty" - so very soon they would need a large aquarium (100-200 gallons) or a pond. .

 

[Back in the fold]

Probably because of environmental contamination. Water now is not the water it used to be, Fishes need to be stronger to live. Right.

You are right on. Water is not the same as it used to be. Way back in the seventies this country had a collective urge to clean up the mess we made of things. It started that direction and sputtered to a screeching halt. Today the water is worse. Ask anybody from Flint Michigan. Aging deteriorating pipes and crooked businessmen who surreptitiously poison the water with the blessing of our crooked politicians. Those politicians and businessmen are one and the same. Why do you think they want the job so bad? So they can ruin everything legally. I make no distinction between Demopublicans or Republicrats. All are crooked. Add to that the drugs, legal and illegal that we piss down the toilets into our lakes and rivers. And the soap and fertilizers and industrial solvents. No filter made can fix it. RO water is a good starting point. Distilled is better. Voting All the rascals and thieves out would be even better.

 

[Colin_T]

I am considering to let my fish go. I think he might prefer the Great Nature,

Releasing aquarium fish into the wild is not a good thing to do. They can introduce diseases into the rivers and kill the native fish.

If you got the fish from a pet shop and don't want them any more, take them back to the pet shop.

 

[Jan Cavalieri]

You are right on. Water is not the same as it used to be. Way back in the seventies this country had a collective urge to clean up the mess we made of things. It started that direction and sputtered to a screeching halt. Today the water is worse. Ask anybody from Flint Michigan. Aging deteriorating pipes and crooked businessmen who surreptitiously poison the water with the blessing of our crooked politicians. Those politicians and businessmen are one and the same. Why do you think they want the job so bad? So they can ruin everything legally. I make no distinction between Demopublicans or Republicrats. All are crooked. Add to that the drugs, legal and illegal that we piss down the toilets into our lakes and rivers. And the soap and fertilizers and industrial solvents. No filter made can fix it. RO water is a good starting point. Distilled is better. Voting All the rascals and thieves out would be even better.

Distilled is a really bad idea - all the water nutrients are removed in distilled water. If we (as humans) were to consume nothing but distilled water we would die because the nutrients we need would be pulled from our bodies rather than the water. There ARE certain plants (such as a Venus flytrap) that require distilled water because they can only get their nutrients from the bugs they catch, and Bamboo does better in distilled water because you will never have algae or root rot. But I do not know of ANY animal that can survive on distilled water. Water conditioners you add do not include all the essential nutrients your fish need. RO water is generally OK because as far as I know, it doesn't filter out all the essential nutrients - it's just good clean water.

 

[Jan Cavalieri]

I am considering to let my fish go. I think he might prefer the Great Nature, Thanks! Bro, You let me understand something.

Are you considering letting these fish go because these are wild catfish that you caught and you just want to return them to where you got them or are these catfish you purchased at a pet store (which should never be released into the wild because 1. Tropical catfish will probably die a horrible death or freeze to death. 2.If they live they could compete and over-run the natural wild species. Not cool.

 

[Back in the fold]

Distilled is a really bad idea - all the water nutrients are removed in distilled water. If we (as humans) were to consume nothing but distilled water we would die because the nutrients we need would be pulled from our bodies rather than the water. There ARE certain plants (such as a Venus flytrap) that require distilled water because they can only get their nutrients from the bugs they catch, and Bamboo does better in distilled water because you will never have algae or root rot. But I do not know of ANY animal that can survive on distilled water. Water conditioners you add do not include all the essential nutrients your fish need. RO water is generally OK because as far as I know, it doesn't filter out all the essential nutrients - it's just good clean water.

That's what I thought too. But certain learned men frequenting this forum wised me up.