New food 2.0.

[FishGuest5123]

Contents of water conditioners Many water conditioners are commercially available, but some are formulated only to dechlorinate water and/or bind heavy metals. These conditioners use dechlorinating agents such as sodium thiosulfate and ascorbic acid, chelating (metal binding) agents such as ethylenedianinetetra acetic acid (EDTA), and buffering agents such as tris (hydroxymethyl) aminomethane that restore acid–base balance. Water additives that form a protective ‘‘slime layer’’ will contain a polymer (often PVP or carboxymethyl cellulose [CMC]) or colloid (Table 2). Some additives contain aloe extract from leaves of the Aloe vera plant. Manufacturers of these products claim that the Aloe vera extract promotes healing of damaged tissue. One potential drawback to water additives that contain Aloe vera extract or CMC is the addition of organic waste load that can reduce the water quality and oxygen levels in a closed system. This may not be an issue, depending on the density of fish, length of time fish are held, and oxygen content of the water. However, the effects of these substances on gill tissue are unclear. Taiwo et al. (2005) tested the survival and behavior of tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) exposed to different concentrations of aqueous extract of A. vera for up to 96 h. One hundred percent of tilapia exposed to 50 ppm A. vera died within the duration of the experiment. Fish used in this experiment exhibited severe depigmentation and destruction of organs (including gills). The evidence of the toxic effects of A. vera on fish solidifies the need to empirically test water conditioners, and their chemical components, for potential negative effects on fish.

Link to article

https://waterpower.pnnl.gov/jsats/pdf/Harnish_et_al_2011_Water_Conditioners.pdf

I think thats it, but @Byron might know of other sources.

Thanks but this one is particularly targeted Stress Coat.

 

[squidneh]

My bettas love the Fluval Bug Bites. Small size will be perfect, I was recommended the medium size and only my "king sized" bettas can really eat them, my smaller betta I have to sort through to find the smaller pieces. I like to have frozen brine shrimp in the freezer as well. Easy to defrost in a cup of warm water and feed.

 

[Byron]

On the water conditioners.

Post #13 cited verbatim from the scientific study on the effects of aloe vera, and provides a link to the paper. This is scientific fact, not bologna. Here it may help to give an analogy. One can say that smoking causes cancer and other health problems which can lead to death. This is scientific fact. Arguing that because person "x" smoked all their life with no cancer issues it is safe to smoke is not refuting the scientific fact, merely ignoring it. Aloe vera over time does damage fish gills, and destroys internal organs. Scientific fact determined by studies.

One must remember the cumulative effective of all stress-causing issues. Substances added to the water can get inside the fish, and cause stress. This weakens fish. One year or two years from now when the Betta suddenly develops "y" and dies, it is just as likely the use of the aloe vera contributes to that death as not. Every living organism has a complex thread of biological and physiological processes that keep the organism alive and allow it to function properly. As soon as you begin to impact one of those processes, you can have a chain reaction leading to some other issue that itself may kill the organism. Every facet of the fish's physiology is linked.

Chloramine. If a conditioner claims to detoxify chloramine, it probably does. I have not delved into differences because I doo not have this issue to deal with, but given that the API Tap Water Conditioner is at the top of the list for overall effective benefits I would not look beyond that. If all you need to detoxify is chlorine and chloramine (your water supply) there is frankly none better, simply because it is concentrated so less is needed, and it does not mess with anything else (as Prime does). Heavy metals are handled by most conditioners, and cannot hurt. But anything beyond this is "extra" and unless it is necessary (given the water source) it is best avoided.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Prime and Bug Bites should get here in 2-3 days! The Betta Buffet did not have Amazon Prime, so it will be here in 2-4 days.

I ended up getting a three pack of the Bug Bites, because it was cheaper in the long run. (Originally $13 for one, and I got three for $19.99)

So can I freeze the other two bottles until i need them?

I'm hoping this new food, will make my betta more healthy/happy.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

All foods have come in and are working well so far!

The bug bites were unexpected - I thought they were small flakes, they are actually small pellets. (Not suitable for neon tetras, perfect for bettas though)

Haven’t tried the buffet yet. (I’m on a mini vacation. )

 

[The Lumpfish Guy]

This is scientific fact, not bologna.

While byron isn't wrong.
It is important to remember there is no such thing as a science fact. Wording such as this encourages peoples arguments against things like evolution (eg. as only a theory). And in a more applicable case that this data is unchangeable and therefore can be wrong, leading to a mistrust of expert data (eg. experts were wrong about covid).
As science aims to prove itself wrong, it takes one "wrong" finding to alter our understanding.
Eg. If studies find "all crows are black" it only takes finding one crow which is not black to change our understanding.

 

[itiwhetu]

Contents of water conditioners Many water conditioners are commercially available, but some are formulated only to dechlorinate water and/or bind heavy metals. These conditioners use dechlorinating agents such as sodium thiosulfate and ascorbic acid, chelating (metal binding) agents such as ethylenedianinetetra acetic acid (EDTA), and buffering agents such as tris (hydroxymethyl) aminomethane that restore acid–base balance. Water additives that form a protective ‘‘slime layer’’ will contain a polymer (often PVP or carboxymethyl cellulose [CMC]) or colloid (Table 2). Some additives contain aloe extract from leaves of the Aloe vera plant. Manufacturers of these products claim that the Aloe vera extract promotes healing of damaged tissue. One potential drawback to water additives that contain Aloe vera extract or CMC is the addition of organic waste load that can reduce the water quality and oxygen levels in a closed system. This may not be an issue, depending on the density of fish, length of time fish are held, and oxygen content of the water. However, the effects of these substances on gill tissue are unclear. Taiwo et al. (2005) tested the survival and behavior of tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) exposed to different concentrations of aqueous extract of A. vera for up to 96 h. One hundred percent of tilapia exposed to 50 ppm A. vera died within the duration of the experiment. Fish used in this experiment exhibited severe depigmentation and destruction of organs (including gills). The evidence of the toxic effects of A. vera on fish solidifies the need to empirically test water conditioners, and their chemical components, for potential negative effects on fish.

Link to article

https://waterpower.pnnl.gov/jsats/pdf/Harnish_et_al_2011_Water_Conditioners.pdf

I think thats it, but @Byron might know of other sources.

Good stuff

 

[itiwhetu]

On the water conditioners.

Post #13 cited verbatim from the scientific study on the effects of aloe vera, and provides a link to the paper. This is scientific fact, not bologna. Here it may help to give an analogy. One can say that smoking causes cancer and other health problems which can lead to death. This is scientific fact. Arguing that because person "x" smoked all their life with no cancer issues it is safe to smoke is not refuting the scientific fact, merely ignoring it. Aloe vera over time does damage fish gills, and destroys internal organs. Scientific fact determined by studies.

One must remember the cumulative effective of all stress-causing issues. Substances added to the water can get inside the fish, and cause stress. This weakens fish. One year or two years from now when the Betta suddenly develops "y" and dies, it is just as likely the use of the aloe vera contributes to that death as not. Every living organism has a complex thread of biological and physiological processes that keep the organism alive and allow it to function properly. As soon as you begin to impact one of those processes, you can have a chain reaction leading to some other issue that itself may kill the organism. Every facet of the fish's physiology is linked.

Chloramine. If a conditioner claims to detoxify chloramine, it probably does. I have not delved into differences because I doo not have this issue to deal with, but given that the API Tap Water Conditioner is at the top of the list for overall effective benefits I would not look beyond that. If all you need to detoxify is chlorine and chloramine (your water supply) there is frankly none better, simply because it is concentrated so less is needed, and it does not mess with anything else (as Prime does). Heavy metals are handled by most conditioners, and cannot hurt. But anything beyond this is "extra" and unless it is necessary (given the water source) it is best avoided.

Good Stuff, interesting