Plain Vanilla Water Conditioner Or Stress Coat?

[ey2006]

Hi, I've always been using the Aquaplus water conditioner by Hagen, but was wondering if the API Stress Coat would be better?

Since I've had no problems with Aquaplus, I'm tempted to stick with it, but the benefit of stress coat is that it does everything Aquaplus does, but also provides aloe vera, now I don't know if this is a good or bad thing.

I've read some negative comments regarding the stress coat on this forum (in an older thread)

Should I continue using Aquaplus, or should I give Stress Coat a go?

The fish seem to be healthy, though I can't tell if they have a coat on their fins!!

I also read that instead of using stress coat as a 2 in 1 (dechlor + aloe vera stress coating), some people have used a normal water conditioner like Aquaplus, and then added Melafix as a tonic, what is the purpose of adding the Melafix?

 

[Dorkhedeos]

i use aquaplus, never tried stresscoat before so i cant tell you anything about it. you shouldnt be able to see their slimecoat unless something is wrong with them. an easy way to tell is to pick your fish up in your hands and see if they are slippery(i dont recommend this because it will stress your fish like heck) not sure about the melafix though. the only time ive heard of people using melafix is when their fish are sick.

 

[BigIan]

if it aint broke don`t fix it......

i use stress coat after a water change to remove meds, as the way i see it of the fishys are ill or already stressed then folowing up the cure with som3ething that is supposedly helpful to there well being can only help.

the rest of the time i just use api tap water conditioner

 

[Iron Man]

Well said Ian.

I've used many different types of conditioners including stress coat and couldn't tell a difference with anything really. As long as you use SOMETHING to dechlorinate AND dechloraminate tap water (always pays to be safe) then you're good to go.

I now use Seachem's Prime which has been excellent and cost effective and I won't ever use anything else.

 

[ey2006]

Thanks for the replies.

If I've always used the Aquaplus water conditioner, would ay harm be done to the fish if I suddenly change to using Stress Coat? The LFS was highly recommended Stress Coat as it does the same job as most water conditioners do, plus it has the "healing power of aloe vera" - not sure if this is just a marketing ploy.

Iron Man, Seachem's Prime doesnt seem to be as popular over here, or so it seems as it is one of the more expensive water conditioners.

 

[morgan]

Hi, I use Stress Coat and Stress Zyme at every water change. Never used anything else and never had any disease in the tank. I can't say whether that's due to the products I use (obviously I do regular proper maintenance) but I'm not changing just in case!

 

[Bignose]

One of Stress Coat's marketing points is that it contains aloe vera. "Nature's bandage" its packaging says. Well, that is true for you or me if you get a minor burn on your hand, but there is no scientific evidence whatsoever that aloe help fish in anyway. Just because it is "natural" does not automatically mean it is good.

As was said above, if your water conditioner does chlorines, chloramines, and heavy metal detoxification, it is sufficient.

Also in no way is it a good idea to "add Melafix as a tonic." Melafix does a very specific job, it is a mild antibacterial medicine. Firstly, you want bacteria in your tank, namely the cycling bacteria. Secondly, no medicine should ever be used, unless you are treating a specific disease. By adding Melafix regularly, all those people are doing are culturing Melafix-resistant strains of the bacteria. Then, when they may need to actually use the melafix, it will be useless since the resistant strains have taken over the tank.

Let me give you a very pertinant example: staph infections. Staph used to be a very benign almost harmless bacterial infection people would get once in a while. Well, in hospitals, where lots of cleaners and antibacterial agents are used everyday, there are strains of staph that are resistant to virtually everything. It is a major concern, you go into the hospital to fix one problem, and then catch a staph infection -- several people die every year from what used to be an almost harmless bacteria. The reason? The rate of evolution of bacteria is far, far greater than the rate of discovery of new antibacterials. And the casual prescription of antibacterials, and yes, the common availablity of antibacterial agents in our soaps and even in Melafix products is contributing to all of these issues. While seemingly unintelligent, bacteria do swap genes with each other, so it is possible that resistances can be transferred from one species to another. Yes, the issues in this paragraph are probably irrelevant compared to a fish tank, but there are much larger issues that must be thought through before casually medicating a tank.

 

[kimmers318]

I have always used stress coat as a tap water conditioner (was on the advice of another store patron, not the store) and had read on the bottle that you can use a higher dosage to help repair damaged fins. My daughters fish showed up with ICK one morning....was new to fish, had no idea what to do, caught an article about using stress coat so I did a water change, dosed the tank, and haven't seen a recurrence of ICK in 5 months, even though they have since been moved to my community tank and there are 2 small clown loaches who are notorious for ICK. When my dwarf puffer munched on fins in community tank, they all healed well with stress coat (of course dp was moved). It has worked for me so I will stick with it. The only thing it didn't help was an internal bacterial infection brought in by a petco fish, so Q tank is being treated for that.

 

[TammyLiz]

Iron Man, Seachem's Prime doesnt seem to be as popular over here, or so it seems as it is one of the more expensive water conditioners.

I don't know where you're located so I don't know how expensive it really is, but I use Prime, too, and would also reccomend it to anyone because its great and saves money. It's a tiny little bottle but it goes a long way. Two drops per US gallon or 4 litres. I have a 1.7 oz. bottle and it treats...drumrole please...500 gallons. Think about it, a bottle holding about as much as a (large) shot , treats 500 gallons. Even if its more expensive, it's really cheaper. I wouldn't reccommend actually trying it, but if you can down 500 gallons worth of water conditioner in one swallow, its got to be cheaper than any of that other stuff.

 

[Tolak]

I've been using Prime for years, it's the best dechlor I've found. I ran into a deal online a while back, split a 2 liter jug with a friend of mine, $15 each.

Check out http/www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/rev-cond.htm for a review of some of the more common water treatments.