Seachem Prime Smells Off? Do I Use It?

[Katty]

Now let me first say I am 100% familiar with the characteristic sulfury farty rotten egg smell Prime tends to have.. But this is something else entirely. I'm in the middle of a water change and I opened up my less than a year old bottle of prime and it smells like fish and rotten garbage. Nothing like how it smelled a week ago. My tank is now half empty and I need to know if I should either just fill it up with this weird stinky prime or run to the store and get more.

 

[Ch4rlie]

I have used Prime for a while now. 
 
Its does stink have to say! 
 
But if the smell really is different, then may not be worth the risk.
 
A new bottle might be best just in case.

 

[thefishnoob]

Oops never mind

 

[Katty]

No, its not a sulfur smell. It used to smell like sulfur but now it smells like rotten garbage fish feet.

 

[thefishnoob]

Yeah> Sorry I caught that.
 
I would say a new bottle!

 

[Ninjouzata]

I agree with tfn & Ch4rlie. Better safe than sorry!

 

[Katty]

Thanks guys, gonna head to the store now for some more . One of my fish has the beginnings of finrot, I don't want to make it worse with some musty dechlorinator.
 
One downside to buying the giant bottle is now I gotta throw it all away

 

[Ninjouzata]

I wonder if you could bring it to the LFS you got it at and they'd refund you? It is a shame to have to throw it all away. I know it's not cheap.

 

[Alasse]

Prime stinks like nothing i have ever smelt before lol
 
It should have a used by date on it

 

[Katty]

One last update; I got a new bottle... Comparatively, the light sulfur smell of the new one is almost pleasant! Smells totally different than whatever rank nastiness was going on with the old one. It kinda smells like it had fermented or something.
 
I might email Seachem and ask about it and see if maybe it was a bad batch, though I suspect they'll probably just tell me 'Of course it's stinky'.

 

[RCA]

I was going to suggest emailing them, they maybe able to tell you what happens as it ages.

 

[Katty]

Got a response back from Prime:
 

Thank you for your email. As you know Prime has a very distinct sulfur smell. It is normal for the odor to vary from batch to batch. Some newer batches will have little to no odor at first, but the more times they are opened, the stronger it will get. Your Prime is perfectly safe to use.
 

 

 

[Ch4rlie]

Oh, thats interesting!
 
Did not expect that really.
 
Thanks for sharing.

 

[l_l_l]

It smells really bad indeed!
I still use mine even tho it smells like rotten eggs and my fish are showing me that they don't mind!