Water conditioner advice needed

[desley]

I went to the lfs to get some other stuff and the guy there says that instead of using salt (which I use to a lower degree as directed unless I have problems) .. he said I should use water conditioner.

It is like a light blue coloured powder with all sorts of salts and minerals for tropical fish. It seems to have a small amount of that medication (can't remember the name) ... met blue ?? It doesn't list it on my bag but on-line shops that sell a similar item .. has this ingredient listed. Is does turn the water slightly blue.

I have guppies, platties and 1 danio.

Should I use this water conditioner or continue using salt ... usually mostly when problems arise.

 

[Phantom Thief]

I use neither, and i have no problems.

P.T.

 

[desley]

thanks for the quick response.

I might just stick to using salt when problems arise.

More opinions would be appreciated.

thanks

 

[yvez9]

i find that most often, natural methods work best at fighting minor diseases.

Regular water changes and sometimes adding a bit of salt will clear up fungus or illness. I wouldn't buy the expensive stuff, the guy was probably just trying to make a buck of you

 

[black angel]

it would have contained methylene blue which can reduce the toxicity of nitrites and treats protozoan diseases and fungus and may kill any living plants though it sounds like it isnt in a high dose.
you should really only use it if your nitrites are climbing or you have anything wrong with the fish.

 

[steelhealr]

Hi..I second Yvez' reply. Water changes. Avoid any chemicals unless needed to treat disease. Salt is a personal decision based on your inhabitants. Water conditioner with water changes. Good luck. SH

 

[desley]

Hi and thanks again.

What water conditioner do you recommend with water changes?

If I use RO water (which I have but haven't been using) ... do I need to add anything to that for the tropical fish ?

 

[yvez9]

with RO water, you will need some sort of buffer to add the minreals required by the fish. these are quite expensive and unless there is something really wrong with your tap water then it is not necessary.

If you can drink the water, it's probably safe for tropical fish after adding dechlorinator.
I use AquaPlus by Hagen or Big Al's multi-purpose conditionner.

Just slowly acclimate any new fish (take as long as you can, i sometimes take 3-4 hours)
Most fish will do fine in most water conditions as long as they are stable.

Using RO water and adding buffers to it will only make the water parameters unstable. Unless you know exactly what you are doing, don't do it!

 

[steelhealr]

Hi...I use Tetra's product for water conditioning. It's about 1 tsp per 10 gallons. Haven't had any problems with it so far. SH

http/www.tetra-fish.com/catalog/product.aspx?id=73