Hi,I don't know if the fish need any additions to their slime coat, seems like making more slime is a sign of irritation. I don't know, I just don't trust any company offering remedies for conditions I am not aware exist. I do see a need for slime coat protection if you are physically handling a large fish to do some vet procedure on it but my tetras or rasboras, I don't know if they need anything like that. Don't know if my fish are any better off than anyone elses though. I use salt in all my tanks though, it's supposed to help with the osmotic functions of various membranes including the gills leading to reduced stress and seems to keep ich and oodinium down. I use a 12 gallon bin to age water with 4 tbsp pure salt (pickling salt, which has no anti clumping agents) and 1 tsp marine aquarium salt for added minerals. My tap water is very soft/acid and the minerals help both fry and plants. If you are on a hard water system that would be unnecessary. Lately I have been adding some harder water fish to the fishroom and making up a bin with 4 tsp marine salt and a tbsp of cichlid salt from The Cichlid Exchange in Portland. It's an experiment really, all my guppies and endlers were coming out female so thought I would play with minerals and temp and see if I can get the ratio improved. Anyone have feedback on that? The genetics of sex determination in livebearers are really weird, it's not an XX or XY thing, it's a YY, WX, WY etc weird thing where three different combos produce females and two produce males. So what makes a swordtail a girl or a boy? According to various universities it makes a great thesis project as nobody really knows... I found a funny site parodying all the miracle products in various fish stores/websites. You would not believe some of the stuff that gets pushed down the throats of people. We had a guy send us hundreds of dollars in miracle products from Texas. We didn't order but signed for them so he threatened to sue if we didn't pay. Promised to add beneficial bacteria to marine and freshwater tanks and eliminate losses. Tried it and lost whole tanks of fish. It has a lot of debris in it and is light brown, no ingredients are listed except "Bacteria". This stuff is garbage, and there is a lot of garbage on the market so I try and keep it simple. Neutralize the chlorine, add known ingredients like salt and minerals, and lay off the sauce. This is the site with the parody, also has some funny puns at the end, or should I say "finny" puns:
http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Hangar/6279/ComicFunnyStories.html Kate Trish wrote:
Amquel has come out with something new Calked "Amquel Plus" this is what smells really bad. The regular "Amquel" which now I have found only from Dr Foster and Smith, and only in 1 gal size, doesn't smell bad. The Amqel Plus has other added bacteria, which says it is benificial to your fish....well it killed mine. So I am back to regular Amquel....have been using it for 6 years, no problems. No Kate, do you use anything for slime coat as well? Like Nov Aqua? Which goes with the Amquel.....LOL Trish PS How large does this Beckett product come? Also do you know the price? --- Kate Breimayer <kate@munat.com> wrote:I personally hate amquel, wouldn't recommend it. Iuse a pond dechlorinator from Home despot. If you are using chlorinated water the chemical that neutralizes it is very cheap and easily available and there is no reason you should have to use high doses of any product or extra ingredients to achieve the aim of neutralizing, and pond products are 2 to 4 times as concentrated as those for aquariums, come in bigger bottles for the same price, and have identical ingredients in most cases. Some of the products out there can be dangerous in some peoples' hands, especially those that use amquel instead of doing water changes (because it says on the bottle "removes ammonia, nitrite and nitrate" which has never been my experience.) Also Amquelsmells really bad. PAT is good. According to a Jemco.com many cities are beingrequired by federal law to switch to chloramine which is more difficult to remove, you will need a special neutralizer for that. If they do it they are not required to tell you, scary, or it might be in the paper but if you don't read the news... bad deal.I age most of my water 2 days to allow gasses toescape, temp to rise, and chlorine to dissipate. I only use cold water since supposedly it has less dissolved metals/contaminants. I don't have space to age water for the really large tanks, hence the use of the Home Despot product. The Home Depot stuff is by "Beckett" and I have not had any problems with it, let me know if anyone knows bad things about it! I see it also works on chloramine so I am covered far as that goes. It doesn't list ingredients but does say it removes some heavy metals. Guess we wouldn't know would we?Congrats on the python, no sense herniating discsover a simple water change! The cost of the python is quickly recouped in cancelled trips to massage and chiropractic specialists! :) Not to mention expensive physical therapy...Kate Stewart, Jeffrey wrote:I think I'm using Amquel currently, and I add it inas I'm refilling. I figure out approximately how much I need to add and then add it in thirds as the tank slowly tops off.Your back will thank you for getting the python...Jeff Stewart -----Original Message----- From: gsas-member-bounces@thekrib.com[mailto:gsas-member-bounces@thekrib.com] On Behalf Of A JACOBSONrather, my back is aboutSent: Monday, December 06, 2004 12:55 PM To: gsas-member@thekrib.com Subject: [GSAS-Member] Using a Python So, I'm about to break down and buy a python -- orto break down, so I'm going to buy a python to saveit.do about dechlorination.I have Seattle tap water, and need to know what tooff what I'm not going toDo I add the agent to the tank after I've siphoneduntil I've added all theuse, but before I add the new water? Or do I waitfor their water changewater, and then add the agent? Also, want to know what people are personally usingam unsure if one isdechlorinator. I have P.A.T. and Stress Coat, butsuperior to the other. Thanks, Anita _______________________________________________ GSAS-Member mailing list GSAS-Member@thekrib.comhttp://lists.thekrib.com/mailman/listinfo/gsas-member_______________________________________________ GSAS-Member mailing list GSAS-Member@thekrib.comhttp://lists.thekrib.com/mailman/listinfo/gsas-member_______________________________________________ GSAS-Member mailing list GSAS-Member@thekrib.comhttp://lists.thekrib.com/mailman/listinfo/gsas-member__________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail - Find what you need with new enhanced search.http://info.mail.yahoo.com/mail_250 _______________________________________________ GSAS-Member mailing list GSAS-Member@thekrib.com http://lists.thekrib.com/mailman/listinfo/gsas-member
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