Re: Newbie Fish Keeper Needs Help With Ulcers
#13
Quote:
marko wrote:
When I filled the pond with tap water I didn;t use any dechloronator as I planned to leave the pond for a few months before stocking anyfish. My local aquarium told me this would be OK as the chlorine will have evaporated, however I have had to top up the pond with tap water directly a couple of times becasue of evaporation and losses.
However thinking about it 4 weeks ago I had to fill up approx 25% of the ponds volume with tap water as my fountain developed a fault and sprayed my pond water onto my flower beds thus empting the pond to the level of the fountian pump, which luckliy happens to be approx 8 inches under the surface.
Is it possible that becasue I used tap water to top up the pond I have somehow casued this problem by weakening the fishes immune systems?
I haven't added anything to the pond for atleast 4 months, the last fish to join the pond was one of ths shubunkins and also has a unlcer on its back, but this fish was the second to last fish to devlop a problem.
Regarding the ph addative my local aquarium sold me it by Interpet and is called ph adjuster for alkaline ponds. I've only added one dose to the water so far, according to the instructions I should add 2 more does in the next 2 days. Should I stop adding this to the water?
OK, you need some dechloronator.
When you filled the pond, there was no bacteria in the filter which is fine (the lfs was right - for once
), but over the weeks, there would have been a build up of bacteria in the filter. Using untreated tapwater kills bacteria - including the good guys. Each time you add untreated water to the pond, you're starting the cycle all over again and your fish have to go through it with the filter. This could actually be the cause of the fish's illnesses.
Secondly, ph adjusters cause the pH to swing, which causes more harm than good. Most fish can adapt to the pH of their water - especially if it's similar to the pH of the lfs or breeder's water. I think fish can cope with a 2 degree pH difference per day, but don't take that as Gospel - hopefully someone more in the know will come along and help with that one. Any more than they can take, and it stresses them out.
T.L