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  1. Does letting water sit remove chlorine? Yes, chlorine is fairly unstable and will gradually evaporate from water. However, many water treatment plants have begun using chloramine instead of chlorine because it is a more stable disinfectant formed by combining ammonia and chlorine. Chloramine cannot be easily removed from water via evaporation and must be neutralized using a dechlorinator. If you are sure your tap water contains chlorine and not chloramine, you can let the water sit for 1-5 days to allow all the chlorine to evaporat...
  2. What does water conditioner do? The main purpose of water conditioners is to break down chlorine and chloramine and make water safe for fish to inhabit. Almost all dechlorinators contain sodium thiosulfate, which reacts to chlorine and chloramine to form harmless byproducts. Sodium thiosulfate looks like rock salt or white powder, and it is often dissolved in water to create liquid dechlorinators. Some water conditioners contain pH buffers, aloe vera to help heal the fish’s slime coats, or extra additives. The Aquarium Co-...
  3. Does dechlorinator remove ammonia? Some of them do, as stated on their packaging. The main reason for this is because when dechlorinators are used to treat chloramine, they only react to the chlorine part of chloramine and not the ammonia part. The remaining ammonia ions left in the water are toxic to fish, so some dechlorinators — such as Aquarium Co-Op Easy Dechlorinator, Fritz Complete Water Conditioner, Seachem Prime, and Kordon AmQuel — contain extra chemicals that temporarily lock up the ammonia into an inert state (i.e....
  4. Can you put too much dechlorinator in your fish tank? With Easy Dechlorinator, you can treat extremely high levels of chloramine, nitrite, or other toxic chemicals by dosing up to 5 times the recommended amount within the span of 24 hours. This is a very large range that allows much room for error. Just keep in mind that potent concentrations of dechlorinator will quickly reduce the amount of dissolved oxygen, so it may be best to add an air stone for the next 3-4 hours to increase oxygenation in the water. For more information, read the full ar...
  5. Is dechlorinator harmful to fish? Generally speaking, no. However, there are some rare, one-off cases where it could be potentially dangerous. The reducing agents in dechlorinator use up oxygen when removing chlorine from the water, and this reaction could be hazardous in poorly oxygenated tanks. For instance, goldfish and discus aquariums can require huge 90% water changes. If you are using water with low oxygen content, adding lots of dechlorinator will further deplete the available oxygen, which can potentially suffocate y...
  6. Will dechlorinator remove bleach? Yes, water conditioners like Easy Dechlorinator will react to the chlorine in bleach to neutralize it more quickly. The amount of dechlorinator needed depends on the amount and concentration of bleach used. As a starting point, see the directions for neutralizing Purigen chemical filtration media after it has been soaking in a bleach solution. For more information, read the full article on dechlorinators.
  7. How long does it take for dechlorinator to work? Since it takes about 2-5 minutes for chlorine and chloramine to be neutralized, many companies officially state that you should dose the dechlorinator to the tap water in a separate container before adding the water to the aquarium. That being said, we always add the water conditioner directly to the aquarium and then pour in fresh tap water, and there have never been any problems in our experience. For more information, read the full article on dechlorinators.
  8. How to treat stress ich A fish with ich tends to look like it has tiny crystals on its body, like someone sprinkled salt on it. We tend to notice ich on the fins first since there’s less slime coat in those areas and it’s easier for the parasite to target. Other symptoms may include loss of appetite, rapid breathing, fish rubbing their bodies against surfaces, lethargy, and hiding behavior. If your fish has ich that comes from an external parasite, you will see five spots today and then maybe 35 spots tomorrow. Howe...
  9. Why does my fish keep keep glass surfing? “Glass surfing” is when a fish – such as betta fish, gouramis, and cichlids – repeatedly swims up and down along the tank walls. It could be caused by stress, boredom, defense of territory, and other reasons. While there is no guaranteed cure for this behavior, many hobbyists have tried covering or painting the tank walls in black to reduce reflection, increasing flow with a powerhead, decreasing flow with a sponge filter, blocking their favorite corner with tall decorations or plants, adding...
  10. What do puffers eat? Most puffer fish have four, continually growing teeth in the front of their mouths that form a “beak,” enabling them to chomp through the hard shells of crustaceans and mollusks. To prevent their teeth from becoming too long, you must grind them down by feeding all sorts of crunchy foods, such as bladder snails, ramshorn snails, freeze-drilled krill, clams, and oysters. While it may take a bit of training, some hobbyists have successfully fed Repashy gel food mixed with crushed oyster shells ...
  11. How do you clip a pufferfish’s teeth? If the hard foods are not filing down their beaks enough, your puffer’s teeth may become so overgrown that they can no longer properly eat. To prevent them from starving, you need to clip the tips of their teeth using a pair of sharp cuticle trimmers. Do your research to find out which method works best for you, but a common technique is to add 2-4 drops of clove oil per 1 liter (about 4.25 cups) of water. Add the puffer into the mild anesthetic solution and it should become sedated within a ...
  12. How do you deworm a puffer? Pufferfish are especially prone to internal parasites like tapeworms, but the dewormers only get rid of adult worms and do not affect unhatched eggs. Therefore, you must apply multiple deworming treatments to ensure all the eggs have hatched and are eliminated. For our personal puffers, we treat them with the quarantine medication trio and then wait two weeks. Next we follow up with a 5-day treatment of Fritz ParaCleanse (using the instructions on the box) and then wait a month. Afterwards, w...
  13. What are catappa leaves? Indian almond leaves (IAL) or catappa leaves come from Terminalia catappa, a tree that originates from Asia and Oceania but now grows in tropical and subtropical regions all over the world. Its fruit seeds taste similar to almonds, and its leaves are commonly used in herbal teas and traditional medicines. When you drop a dried catappa leaf into your aquarium water, the leaf begins to slowly decompose and produce tannins, which are plant-based compounds that gradually lower the pH and stain th...
  14. When should I replace the catappa leaves? Most leaves last about one to two months until they break down completely. Once you start seeing holes develop in the first leaf, add a second leaf to give it time to start breaking down and releasing tannins. For more details on the benefits of catappa leaves, read our full article.
  15. Do I need a power head? A powerhead is simply a submersible water pump that sucks in water from the input and sprays out a powerful stream of water from the output. This device can be used to speed up water changes, create your own DIY filtration, and of course boost water circulation in your aquarium. Water circulation is commonly discussed in the saltwater aquarium hobby in order to imitate the movement of waves, but not having enough flow can also be a problem in freshwater setups. Fish tanks (especially large on...
  16. Where should I place my powerheads? Locate the dead spots in your aquarium by observing where debris is collecting the most or if blue-green algae is growing in certain areas. Using a power head can help disperse the decaying organics in those stagnant regions so that they get sucked up by the filter, thus making your water clearer overall. If your heater has a “low flow” indicator that constantly goes off, consider putting the power head near it so that the heated water can spread throughout the rest of the fish tank and elimi...