Always use dechlorinator

[magic]

I forgot to and i lost all of my brichardi cichlids. Also dont add too much cold water at a time...

 

[redtailfool]

Yeah. Play it safe. Its so cheap that its not worth risking if you have municipal water.

 

[toxicfish]

cheaper than the loss of fish $$$$

 

[bluedempsey]

 

[nick]

i do 35-40 percent water changes every 3 days without dechlor


do my plants have anythign to do with this? i know its a nasty habit but it started a year ago and now i dont see the purpose in buying bottle after bottle

 

[piranha45]

I forgot to and i lost all of my brichardi cichlids. Also dont add too much cold water at a time...

did your fish die instantly or over the course of a week? if it was during the same day, then I suspect it was the change in temperature, as like Nick I've changed my water without dechlor many times before with no fish losses. Dechlor is used so that your biological filtration isn't killed off, which results in an ammonia spike which results in dead fish.

 

[nick]

its important to amtch the tank temp with water temp or a little higher

if the tank fluctuates more then 10 degrees colder then you should see some temperature shock and even loss of fish

 

[bluedempsey]

most of the time i never use dechlorinator
never had any problems.......
but you never know
it's a gamble

 

[nick]

perhaps its the temp or lots of chlorine


maybe its due to your area as well

 

[iheartfishies]

I thought dechlor was beacuse chlorine could burn and harm your fish.
Same thing with chloramine.

P.S I have a 29 with mixed africans and I've always used water straight from outside, with the temp jumping from 80 in the tank to...reaching well below 50 degress, and never lost a fish from it. I'm guessing I'm just lucky?