I just got some fish and the transition from store to home wasn't great for them. I have heard that API Stresscoat helps fish when they are being transported or settling into an aquarium. Is this true and are there any better ones for this use?
Does Stresscoat work for helping newly moved fish?
- Thread starter Justepic
- Start date
Supposed to help with stressed fish. I don’t use it anymore but if u give some time to ur fish, clean water etc. It should recover. Won’t hurt to use it.
I think its a good practice. I dont know how much science is behind it, but ive seen it used by enough knowledgeable keepers and vendors to at least bear some credence.
I use it when I sell fish. I’ll add a little to the water I put in the bag. I can’t say for sure it does anything or that it’s truly necessary, but it doesn’t hurt to use it.
SeaChem's StressGuard is apparently the most popular slimecoat enhancer product in my area. It's almost always sold out at the LFS's. Seachem claims StressGuard acts like a disinfectant & aids in healing abrasions. I typically don't use slimecoat enhancers in my tanks, but certainly not against their use.
Yep, doing water changes everyday since it's half term and quarantine. Getting better.
Do you live in my area? Because I looked in Amazon and there is none available except for a pack of 25. Oof
Based on responses I think I will get a 150 ml of stresscoat bottle and hope it helps. The info says it has aloe vera which reduces the stress for fish.
Never used it, and see no reason to. I don't know a single exporter or importer that has used it either, not with 10's of thousands of $$$ in fish being moved sometimes thousands of miles. IMO slime coat enhancers are a gimmicky waste of money.
A pinch of salt (sodium chloride) for those species that are not salt sensitive will assist in osmoregulatory shock, and is what most professionals use to reduce stress in shipments of fish.
A pinch of salt (sodium chloride) for those species that are not salt sensitive will assist in osmoregulatory shock, and is what most professionals use to reduce stress in shipments of fish.
Osmoregulation in fish - Veterinary Clinics: Exotic Animal Practice
"It has long been known that survival rates of handled and/or transported cold- or warmwater fish in aquaculture could be substantially increased by simply adding NaCl at 0.5–1.0% (5–10 g/L) to the tank water [34]. These levels of NaCl are nearly isotonic (0.5%) to hypertonic (1.0%) to blood. Among the ornamental species, levels of 0.5%+ NaCl may be appropriate for African rift lake cichlids; but for species from soft, acidic waters, prolonged NaCl immersion baths should not exceed 0.4% (=4 ppt or 4 g/L). This recommendation is based upon a study in the classic “blackwater” species, the Neon Tetra (Paracheirodon innesi), which demonstrated that at salinity levels of 0.5% (5 g/L) using dilute seawater, growth and gonadal maturation were retarded [35]. Interestingly, growth and gonadal maturation were not adversely affected at a salinity of 5 g/L if calcium-deficient seawater was used [35]. Furthermore, at levels of 0.75% (7.5 g/L) using dilute seawater, fatalities were observed in Paracheirodon innesi. A study with Corydoras aeneus demonstrated that this anecdotally labeled “salt intolerant” genus tolerated long-term immersion in sodium chloride solutions at concentrations of 1–2 g/L. [36]. In water of low hardness and/or conductivity, more complex salt formulations seem to work even better in mitigating stress and reducing fish mortality [34]. Such complex formulations might include NaCl, CaCl2, Na2SO4, NaHCO3, KCl, MgSO4, K3PO4, or sea salts. An added benefit of prolonged immersion in low salinity (1–4 ppt) salt baths is the prevention of both freshwater “velvet” disease (Piscinoodinium limneticum) and freshwater white spot disease or “Ich” (Ichthyophthirius multifiliis) [20]. There is additional evidence that suggests that salt formulations can also mitigate other adverse physiologic changes such as metabolic acidosis [37], and the hyperglycemia and hypercortisolemia that occurs in transported salmonid species [34]."
"It has long been known that survival rates of handled and/or transported cold- or warmwater fish in aquaculture could be substantially increased by simply adding NaCl at 0.5–1.0% (5–10 g/L) to the tank water [34]. These levels of NaCl are nearly isotonic (0.5%) to hypertonic (1.0%) to blood. Among the ornamental species, levels of 0.5%+ NaCl may be appropriate for African rift lake cichlids; but for species from soft, acidic waters, prolonged NaCl immersion baths should not exceed 0.4% (=4 ppt or 4 g/L). This recommendation is based upon a study in the classic “blackwater” species, the Neon Tetra (Paracheirodon innesi), which demonstrated that at salinity levels of 0.5% (5 g/L) using dilute seawater, growth and gonadal maturation were retarded [35]. Interestingly, growth and gonadal maturation were not adversely affected at a salinity of 5 g/L if calcium-deficient seawater was used [35]. Furthermore, at levels of 0.75% (7.5 g/L) using dilute seawater, fatalities were observed in Paracheirodon innesi. A study with Corydoras aeneus demonstrated that this anecdotally labeled “salt intolerant” genus tolerated long-term immersion in sodium chloride solutions at concentrations of 1–2 g/L. [36]. In water of low hardness and/or conductivity, more complex salt formulations seem to work even better in mitigating stress and reducing fish mortality [34]. Such complex formulations might include NaCl, CaCl2, Na2SO4, NaHCO3, KCl, MgSO4, K3PO4, or sea salts. An added benefit of prolonged immersion in low salinity (1–4 ppt) salt baths is the prevention of both freshwater “velvet” disease (Piscinoodinium limneticum) and freshwater white spot disease or “Ich” (Ichthyophthirius multifiliis) [20]. There is additional evidence that suggests that salt formulations can also mitigate other adverse physiologic changes such as metabolic acidosis [37], and the hyperglycemia and hypercortisolemia that occurs in transported salmonid species [34]."
That was very interesting to read. I'd be better of and buying some aquarium salt and adding about 2g/l to the quarantine tank.
Do you know why salt is so helpful to fish? I have heard that it reduces the impact of nitrate and helps build up their smile coat.
Do you know why salt is so helpful to fish? I have heard that it reduces the impact of nitrate and helps build up their smile coat.