(If you’re too lazy to read just skip down to the bottom)
I used to have problems with my silver dollars while doing water changes and nothing ever seemed to work.
I would use my python to take water out and they would be ok but it would only be about mid way through filling the tank back up that my silver dollars would begin to breathe heavy so something was wrong. I believe it was because I do 70-80% water changes along with the fact that I added the prime after all the new water was in that they had problems.
Eventually I got a Rubbermaid trash can and started mixing my water in there then pumping it into the tank. (Thanks Go_redfish for the advice on what pump to get).
Somewhere between realizing something was wrong and getting the trash can I added a strong air pump I had, this will be important later.
Anyway I started emptying the water with my python, filling the trash can, treating the water, then pumping it into the tank. It went well except the silver dollars kept breathing heavy so I began to experiment. Eventually I left the pump running in the trash can letting it circulate the water before I pumped it into the tank and they stopped breathing hard. The water that I was putting into the tank hadn’t been full dechlorinated yet, only partially and the circulating it before pumping it into the tank fixed it.
I thought everything was perfect now. Nope.
I removed my strong air pump and put it on another tank then during my next water change with the silver dollars they began swimming downwards against the glass and just freaking the hell out about 3 times as worse than before.
They no longer were swimming in straight tap water while I waited for the tank to fill up completely before treating it so what was the issue? The issue was the lack of an air pump. As soon as I added another air pump they were perfectly fine the next water change.
Anyone else have this happened to them before?
I read a story on this site about this guy having his bala sharks die because his air pump cut off during a water change so I believe silver dollars are the same but just less sensitive.
Now for those who were too lazy to read here is the short version.
Through my experience with silver dollars I find that they do best (dare I say need?) with an air pump running while in the midst of water changes.
I used to have problems with my silver dollars while doing water changes and nothing ever seemed to work.
I would use my python to take water out and they would be ok but it would only be about mid way through filling the tank back up that my silver dollars would begin to breathe heavy so something was wrong. I believe it was because I do 70-80% water changes along with the fact that I added the prime after all the new water was in that they had problems.
Eventually I got a Rubbermaid trash can and started mixing my water in there then pumping it into the tank. (Thanks Go_redfish for the advice on what pump to get).
Somewhere between realizing something was wrong and getting the trash can I added a strong air pump I had, this will be important later.
Anyway I started emptying the water with my python, filling the trash can, treating the water, then pumping it into the tank. It went well except the silver dollars kept breathing heavy so I began to experiment. Eventually I left the pump running in the trash can letting it circulate the water before I pumped it into the tank and they stopped breathing hard. The water that I was putting into the tank hadn’t been full dechlorinated yet, only partially and the circulating it before pumping it into the tank fixed it.
I thought everything was perfect now. Nope.
I removed my strong air pump and put it on another tank then during my next water change with the silver dollars they began swimming downwards against the glass and just freaking the hell out about 3 times as worse than before.
They no longer were swimming in straight tap water while I waited for the tank to fill up completely before treating it so what was the issue? The issue was the lack of an air pump. As soon as I added another air pump they were perfectly fine the next water change.
Anyone else have this happened to them before?
I read a story on this site about this guy having his bala sharks die because his air pump cut off during a water change so I believe silver dollars are the same but just less sensitive.
Now for those who were too lazy to read here is the short version.
Through my experience with silver dollars I find that they do best (dare I say need?) with an air pump running while in the midst of water changes.