Wow, this is hard to believe, I am sorry for your loss. I went years without adding anything to my water when I did water changes. I just recently started adding prime "just in case".
Have you tested your tap water? I think I would be running as many tests as I could think of.
i think i mistook the slime coat thing with an scrape in my semi-panic.
fish are acting normal again. it had to be the chlorine... I don't think prime deactivates soap (and the fact I haven't done any dishes, cleaned anything, or do any laundry, I pretty much woke up. ate, and changed the water)
Wow, this is hard to believe, I am sorry for your loss. I went years without adding anything to my water when I did water changes. I just recently started adding prime "just in case".
Have you tested your tap water? I think I would be running as many tests as I could think of.
I don't really see the point in testing the water.
If the tests show extreme chlorine... what good would that do me? It is my only water supply, i cannot afford any sort of RO unit or buying water or anything of the sort.
I have been using this water for nearly 2 years now and my fish are healthy and grow just fine.
It would let you know not to do any more water changes until your water supply straightens out if it is temporarily messed up. It's better to be using your dirty aquarium water than to do a water change with water that will kill your fish.
ooops Shouldnt affect them that quickly though unless were talking hard core chlorine/chloramine use ... Maybe an ammonia spike from the water source.... And if you have never tested you tap water thats kinda silly.... You gotta know what you are dealing with. Atleast make a call to the water company for a water report thats easy enough right?
FOR INSTANCE
For months I was having a problem and could not ever get my Nitrates below 20 in my tank and finally I tested my tap water and it tested 20 ppm nitrate.... So now that I know what I am working with it makes my life a little easier. (I bought an RO)
Sorry to hear of your troubles. I would like to add that the water supply, if city water, will fluctuate. I've had mine come down the pipe anywhere from 0 NO3 to 40 ppm NO3, I've seen ammonia in it from time to time and I have also seen PO4 off the charts. It's not a bad idea to check it before water changes. They dump chemicals and stuff at the treatment plant along with their general upkeep and sometimes these things come down the pipe. Like I stated earlier I have seen NO3 at 40ppm. Federal guidlines say no more than 30 ppm NO3 if I'm not mistaken. I test before water changes. If I see something weird it's usually gone in a day. Good luck.
My neighbor (who bought my 55 when I upgraded) dropped the water level in his tank, cleaned off "green stuff" with bleach, and then filled it back up. He said all his fish died in 5 minutes. I had even given him a mag-float algae scraper with the tank and explained that algae is natural and easy to scrape off with the mag-float if it gets unsightly.
