Help - Forgot water conditioner on Cichlid Tank

[gplundberg]

I did an absolute stupid move by doing a 100% water change in my Acei's growout tank and I forgot to put water conditioner in. The chicilid was only in it for 20-30 minutes before I put in the conditioner. He is at the bottom breathing very heavily. I know he will be damaged but can he have a decent recovery. Thanks!

Here is what he looks like

 

[FishBoy185]

If you give him some time he might recover, but if you don't have a cycled tank I really cant see him making it.

 

[chevypride]

I never put conditioner in my tanks. Put him in a cycled tank and he should be okay.

 

[SonicsDC25]

I never put conditioner in my tanks. Put him in a cycled tank and he should be okay.

Where does the water come from when you're re-filling your tank when you're doing a PWC? Without conditioner, you're pretty much killing off some BB if you're using tap water, so having a cycled tank, like you suggested, becomes more difficult.

 

[chevypride]

My tank has been set up for over a year now. And yes, I just use tap water. It hasn't been a problem, water parameters are always perfect.

 

[SonicsDC25]

Having your water parameters in check is only a personal experience, you could have a low stock or very good filtration; whereas someone else who is the exact opposite would get ammonia spikes due to loss of BB if they were advised to not use conditioner. In addition, any leftover chlorine or chloramine is harmful for the fish as well, it may not be an immediate impact since there usually isn't a high amount in your tap (though some places around the world does get high readings), but nonetheless it's killing off cells in their gills and could lead to health problems later on. So IMO, better safe than sorry and use conditioner.

 

[chevypride]

I never advised him not to. I just said I don't use it, so after not using it one time his fish should be fine, as long as he gets it into a cycled tank.

 

[jwh0818]

I did an absolute stupid move by doing a 100% water change in my Acei's growout tank and I forgot to put water conditioner in. The chicilid was only in it for 20-30 minutes before I put in the conditioner. He is at the bottom breathing very heavily. I know he will be damaged but can he have a decent recovery. Thanks!

Add some stress zyme to get him moving along or salt. 1tbsp per 5g

 

[SonicsDC25]

You didn't advise it, but it pretty much implied that having no conditioner is fine. Not trying to start anything, but just saying it could be misleading for anyone who is relatively new to the hobby.

Anyways, as mentioned, put a bit of stress zyme into the tank. If your tank is already cycled, it should be fine by now since you added conditioner. He should be able to survive, but hard to really tell since curing damaged cells in the gills isn't something done overnight. Could also just be stress, so could be nothing at all for the most part. Best wishes though!

 

[Wy Renegade]

I never advised him not to. I just said I don't use it, so after not using it one time his fish should be fine, as long as he gets it into a cycled tank.

That is totally dependent upon a number of factors regarding the source water, including chlorination levels, TDS levels, and nutrient levels. Just because it works for you with your source water does not mean it will work for everyone.

 

[Fishdude3233]

wait are we talking about conditioner or prime?

 

[gplundberg]

He is in a cycled tank

 

[Wy Renegade]

He is in a cycled tank

Not if you added chlorinated tap water and killed off your beneficial bacteria he isn't . You really do need to clarify what you mean by "conditioner". If it was a dechlorinator of some sort, like Prime, then you will need to test nutrient levels and do water changes until the bacteria reestablish. If you are talking about a conditioner that adjusts your water chemistry, then it really should be no real big deal, unless you suddenly added a whole bunch at once and majorly changed the water chemistry.

 

[gplundberg]

It was something like prime

 

[gplundberg]

He seems to be doing ok he is still at the bottom but he is eating if I hand feed him and sometimes swims around but not for long

 

[Wy Renegade]

You'll need to be checking water parameters and doing large scale water changes until you reestablish your beneficial bacteria colonies. Do not allow ammonia levels to get too high ~ just like you are doing a mini fish in cycle

 

[ivan2020]

My tank has been set up for over a year now. And yes, I just use tap water. It hasn't been a problem, water parameters are always perfect.

Is it city water ?

 

[ivan2020]

Never ever do a 100 water change do 50 max 75 while cycling you can use prime to reduce ammonia

 

[chevypride]

Is it city water ?

Yes it is city water.

 

[ivan2020]

Wow that's weird cuz city water contains chorine which is deadly to fishes