PWC: is it nessecary?

[tsk5035]

So I have a 38 gallon tank with guppies; there's about 20 sexually mature adults and anywhere from 30-50 babies/juviniles..

And I don't ever change the water!? Due to evaporation, I have to add about 2 gallons of water a week. I haven't had a fish die in over 2 months (when I first began stocking it), all the fish are active and healthy!

So is it like wierd that I don't do PWC?

 

[Jason7894561230]

Well you should because it clears the water and gets rid of Nitrates. Clean water is always good, so when you add more water just take a little out

 

[Deep Seven]

In most freshwater systems nitrates will build over time. At 50ppm nitrates can do short term damage to your fish. At 100ppm nitrates can do permanent damage to your fish. Most fish can handle higher nitrates if acclimitized slowly, but it's not good for your fish, and new fish added with nitrates above 100ppm will have a higher death rate.

 

[tyspot1000]

+1

The point of a water change is to change some existing water from the tank, and replacing it with new water. Like said, it removes building nitrates. I would recommend to start doing them once a week, it will benefit the fish

 

[mudraker]

You will have problems eventually for sure. Do them and yourself a favor and do a water change at least once in awhile.

 

[Love_MyFish]

You will have problems eventually for sure. Do them and yourself a favor and do a water change at least once in awhile.

Agree

 

[Pvtdgrif]

I'm guessing that if you don't do water changes then you probably don't have a test kit. If you don't, you may want to at least buy or borrow a nitrAte test kit to check the levels. Then you will have an indication at to whether you are slowly killing your fish.

Also, there is a clue in the name - they call them freshwater fish not stagnant pool fish!

Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium

 

[mfdrookie516]

So is it like wierd that I don't do PWC?

It is not weird, it is completely irresponsible

 

[tsk5035]

Yeah. Well I'm going out today to buy a test kit then. And when you're working 60-100 hours a week, sometimes you don't do much else other than sleep

 

[jenatron]

I'm sorry if this offends you, but that shouldn't be an excuse. Fish are like any other pet. If you don't have time to walk, feed, and bathe a dog, then you don't get one. Fish are the same. If you don't have time for tank maintenance then don't get fish. It's not a personal thing against you, we understand you're busy. But you also need to be considerate towards your fish. Sorry..

 

[mfdrookie516]

^I agree. If you don't have the time it takes to dedicate proper care to the fish, you should not be keeping them. Plain and simple.

 

[uscamaro]

Yeah. Well I'm going out today to buy a test kit then. And when you're working 60-100 hours a week, sometimes you don't do much else other than sleep

So what's the point of getting fish if you can't enjoy them, let alone take care of them?

 

[Karlos69]

You could hire someone to do your weekly maintenance working that much u can afford the 30$

 

[i3k]

well you said you add 2 gallons of water every two weeks...if you have the time to do that, you might as well do 35% water change every 10 days or so. For a 38gal it shouldn't take more than 15-20 minutes.

 

[severum mama]

It isn't just nitrate that needs to be diluted. It's also dissolved organics, hormones, etc. Sure, you have hardy fish that will probably survive for some time in terrible conditions, but eventually they will succumb.