Contaminated water?

[CoreyB]

Everyone on base got a notice that our water is contaminated with E. coli.

Well, my friend is buying my 20 gal tank with the fish in it and I Was wondering if the stuff that you put in the water to remove chlorine and such will get rid of the E coli?

Or will it afect the fish at all?

 

[treedae]

I don't see how dechlorinator will rid the tank of E. coli. In fact, a likely reason that you have e.coli in the water is b/c your water isn't being effectively chlorinated.

I've read that Easy-Life is effective in reducing e. coli counts though. You could try that out.

Outside of this specific treatment for aquariums e. coli, in general, can be killed by high temps (boiling the water), intense chlorination (which would need to be followed by intense dechlorination so as not to kill the fish) or antibiotics effective against Gram - bacilli (penicillins, cephalosporins, aminoglycosides, or a quinolone). I'd go with the Easy-Life though.

 

[QTOFFER]

E coli-infected water in the tank could be a disaster for the fish and a health hazard for you.

Like Treedae said, BOIL YOUR WATER - especially that which you use for cooking or drinking!
Be sure to let it cool before adding it to the tank, or you'll have fish stew! 8O

Hopefully, the base will fix the problem pronto.


BTW, I've never heard of Easy Life before. I looked it up and it reminds me of the filter resin that campers use to purify drinking water.

 

[krap101]

hmm ecoli in the water? i thought you got it from cows or chickens or somthing...

 

[treedae]

e coli is a bacteria. It's sitting in your gut as you sit and read this post, but it's kept in check by a variety of factors including your immune system. You can get a GI poisoning from e. coli by eating undercooked meats.

It can become a water contaminant, but is usually kept at low levels by the chlorine that's added to the water.

 

[krap101]

ic thx