So we bought what we thought was just regular API stress coat, have used it in 2 tanks a couple of times and my boyfriend just realized it was the marine. His 2 bigger Angel fish have been looking like they are gasping for air at the top of the tank, and in the other tank they just started going to the top. And both tanks have been cloudy the past couple days, but one of them is newer so I figured it was just a new tank bacteria bloom. Do you think the marine has anything to do with it?
Is Stress coat marine safe in freshwater
- Thread starter Peachesk
- Start date
IMO the best place for Stress Coat is in the toilet. Do a couple of decent water changes and do not use the marine stuff for sure. But I would not put the FW one in my tanks even if you offered to pay me to do so.
I have well water and do not use declor in my tanks, However, I do use it when I bleach plants which I have to return to the tank when finished. I also brought it with me when I sold either from my hotel room or in the vendor room at weekend events. There I had to use hotel tap water.
I have a bigger bottle of Amquel (or Amquel +) and a smaller bottle of Seachem Prime.
Stress coat contains Aloe Vera and I do not want that in my tank water. What is below is why I fell that way.
Harnish, R.A., Colotelo, A.H. and Brown, R.S., 2011. A review of polymer-based water conditioners for reduction of handling-related injury. Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries, 21, pp.43-49.
Link to the Paper
Abstract
Fish are coated with an external layer of protective mucus. This layer serves as the primary barrier against infection or injury, reduces friction, and plays a role in ionic and osmotic regulation. However, the mucus layer is easily disturbed when fish are netted, handled, transported, stressed, or subjected to adverse water conditions. Water additives containing polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) or proprietary polymers have been used to prevent the deleterious effects of mucus layer disturbances in the commercial tropical fish industry, aquaculture, and for other fisheries management purposes. This paper reviews research on the effectiveness of water conditioners, and examines the contents and uses of a wide variety of commercially available water conditioners. Water conditioners containing polymers may reduce external damage to fish held in containers during scientific experimentation, including surgical implantation of electronic tags. However, there is a need to empirically test the effectiveness of water conditioners at preventing damage to and promoting healing of the mucus layer. A research agenda is provided to advance the science related to the use of water conditions to improve the condition of fish during handling and tagging.
While I do not think the amount of Aloe Vera in Stress Coat will come close to killing fish fish, I am not sure that it has no effect on their gills or that it does not do any harm in other ways.
I have well water and do not use declor in my tanks, However, I do use it when I bleach plants which I have to return to the tank when finished. I also brought it with me when I sold either from my hotel room or in the vendor room at weekend events. There I had to use hotel tap water.
I have a bigger bottle of Amquel (or Amquel +) and a smaller bottle of Seachem Prime.
Stress coat contains Aloe Vera and I do not want that in my tank water. What is below is why I fell that way.
Harnish, R.A., Colotelo, A.H. and Brown, R.S., 2011. A review of polymer-based water conditioners for reduction of handling-related injury. Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries, 21, pp.43-49.
Link to the Paper
Abstract
Fish are coated with an external layer of protective mucus. This layer serves as the primary barrier against infection or injury, reduces friction, and plays a role in ionic and osmotic regulation. However, the mucus layer is easily disturbed when fish are netted, handled, transported, stressed, or subjected to adverse water conditions. Water additives containing polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) or proprietary polymers have been used to prevent the deleterious effects of mucus layer disturbances in the commercial tropical fish industry, aquaculture, and for other fisheries management purposes. This paper reviews research on the effectiveness of water conditioners, and examines the contents and uses of a wide variety of commercially available water conditioners. Water conditioners containing polymers may reduce external damage to fish held in containers during scientific experimentation, including surgical implantation of electronic tags. However, there is a need to empirically test the effectiveness of water conditioners at preventing damage to and promoting healing of the mucus layer. A research agenda is provided to advance the science related to the use of water conditions to improve the condition of fish during handling and tagging.
While I do not think the amount of Aloe Vera in Stress Coat will come close to killing fish fish, I am not sure that it has no effect on their gills or that it does not do any harm in other ways.
We did water changes in one of the tanks, we also have well water so we didn't put anything in but the angels are still at the top gasping for air. Then in the other tank, I wasn't sure if it would be smart to do water changes since the tank is barely a week old, but over night we lost a molly and pleco and the angels are staying at the top. So we are going to do some water changes and hope for the best.
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I would do a big WC right away and use Seachem prime. Have you tested for ammonia as well?
What are your nitrite levels?
Ignore the relatively high wrods- almost any level of nitrite is bad. It takes between 24 and 72 housr for nitrite inside a fish to work it's way out. If there is still nitrite in the water then it is still entering the fish.
Chloride blocks the nitrite form entering the fish. And Sodium Chloride is how we get chloride into the water.
You can get good information about this in an article I wrote for another site go here and scroll down to the nitrite section.
https://www.fishforums.net/threads/rescuing-a-fish-in-cycle-gone-wild-part-il.433778/
It has step by step instructions for how to calculate how much salt is needed based on the level of nitrite in the water. The amount of salt needed is pretty low.
Ignore the relatively high wrods- almost any level of nitrite is bad. It takes between 24 and 72 housr for nitrite inside a fish to work it's way out. If there is still nitrite in the water then it is still entering the fish.
Chloride blocks the nitrite form entering the fish. And Sodium Chloride is how we get chloride into the water.
You can get good information about this in an article I wrote for another site go here and scroll down to the nitrite section.
https://www.fishforums.net/threads/rescuing-a-fish-in-cycle-gone-wild-part-il.433778/
It has step by step instructions for how to calculate how much salt is needed based on the level of nitrite in the water. The amount of salt needed is pretty low.
I have found sachem prime quite effective at blocking ammonia and nitrite at low levels when cycling goes bad. It is a little of a pia since it chemically blocks them but they still show up on tests (I'm not a chemist but once did dwell into what was happening chemically). Of course prime is quite expensive for what it is as these interactions have been well known for a long time as related to water purification. Then again prime is pretty cheap for a reliable quick fix for small aquariums - these days i run my tap water through charcoal to remove chlorine but i do keep a small bottle of prime around for 'issues'. If you ever get into the hobby deeper you can get larger charcoal thingy (they are usually sold as whole house purifiers) that you can connect to the pipes. I would not run my home off them but they are great for the aquariums. I know this for sure because my fishes told me so.
Seachem safe is a cheaper alternative to prime. It saved my pond fish after a cycle gone bad for sure
On another forum there was a long discussion about safe and a response from sachem - they said the two were not the same and safe was not effective at blocking nitrite and ammonia - they did not comment on how they differed chemically as they consider that a trade secret. So either they are the same and sachem doesn't want to admit it - or they are really two different formulae with different characteristics.
When my pond didn’t cycle as it was supposed to after seeding it, My ammonia and nitrite’s were off the charts and I was using safe and the fish seem to be 100% fine but who knows really
Who knows - also i would not put it past sachem to er make statement after all there is marketing value in having people buy prime over safe. Maybe a chemist could analysize the two
