Best Pop Eye treatment?
- Thread starter ShadowCorpse
- Start date
If you are not trying to remove DOC carbon does not really benefit anything for the fish. Even at that for carbon to do anything the flow across it needs to be VERY SLOW and filters do not go that slow, hanging them in the tank makes the carbon effective at removing what OC stated and can help reduce odor of the water a little to. Carbon can be omitted but people have been taught and influenced by propaganda for so long that its like a taboo if you dont use it. Has anyone ever seen a wild fish die because there was no activated carbon in the lake? Like I said, propaganda by the people with fat pockets, because end user people fill them up. Now to make your head spin, do you really need that filter or is it the circulation and weekly vac/water changes that get the job done?????
Here is an interesting dialog on the pros and cons of carbon. You should read both both pages.
Carbon -- to use or not to use?
I never checked for activated carbon in a lake (lol) but neither have I ever seen a wild fish dead because he ate to much! Seems to me that the only reason we don't feed our fish like they would eat in their natural environment is for OUR convenience - so we don't have to clean the tank more frequently. No one tells the fish in the wild, "Hey fellas, you got to fast at least one day a week!"
Carbon -- to use or not to use?
I never checked for activated carbon in a lake (lol) but neither have I ever seen a wild fish dead because he ate to much! Seems to me that the only reason we don't feed our fish like they would eat in their natural environment is for OUR convenience - so we don't have to clean the tank more frequently. No one tells the fish in the wild, "Hey fellas, you got to fast at least one day a week!"
I do not agree with the statement concerning carbon use made by "bettababy."
Under normal aquarium or even household conditions, you cannot make 'spent' carbon release what it has adsorbed. In metal recovery operations, they make a solvent solution that is added to the activated carbon to get it to release what was adsorbed, but the cost is high and the chemicals needed are quite toxic. Just because someone says it on a forum, does not make it true.
Carbon is good for removing iron and from your water, and if you grow iron-intensive plants (those with red colors), your colors will fade if you use carbon.
Under normal aquarium or even household conditions, you cannot make 'spent' carbon release what it has adsorbed. In metal recovery operations, they make a solvent solution that is added to the activated carbon to get it to release what was adsorbed, but the cost is high and the chemicals needed are quite toxic. Just because someone says it on a forum, does not make it true.
Carbon is good for removing iron and from your water, and if you grow iron-intensive plants (those with red colors), your colors will fade if you use carbon.
But Thyra, fish in the wild must work for their food.
There are larger fish to avoid so you don't get eaten, birds that will eat you if you don't move quickly, constantly moving water to swim against to find the food, etc. We are keeping fish in an unnatural environment where they do not NEED to eat constantly to maintain health. In a fish tank, they expend FAR LESS energy to live than they do in the wild.
I look at it as the difference between camping and hunting/gathering your own food. You have to hike miles to find a berry bush, search and stalk a deer for miles, find water and tote it back to 'camp', dig for edible roots, gather wood to make a fire, etc.
Compare that to driving through a McDonalds, bringing home a Big Mac meal and then sitting on the couch to watch TV. In the camping situation, you'd need to eat a LOT more, but you'd expend a LOT more energy in searching for your food. Sitting at home in front of the TV, you could munch a small salad and maintain your health.
There are larger fish to avoid so you don't get eaten, birds that will eat you if you don't move quickly, constantly moving water to swim against to find the food, etc. We are keeping fish in an unnatural environment where they do not NEED to eat constantly to maintain health. In a fish tank, they expend FAR LESS energy to live than they do in the wild.
I look at it as the difference between camping and hunting/gathering your own food. You have to hike miles to find a berry bush, search and stalk a deer for miles, find water and tote it back to 'camp', dig for edible roots, gather wood to make a fire, etc.
Compare that to driving through a McDonalds, bringing home a Big Mac meal and then sitting on the couch to watch TV. In the camping situation, you'd need to eat a LOT more, but you'd expend a LOT more energy in searching for your food. Sitting at home in front of the TV, you could munch a small salad and maintain your health.
Agreed. Look at the instructions on a typical HOB filter, telling you to replace the filter's media every month! How many have followed that advice and lost fish when they throw their tank into a new cycle or mini-cycle?
I've not used a 'filter' for many years on my tanks. I do have submerged powerheads for circulation, and on the tanks that have smaller fish (I love nano-fish) they have a sponge filter. It is not there for the filtering ability (although it does make a good surface for bacteria), but to prevent smaller fish and fry from being sucked into the powerhead.
I've not used a 'filter' for many years on my tanks. I do have submerged powerheads for circulation, and on the tanks that have smaller fish (I love nano-fish) they have a sponge filter. It is not there for the filtering ability (although it does make a good surface for bacteria), but to prevent smaller fish and fry from being sucked into the powerhead.
I find this all very interesting, and after all, this is a forum also. Most of the fish in my tanks seem to be moving all the time, the exception would be the bettas. The otos are eating continuously. When I was a kid I had the opportunity to vacation on a lake with pristine water - in 12 feet or so of water, I could watch the fish when I was out in the boat. It was like one big aquarium and I was fascinated, but the fish were not moving around like the fish in my tanks. Until I left home I fished for one certain perch in the river by our pasture. I never caught him, but he was always in the same place in amongst the roots of a tree. I could see him but I couldn't lure him with my bait. I probably spent more than 5 summers trying. ( I lived in northern Wisconsin - the river froze solid, but he was always there in the spring) I read an article on "Aquabid" from several breeders that were feeding their fish live food free style successfully. I can't find the article now and at the time I read it, I really wasn't that interested in how they managed it. I do know if you want fish to grow, you have to feed them frequently, but then we also have to consider the size of our tanks.
Now that you mention "breeding colony" it jogged my old memory a little - I think they were using daphnia. While we are on to different topics, I have this little betta in a 1g container and at the moment I am using a desk lamp to heat it. That is working fine and he is very active. What bothers me is the light has to be on all the time. Don't fish need some dark time? I think I will be able to get to town this week end and hopefully solve the heater problem, but if I don't he will have to put up with the desk lamp a while longer.
He will be ok. To keep him on a schedule just be sure to feed him the same time every day. I am fairly convinced they can tell the time of day by the natural widow light if the room is so equipped. I have left my tank lights on before and walked by the tank in the middle of the night and they seemed to be doing the resting thing like they do when the light is off.
Hey i just wanted to say that i was very interested in reading what everyone had to say, i was very hooked on reading what was said. Also i would like to say that my Dwarf Gourami did lose one of its eyes from the pop eye, but now its acting like a healthy fish again. I also got new water conditioner, it is Wardley's 3 in 1, it removed Chlorine & Chloramines, Neutralizes Ammonia, and buffers the PH to 7.0 - 7.5.