Fun with Zymes, Coats, etc.

[Kandoom]

So scrolling 'round the forums I see some interesting commentary here and there on the viability and value of Stress Coat/Zyme- some saying the Zyme is simply a pet store manufactured rip off- thoughts?

I do use the Stress Coat after a water change and a couple capfuls of Zyme as well now and then, but yes the stuff can be expensive, and if its really all marketing with no actualy benefits, then can I get some sort of consensus?

I think I could drop the Zyme at this point, but I do see the Coat being useful for the lil' guys- but I could be wrong and simply the victim of pet store profit propaganda.

Thoughts?

 

[FroggyFox]

Stresscoat is a water conditioner/dechlorinator. Stress Zyme is AP's answer to "Cycle" or other products that supposedly help your tank's bacteria out. StressCoat is debatable in its value as anything except a dechlor, and many people don't like it because of the added expense over a product like Prime. Personally, I use bigal's generic version of it as my dechlorinator.

StressZyme and cycle and all of those are a waste of money in my opinion. If you have a healthy tank, you don't need a product like that. Discontinuing use of that should cause no changes to your tank.

Now if you discontinue use of the stress coat you will need to use something else for a dechlorinator...unless you already use something else for that and then the stress coat is also just a waste of money.

"Pet store propaganda" I'm gonna have to use that

 

[homebunnyj]

Get the cheapest dechlorinator you can find. That's all you need in normal circumstances. Even if you feel that your fish are 'stressed' because of some circumstance or other, the best thing you can do for them is keep their water really, really clean.

 

[Kandoom]

Hey thanks all. Yeah, I've got two filters running on the ol' girl and currently am doing bi-weekly changes with the python and I've had no deaths or visible discomfort in almost 4 months now. I use a common water conditioner to offset whatever might be in my well water but also supplement with Stress Coat after I've disturbed the environment and sent the fishies racing in all directions.

But I'm starting to think that the Stress Zyme serves no purpose other than lining PetSmart/Animal Kingdom Cash Registers with some extra green, and perhaps the same is true for the Coat- just wanted to see what other folks were up to.

Oh, and Froggy, don't forget its "Pet store profit propaganda"- alliteration is fun!

 

[Lotus]

I don't really like to use the "coating" type products. Some of them apparently use some kind of irritant to make fish produce more slime coat (their natural covering). While this may help against infection, I just don't like that idea.

The only thing I can say about Stress Zyme is that it smells really nice

 

[Kandoom]

It smells like artificial grape flavor, right? I noticed that too!

Still no reason to plunk down all those bucks for it.

 

[Lotus]

I don't think either product is necessary for a healthy tank. Water conditioner (dechlorinator) is really all you need to be adding for healthy fish.

 

[Kandoom]

Excellent- thanks guys- I only wish I'd reached this conclusion about three or four bottles ago!