Water Change = Death?

[mcsully]

It seems when ever I do a water change, about half the time I lose fish.
I change 20% of the water out of my 60, 50 and 20 gallon tank. I add in API TAP WATER CONDITIONER and marine salt. Wake up and notice fish dead. Just lost 1 tiger barb and a corey cat. Could I be doing something wrong?

Just a point of reference, I don't just throw the water in, I let the water stream out of the bucket not to harshly..

 

[MOsborne05]

Why do you add marine salt to a freshwater tank? That's probably the reason right there.

 

[mcsully]

Sorry, not marine salt (wrong term), aquarium salt. Reduces stress..
Should also add all the tests came back perfect, Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0 , PH is as previously recorded.

 

[PlecoCollector]

From what I've been told, you shouldn't add salt unless it's needed.
I started a thread on it a month or so ago: http://www.myfishtank.net/forum/showthread.php?t=34596

 

[S-kate]

How much salt do you add?

 

[bala_aquarium]

i add aquarium salt/stress salt when ever i do a water change and everything is always ok.

 

[ninamarie]

I think the salt is killing the fish nix it and I bet the fish will be ok.

 

[FishGeek]

Not all fish can handle the salt in there water. Also when you add salt it goes away very very slowly. I dont know what aquarium salt does to you salinity but I think that might be your problem. I agree, nix it for a few water changes and see what that does. Good Luck!!!

 

[homebunnyj]

Umm... what about temperature?
How much salt do you add? and how?
Do you use buckets or a python to do your water changes? When/how do you add the dechlor?
Give us details on your water changing procedures.
How do the fish act afterwards?

 

[MOsborne05]

Yep, I suspect that the salt is the problem. How much salt do you add in each tank when you do a water change? Do you ever add water without taking any out (top-off)?

Salt is normally only used in freshwater tanks to prevent illness, and even then it is only in tiny amounts. I always drop a few crystals of aquarium salt in my betta tank when I do a complete water change, which is normally once every 3-4 months. I do a partial water change every week, but I don't add anymore salt. The only reason I add salt to my betta tank is to prevent illness since it is such a small tank and bettas seem to be less able to fight off illnesses than other fish, IMO.

 

[mcsully]

I add 1 teaspoon of salt per 10 gallons when changing. This is a common practice I've read here and heard from LFS. The temp is 77 degrees in all three tanks and I use buckets but don't splash the water.. I slowly pour it in
These are tiger barbs, they are hardy fish and the salt can't be the issue. I've been using salt in that tank for 1 year. I really find it hard to believe that aquarium salt at a moderate use would cause this. I'm leaning towards the API TAP WATER CONDITIONER. Hmm.. I'll go that way and not try to add salt on next change.
My Cichlids require the PH to stay up so do need to add in salt to keep it up.

 

[bigredspecial]

I blame the salt... Cories are highly sensitive to it, that is more evidence.

You say you add 1 teaspoon per 10 gallons, but how much are you taking out? if the additions exceed the suntractions, the salinity level will slowly creep up, and can get quite high.

I don't agree at all with the regular addition of salt... I use it as medication, but that's it. As I've said before, freshwater fish have lived for millions of years without salt, they'll probably be ok for our lifetimes.

Two more things: I highly, highly doubt the water conditioner is causing the deaths. I see no connection there. Also, you say you add salt to increase the ph... how do you figure salt will raise ph? It won't.

 

[MOsborne05]

You can raise the pH and keep it stable by using aragonite, crushed coral or eco-complete cichlid substrate, or adding some coral reef rocks for decoration. If the salt is for the cichlids, then why are you also adding it to the other tank with the cory cats?

 

[FishGeek]

FYI salt doesnt evaporate with the water. I dont even add salt to my SW tanks every time that I replace water!!

 

[CAPSLOCK]

Maybe you could call your water place and see if they add anything to the water that might be toxic. Or take a sample of tap water and either test it or get your fish store to test it for you.

Adding salt to the water at a rate of 1tsp per 10g isn't going to hurt anything with the vast majority of fish. I've heard lots of people with cichlids do this forever, and it doesn't hurt a thing. Make sure the salt is good and disolved before you add the water to the tank, and it should be fine.

PS... look on the conditioner and make sure it removes chlorines and chloramines, a lot of tap water places add chloramines and not all conditioners remove it.

 

[FishGeek]

Im not saying that the salt is causeing his problem but when he adds it everytime he does a water change I think there might be some effect. I do aggree with you in the water part of it though Caps. Its just going to take some narrowing down. Good Luck!!

 

[ninamarie]

Try not doing the salt and check the parms and then go from there.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

I don't use salt, but if you take out 10g of water and add 10g with salt in it, you aren't increasing the salt in the tank any. The only time you have problems with this is if you have a marine tank, and you try to add salt water every time you top off... (instead of just during water changes)

 

[mcsully]

FYI salt doesnt evaporate with the water. I dont even add salt to my SW tanks every time that I replace water!!

Water evaporation isn't what I'm judging to add salt to my tank. When I change 20% of my water (what I stated before), then I add in the salt (not water evaporation. I'm not changing this into salt water, just a small mixture..

 

[mcsully]

I blame the salt... Cories are highly sensitive to it, that is more evidence.

Actually what I've read is that they are sensitive to Epsom salt.. Some people have tried to use that instead of aquarim salt and have had mix results.