I always did 50% weekly water changes on my rainbowfish tanks which
averaged around 8000-10000 litres each week. When you do that sort of
waterchange and you live in a chloramine treated area like I do you are mad
if you don't use a chloramine neutraliser. I used to do like Gary said and
add the chloramine treatment to the aquariums as I refilled them. However,
the level of chloramines in my area during some periods (mainly summer)
will kill rainbowfishes as you are adding untreated exchange tapwater to
the tank (I've had it happen). Its quite a shock when you see large
rainbowfishes literally dying in front of you. It affects larger
rainbowfishes before smaller ones.
I found the safest way was to store my water in 200 litres drums and treat
the water before doing the water changes. That way you eliminate all
possible loses.
I also live at the end of a very large domestic water distribution system
and the water has to be pumped from underground storage tanks to a water
tower and then gravity fed to the houses in my area. I believe that the
water supply company retreats the water in the storage tanks as some days
the smell of chlorine is overpowering when you turn on the tap (although
they denied it). So while standard chlorine neutralisers might work for
Gary and Julie and a few others it doesn't and wont work for everyone so if
you don't want to do a chemistry course and you live in a chloramine
treated area then use a chloramine neutraliser...... You'll be so glad you
did :-)
I might add that a lot of my tanks were breeding and fry raising tanks
which were basically bare except for filtration.
However if you want to go down the chemical analyses path then If
chloramines are present in your water, it is necessary to know the
concentration both before and after treatment. For accurate results, it is
best to test for chloramine as soon as the water sample is drawn, before
any dissipation occurs. Test kits are available that use the recommended
N,N-diethyl-p-phenylenediamine method. These kits can accurately make a
distinction between free chlorine and combined chlorine (chloramines) and
are available from most Lab supplies.
>So the question back to people collecting rainbows, Pseudomugils and
>gudgeons in Australia
>is:
>
>Do you use any Amquel (ammonia binder) in your collecting bucket? Also do
>you treat with any type of antibiotic like a sulfa drug when you get you
>fish home?
I have never used Amquel. The only chloramine treatments I used were Prime
and a locally made product called Chlormon, which is much cheaper than
Prime. Both work very well, are very similar chemicals, and have the same
"unusual" smell. Chlormon is available in a range of sizes up to 20 litres
I think?
Chlormon is used by a number of large wholesale fish distributors here in
Oz for shipping fish around the country as it works well at reducing the
affects of increased ammonia.
As for collecting many still use salt but some also use antibiotics, but
they are in the minority as antibiotics require a doctors prescription here
in Oz, and are hard to get unless you know a friendly Doctor :-)
However, in my opinion, Chlormon works just as well if not better than salt
treatment. Although it depends on what you are using the salt for in the
first place. Some people just use it as a matter of course because others
use it?
Adrian.