Um, ok, sorry my logic is so faulty and "silly"; I'm not a biologist or other type of scientist, just a simple pet lover. I would delete my post if I could. Posted via Mobile Device
I didn't say you were dumb, I was just trying to clarify. I'm not a scientist either, I just read way too much stuff, I mainly learned this when researching cat food (which is why I don't buy anything with wheat or corn or gluten of either type, and only occasionally buy food with rice in it). Most people don't know. Biology class was a long time ago and never touched on bioavailability in food products. Many raw feeders do provide whole prey for the small amounts of extra nutrients from the gut contents of prey.
a dechlorinator of some sort is necessary. Unless you want dead fish. And lets face it, on occasion meds will be needed. I prefer sticking to epsom/aquarium salt, depending on the situation. As for food... I feed my bettas 5 different kinds of food. 4 different pellets and frozen blood worms. Short of giving them a diet of bugs, it's the best I Can do for them nutrition wise.
The question isn't "Should we never use any of the listed chemicals?" it's more like "Should the fish food/tank mantinence industry offer safer/healthier alternatives?". I'm not advocating you throw out dechlorinators and kill your fish! Ha.
Do you think that there would be a market for organic/safer fish food and chemicals? There's barely even a market for live/frozen foods. Most people don't properly take care of their fish. People like the ones on this forum are a small percentage, but we keep the frozen/live/freeze dried food companies in business (although most of them also make pellets/flakes), but would it be enough business to support a whole new type of chemicals?
No.
There is not much point in holistic fish remedies. If you want to go holistic, pick up some Pimafix or Melafix and be amazed when it doesn't work.
Once you notice disease on your fish, and you are certain of what it is, don't waste your time with stuff like that, go full force on it. Once you can see something it's generally already in late stages.
Things like ich are fine treated with just warm water as they are not severe diseases.
With all holistic medication, there is a line. I have heard of too many children dying because of their parents stupid holistic ideas.
Herbal medicine is a messy science, it can screw you up just as bad or even worse than prepared drugs. I'm sick of "herbal remedies" being thrown as a great idea. If it's serious get serious help. And with fish, what you see is often serious.
A garlic and honey syrup is great for your cold, but don't try to cure cancer yourself. Posted via Mobile Device
I have to agree with you about medicine. If my babies are sick, I don't care if they get fishie alzheimers or not, I'm going to give them what's best for treating them.
When you think about it, we use A LOT of chemicals in fish tanks. Some of the following you might not use, or you could use others.
stress coat
medicines
pH adjusters
dechlorinator (some of which contain even MORE chemicals for brighter colors, bigger fins, clearer water... anything you can think of)
ammonia remover
algacides
water clarifiers
bacteria boosters
Most experienced aquarists only use one of those chemicals: dechlorinators. And only because we have to. We use none of the others because we understand that they do nothing for the fish. Some of those chemicals you listed are rather dangerous to the fish such as algacides and pH adjusters. Simply put, a good aquarists adds as little as possible to the tank aside from water.
And on a note about gluten, as LBF said there have been no scientific studies done on the effects of gluten in small insectivore fishes like betta and gourami. While there are a lot of similarities between fish and humans, we can't jump to the conclusion that gluten is bad for them because it's bad for us. All we have is anecdotal evidence.
On the subject if chemicals, what would be the best water conditoner to use? I have always wondered what would be best. Also, how do you measure that stuff? I am always getting worried about having too much or too little. One capful per fifty gallons doesn't help fir some one who works with 2.5-10 gallons.
I did the same thing at the pet store with the betta food as I do with my own food. I read the ingredients and put back the food that said "wheat flour" etc. .
For my platys I bought 100% seaweed/algae rather than a package that had flour in it. I bought the bettas food that just says "blood worms" for the ingredients, etc.
What does a fish need wheat flour and gluten for? I don't think bettas were making bread in the rice patties.
I am going to look into frozen food when I visit my awesome aquarium and fish store. They spoil their bettas and I want to get some of the food they use. (No live food for fear of disease/parasites, but it does say they feed frozen. And they use almond leaf extract and everything, not for breeding, just for happiness of the fish!)
On the subject if chemicals, what would be the best water conditoner to use? I have always wondered what would be best. Also, how do you measure that stuff? I am always getting worried about having too much or too little. One capful per fifty gallons doesn't help fir some one who works with 2.5-10 gallons.
Prime is usually the one most recommended. I use it with all of my tanks and will never use another. I use a syringe to dose the smaller tanks. It's .10 mL per gallon, and the easiest way to dose that is with a syringe.
Check out the eBook Betta Fish Care Made Easy
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