forgetting to use water conditioner

[katrina89]

Hey guys,

what happens if i forget to use water conditioner? I have done this on numerous occasions and then scooped out the fish and added the conditioner... but it happens on such a reg basis im worried im gonna kill my fish bec of it..

anybody else have this problem?

[shellieca]

Originally Posted by katrina89

Hey guys,

what happens if i forget to use water conditioner? I have done this on numerous occasions and then scooped out the fish and added the conditioner... but it happens on such a reg basis im worried im gonna kill my fish bec of it..

anybody else have this problem?

How long after you change water do you remember? If it's just a few minutes I wouldn't worry too much about it and you don't need to scoop your Betta out, just add the conditioner; he or she has already been exposed. When I change water in my 46g; tap water is added directly to the tank, my Females usually play in the stream of incoming untreated water and they've shown no ill effects. I usually add the Prime to the remaining tank water before I refill.

[katrina89]

Originally Posted by shellieca

How long after you change water do you remember? If it's just a few minutes I wouldn't worry too much about it and you don't need to scoop your Betta out, just add the conditioner; he or she has already been exposed. When I change water in my 46g; tap water is added directly to the tank, my Females usually play in the stream of incoming untreated water and they've shown no ill effects. I usually add the Prime to the remaining tank water before I refill.

its usually minutes or seconds... but will they die if i dont remember? and its good to know i can add the conditioner if the fish is in...

[lvandert]

If you leave him in it for a day or so he will get chlorine poisoning from the tap water. May I suggest getting a gallon of drinking water from the store (93 cents or something like that). Once you drink the water you have an empty jug. Once there you can fill it with tap water and set it out to adjust temps (if you have a heated tank then you'll have to use the cup method) and then ADD the water conditioner before it even enters the tank.

[shellieca]

Originally Posted by katrina89

its usually minutes or seconds... but will they die if i dont remember? and its good to know i can add the conditioner if the fish is in...

I wouldn't worry too much about it if it's that short of time. When I used to have mine in 1g containers there were many times I'd forget to add the conditioner before I put the Betta back in after cleaning. I'd add the few drops as soon as I remembered, I haven't lost any of them yet. As I said my females play in the new, untreated water when it's being added to their tank so short term exposure isn't going to be too harmful, IMO.