Mixing
Would a small amount of bottled water mixed in with an aquarium harm the fish?
Clash Royale CLAN TAG#URR8PPP
up vote
3
down vote
favorite
This is kind of urgent - I'm watching someone's dogs currently because that is what I am experienced in but they also have an aquarium. I have little to know experience with fish and I did warn the owners. I don't have 100% of the information, a lot of it is guesswork but I really need help.
In order to feed the fish, I dissolve krill in ice into a cup of water and distribute it. I feel so dumb, but for the first 4 or so meals, I used about 3 cups of Crystal Springs water from a water cooler to feed them. I'd say this tank is a little smaller than 125 gallons and I'm fairly sure it's saltwater because of the breeds of fish. Since then, I've fed them about 4 or 5 times just using the tank water (I feel bad for not realizing that at first, I know virtually nothing about caring for fish).
The owners come back in about 5 days, is there anything I can do to fix this? How harmful will this be to the fish? I've already noticed the gravel is dirtier than before. I also haven't been able to contact the owners because they have no cell connection where they have traveled to. Any advice would be greatly appreciated
aquarium saltwater water-parameters algae water-changes
asked 3 hours ago
fishnewb
162
New contributor
fishnewb is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |Â
up vote
3
down vote
favorite
This is kind of urgent - I'm watching someone's dogs currently because that is what I am experienced in but they also have an aquarium. I have little to know experience with fish and I did warn the owners. I don't have 100% of the information, a lot of it is guesswork but I really need help.
In order to feed the fish, I dissolve krill in ice into a cup of water and distribute it. I feel so dumb, but for the first 4 or so meals, I used about 3 cups of Crystal Springs water from a water cooler to feed them. I'd say this tank is a little smaller than 125 gallons and I'm fairly sure it's saltwater because of the breeds of fish. Since then, I've fed them about 4 or 5 times just using the tank water (I feel bad for not realizing that at first, I know virtually nothing about caring for fish).
The owners come back in about 5 days, is there anything I can do to fix this? How harmful will this be to the fish? I've already noticed the gravel is dirtier than before. I also haven't been able to contact the owners because they have no cell connection where they have traveled to. Any advice would be greatly appreciated
aquarium saltwater water-parameters algae water-changes
asked 3 hours ago
fishnewb
162
New contributor
fishnewb is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
If you can get a picture of the fish, we can tell you if it is salt or freshwater. That will slightly change my answer either way.
– Henders♦
3 hours ago
No problem! The lights are on a timer so I've gotta wait a bit, but I know it includes a blue and a yellow tang as well as some clownfish and shrimp
– fishnewb
3 hours ago
Yep, that's saltwater then :)
– Henders♦
3 hours ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
3
down vote
favorite
up vote
3
down vote
favorite
This is kind of urgent - I'm watching someone's dogs currently because that is what I am experienced in but they also have an aquarium. I have little to know experience with fish and I did warn the owners. I don't have 100% of the information, a lot of it is guesswork but I really need help.
In order to feed the fish, I dissolve krill in ice into a cup of water and distribute it. I feel so dumb, but for the first 4 or so meals, I used about 3 cups of Crystal Springs water from a water cooler to feed them. I'd say this tank is a little smaller than 125 gallons and I'm fairly sure it's saltwater because of the breeds of fish. Since then, I've fed them about 4 or 5 times just using the tank water (I feel bad for not realizing that at first, I know virtually nothing about caring for fish).
The owners come back in about 5 days, is there anything I can do to fix this? How harmful will this be to the fish? I've already noticed the gravel is dirtier than before. I also haven't been able to contact the owners because they have no cell connection where they have traveled to. Any advice would be greatly appreciated
aquarium saltwater water-parameters algae water-changes
asked 3 hours ago
fishnewb
162
New contributor
fishnewb is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
This is kind of urgent - I'm watching someone's dogs currently because that is what I am experienced in but they also have an aquarium. I have little to know experience with fish and I did warn the owners. I don't have 100% of the information, a lot of it is guesswork but I really need help.
In order to feed the fish, I dissolve krill in ice into a cup of water and distribute it. I feel so dumb, but for the first 4 or so meals, I used about 3 cups of Crystal Springs water from a water cooler to feed them. I'd say this tank is a little smaller than 125 gallons and I'm fairly sure it's saltwater because of the breeds of fish. Since then, I've fed them about 4 or 5 times just using the tank water (I feel bad for not realizing that at first, I know virtually nothing about caring for fish).
The owners come back in about 5 days, is there anything I can do to fix this? How harmful will this be to the fish? I've already noticed the gravel is dirtier than before. I also haven't been able to contact the owners because they have no cell connection where they have traveled to. Any advice would be greatly appreciated
aquarium saltwater water-parameters algae water-changes
aquarium saltwater water-parameters algae water-changes
asked 3 hours ago
fishnewb
162
New contributor
fishnewb is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked 3 hours ago
fishnewb
162
New contributor
fishnewb is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked 3 hours ago
fishnewb
162
New contributor
fishnewb is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked 3 hours ago
fishnewb
162
asked 3 hours ago
fishnewb
162
162
New contributor
fishnewb is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
New contributor
fishnewb is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
fishnewb is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
If you can get a picture of the fish, we can tell you if it is salt or freshwater. That will slightly change my answer either way.
– Henders♦
3 hours ago
No problem! The lights are on a timer so I've gotta wait a bit, but I know it includes a blue and a yellow tang as well as some clownfish and shrimp
– fishnewb
3 hours ago
Yep, that's saltwater then :)
– Henders♦
3 hours ago
add a comment |Â
If you can get a picture of the fish, we can tell you if it is salt or freshwater. That will slightly change my answer either way.
– Henders♦
3 hours ago
No problem! The lights are on a timer so I've gotta wait a bit, but I know it includes a blue and a yellow tang as well as some clownfish and shrimp
– fishnewb
3 hours ago
Yep, that's saltwater then :)
– Henders♦
3 hours ago
If you can get a picture of the fish, we can tell you if it is salt or freshwater. That will slightly change my answer either way.
– Henders♦
3 hours ago
If you can get a picture of the fish, we can tell you if it is salt or freshwater. That will slightly change my answer either way.
– Henders♦
3 hours ago
No problem! The lights are on a timer so I've gotta wait a bit, but I know it includes a blue and a yellow tang as well as some clownfish and shrimp
– fishnewb
3 hours ago
No problem! The lights are on a timer so I've gotta wait a bit, but I know it includes a blue and a yellow tang as well as some clownfish and shrimp
– fishnewb
3 hours ago
Yep, that's saltwater then :)
– Henders♦
3 hours ago
Yep, that's saltwater then :)
– Henders♦
3 hours ago
add a comment |Â
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
up vote
3
down vote
Don't panic, it's probably okay!
The key thing here is that you caught the error and asked the question. I'll cover both bases here and try and explain a few things (forgive me if you already know them).
Firstly, this is a good sized tank, so if you've only added a small amount of water, it probably won't make much difference. The dilution of the bottled water in the tank will be pretty high. Bottled water is also unlikely to be an issue to the fish because it normally contains less contaminants than regular tap water does - it's hard to tell unless you provided the chemical composition of the tap water.
Temperature
Generally aquariums for Marine and Tropical fish need to be kept at a reasonable temperature for the fish to survive. Adding cold water (especially chilled) will lower the overall temperature of the tank. Again, this is mitigated by the fact the tank is 125 gallons so very little change will be felt by the fish.
As a side note - It is normally temperature extremes or sudden change which is most problematic for fish.
Saltwater Dilution:
If it is a salt water aquarium, it will have a specific salinity. This means how much salt is dissolved into the water. By adding freshwater to the tank, you've likely adjusted the salinity level of the aquarium. However, (have you spotted the theme yet?) the larger volume of the tank means that you have a much smaller affect on the water chemistry.
Dirty Gravel:
I wouldn't worry about the gravel. Most fish keepers will do a water change every week (somewhere between 10-25%) and the gravel will be cleaned. Likely, all you're seeing is the accumulated dirt since the tank was last cleaned.
Don't feel silly, why would you know?
Caring for fish is tricky, you shouldn't feel silly for adding water to the tank. The most common cause of fish dying while owners are away is overfeeding. In reality, fish only need a very small amount of food. When I go away for less than 5 days, I would just let them use their reserves (not that I'm advocating it in this case).
If I'm doing frozen food, I'll always use tank water to defrost the food. Just keep doing that and let the owner know when you can get hold of them.
answered 3 hours ago
Henders♦
2,2512832
Thank you so much!!! The frozen krill was thawed while in the fridge so it was cold but I think that's what the owners do normally, that's what they did when they showed me. It's been about four days so far since they left, I'm glad I have time for this to settle itself out. Thank you again!
– fishnewb
2 hours ago
add a comment |Â
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
up vote
3
down vote
Don't panic, it's probably okay!
The key thing here is that you caught the error and asked the question. I'll cover both bases here and try and explain a few things (forgive me if you already know them).
Firstly, this is a good sized tank, so if you've only added a small amount of water, it probably won't make much difference. The dilution of the bottled water in the tank will be pretty high. Bottled water is also unlikely to be an issue to the fish because it normally contains less contaminants than regular tap water does - it's hard to tell unless you provided the chemical composition of the tap water.
Temperature
Generally aquariums for Marine and Tropical fish need to be kept at a reasonable temperature for the fish to survive. Adding cold water (especially chilled) will lower the overall temperature of the tank. Again, this is mitigated by the fact the tank is 125 gallons so very little change will be felt by the fish.
As a side note - It is normally temperature extremes or sudden change which is most problematic for fish.
Saltwater Dilution:
If it is a salt water aquarium, it will have a specific salinity. This means how much salt is dissolved into the water. By adding freshwater to the tank, you've likely adjusted the salinity level of the aquarium. However, (have you spotted the theme yet?) the larger volume of the tank means that you have a much smaller affect on the water chemistry.
Dirty Gravel:
I wouldn't worry about the gravel. Most fish keepers will do a water change every week (somewhere between 10-25%) and the gravel will be cleaned. Likely, all you're seeing is the accumulated dirt since the tank was last cleaned.
Don't feel silly, why would you know?
Caring for fish is tricky, you shouldn't feel silly for adding water to the tank. The most common cause of fish dying while owners are away is overfeeding. In reality, fish only need a very small amount of food. When I go away for less than 5 days, I would just let them use their reserves (not that I'm advocating it in this case).
If I'm doing frozen food, I'll always use tank water to defrost the food. Just keep doing that and let the owner know when you can get hold of them.
answered 3 hours ago
Henders♦
2,2512832
Thank you so much!!! The frozen krill was thawed while in the fridge so it was cold but I think that's what the owners do normally, that's what they did when they showed me. It's been about four days so far since they left, I'm glad I have time for this to settle itself out. Thank you again!
– fishnewb
2 hours ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
3
down vote
Don't panic, it's probably okay!
The key thing here is that you caught the error and asked the question. I'll cover both bases here and try and explain a few things (forgive me if you already know them).
Firstly, this is a good sized tank, so if you've only added a small amount of water, it probably won't make much difference. The dilution of the bottled water in the tank will be pretty high. Bottled water is also unlikely to be an issue to the fish because it normally contains less contaminants than regular tap water does - it's hard to tell unless you provided the chemical composition of the tap water.
Temperature
Generally aquariums for Marine and Tropical fish need to be kept at a reasonable temperature for the fish to survive. Adding cold water (especially chilled) will lower the overall temperature of the tank. Again, this is mitigated by the fact the tank is 125 gallons so very little change will be felt by the fish.
As a side note - It is normally temperature extremes or sudden change which is most problematic for fish.
Saltwater Dilution:
If it is a salt water aquarium, it will have a specific salinity. This means how much salt is dissolved into the water. By adding freshwater to the tank, you've likely adjusted the salinity level of the aquarium. However, (have you spotted the theme yet?) the larger volume of the tank means that you have a much smaller affect on the water chemistry.
Dirty Gravel:
I wouldn't worry about the gravel. Most fish keepers will do a water change every week (somewhere between 10-25%) and the gravel will be cleaned. Likely, all you're seeing is the accumulated dirt since the tank was last cleaned.
Don't feel silly, why would you know?
Caring for fish is tricky, you shouldn't feel silly for adding water to the tank. The most common cause of fish dying while owners are away is overfeeding. In reality, fish only need a very small amount of food. When I go away for less than 5 days, I would just let them use their reserves (not that I'm advocating it in this case).
If I'm doing frozen food, I'll always use tank water to defrost the food. Just keep doing that and let the owner know when you can get hold of them.
answered 3 hours ago
Henders♦
2,2512832
Thank you so much!!! The frozen krill was thawed while in the fridge so it was cold but I think that's what the owners do normally, that's what they did when they showed me. It's been about four days so far since they left, I'm glad I have time for this to settle itself out. Thank you again!
– fishnewb
2 hours ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
3
down vote
up vote
3
down vote
Don't panic, it's probably okay!
The key thing here is that you caught the error and asked the question. I'll cover both bases here and try and explain a few things (forgive me if you already know them).
Firstly, this is a good sized tank, so if you've only added a small amount of water, it probably won't make much difference. The dilution of the bottled water in the tank will be pretty high. Bottled water is also unlikely to be an issue to the fish because it normally contains less contaminants than regular tap water does - it's hard to tell unless you provided the chemical composition of the tap water.
Temperature
Generally aquariums for Marine and Tropical fish need to be kept at a reasonable temperature for the fish to survive. Adding cold water (especially chilled) will lower the overall temperature of the tank. Again, this is mitigated by the fact the tank is 125 gallons so very little change will be felt by the fish.
As a side note - It is normally temperature extremes or sudden change which is most problematic for fish.
Saltwater Dilution:
If it is a salt water aquarium, it will have a specific salinity. This means how much salt is dissolved into the water. By adding freshwater to the tank, you've likely adjusted the salinity level of the aquarium. However, (have you spotted the theme yet?) the larger volume of the tank means that you have a much smaller affect on the water chemistry.
Dirty Gravel:
I wouldn't worry about the gravel. Most fish keepers will do a water change every week (somewhere between 10-25%) and the gravel will be cleaned. Likely, all you're seeing is the accumulated dirt since the tank was last cleaned.
Don't feel silly, why would you know?
Caring for fish is tricky, you shouldn't feel silly for adding water to the tank. The most common cause of fish dying while owners are away is overfeeding. In reality, fish only need a very small amount of food. When I go away for less than 5 days, I would just let them use their reserves (not that I'm advocating it in this case).
If I'm doing frozen food, I'll always use tank water to defrost the food. Just keep doing that and let the owner know when you can get hold of them.
answered 3 hours ago
Henders♦
2,2512832
Don't panic, it's probably okay!
The key thing here is that you caught the error and asked the question. I'll cover both bases here and try and explain a few things (forgive me if you already know them).
Firstly, this is a good sized tank, so if you've only added a small amount of water, it probably won't make much difference. The dilution of the bottled water in the tank will be pretty high. Bottled water is also unlikely to be an issue to the fish because it normally contains less contaminants than regular tap water does - it's hard to tell unless you provided the chemical composition of the tap water.
Temperature
Generally aquariums for Marine and Tropical fish need to be kept at a reasonable temperature for the fish to survive. Adding cold water (especially chilled) will lower the overall temperature of the tank. Again, this is mitigated by the fact the tank is 125 gallons so very little change will be felt by the fish.
As a side note - It is normally temperature extremes or sudden change which is most problematic for fish.
Saltwater Dilution:
If it is a salt water aquarium, it will have a specific salinity. This means how much salt is dissolved into the water. By adding freshwater to the tank, you've likely adjusted the salinity level of the aquarium. However, (have you spotted the theme yet?) the larger volume of the tank means that you have a much smaller affect on the water chemistry.
Dirty Gravel:
I wouldn't worry about the gravel. Most fish keepers will do a water change every week (somewhere between 10-25%) and the gravel will be cleaned. Likely, all you're seeing is the accumulated dirt since the tank was last cleaned.
Don't feel silly, why would you know?
Caring for fish is tricky, you shouldn't feel silly for adding water to the tank. The most common cause of fish dying while owners are away is overfeeding. In reality, fish only need a very small amount of food. When I go away for less than 5 days, I would just let them use their reserves (not that I'm advocating it in this case).
If I'm doing frozen food, I'll always use tank water to defrost the food. Just keep doing that and let the owner know when you can get hold of them.
answered 3 hours ago
Henders♦
2,2512832
answered 3 hours ago
Henders♦
2,2512832
answered 3 hours ago
Henders♦
2,2512832
answered 3 hours ago
Henders♦
2,2512832
2,2512832
Thank you so much!!! The frozen krill was thawed while in the fridge so it was cold but I think that's what the owners do normally, that's what they did when they showed me. It's been about four days so far since they left, I'm glad I have time for this to settle itself out. Thank you again!
– fishnewb
2 hours ago
add a comment |Â
Thank you so much!!! The frozen krill was thawed while in the fridge so it was cold but I think that's what the owners do normally, that's what they did when they showed me. It's been about four days so far since they left, I'm glad I have time for this to settle itself out. Thank you again!
– fishnewb
2 hours ago
Thank you so much!!! The frozen krill was thawed while in the fridge so it was cold but I think that's what the owners do normally, that's what they did when they showed me. It's been about four days so far since they left, I'm glad I have time for this to settle itself out. Thank you again!
– fishnewb
2 hours ago
Thank you so much!!! The frozen krill was thawed while in the fridge so it was cold but I think that's what the owners do normally, that's what they did when they showed me. It's been about four days so far since they left, I'm glad I have time for this to settle itself out. Thank you again!
– fishnewb
2 hours ago
add a comment |Â
fishnewb is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
fishnewb is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
fishnewb is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
fishnewb is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
StackExchange.ready(
function ()
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fpets.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f21405%2fwould-a-small-amount-of-bottled-water-mixed-in-with-an-aquarium-harm-the-fish%23new-answer', 'question_page');
);
Post as a guest
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
If you can get a picture of the fish, we can tell you if it is salt or freshwater. That will slightly change my answer either way.
– Henders♦
3 hours ago
No problem! The lights are on a timer so I've gotta wait a bit, but I know it includes a blue and a yellow tang as well as some clownfish and shrimp
– fishnewb
3 hours ago
Yep, that's saltwater then :)
– Henders♦
3 hours ago