💧 Water care + treatments
Fish don't get sick from "bugs" — they get sick from bad water. Ammonia, nitrite, wrong pH, chlorinated tap water — invisible problems that kill fish slowly. Test kits + a weekly water change + a bottle of dechlor are the most important products in this category. Here's the system.
Neutralises chlorine, chloramine + heavy metals from tap water. Seachem Prime is the gold standard (also detoxifies ammonia + nitrite temporarily — a literal lifesaver in emergencies). Add to every drop of new water that goes in the tank, no exceptions.
API Freshwater Master Test Kit. Tests pH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate. Liquid drops > test strips (strips wildly inaccurate). One kit lasts ~2 years. Test weekly + after any change. €30 buys peace of mind. Skip the strips.
Seachem Prime (also detoxifies ammonia 24h/dose), Tetra Safe Start (live nitrifying bacteria for new tanks/recovery). For emergencies — not substitutes for cycling + maintenance.
Ich (white spot): aquarium salt + temperature 28 °C, or NT Labs Anti-White Spot. Fin rot: melafix or methylene blue. Bacterial: Esha 2000, Waterlife Myxazin. Always test water FIRST — most "disease" is actually water quality. Quarantine new fish for 4 weeks.
Salt: stress reducer, mild ich treatment, NOT for shrimp/scaleless fish (kuhli, plecos, cories). pH buffers (Seachem Alkaline / Acid): for African cichlids + soft-water tanks. Most community tanks don't need either — match fish to your tap water instead of buffering.
Most home tanks: 25–30% of volume changed weekly. Heavy stocking / messy fish / planted no-CO₂: 50%. Skipping water changes raises nitrate (algae food + slow poison to fish). The single most important habit in fishkeeping.
Irish tap water has chlorine + chloramine — both kill beneficial bacteria + irritate fish gills. Add dechlorinator (Seachem Prime: 1 ml per 40 L) to the bucket BEFORE adding to tank. NEVER pour straight tap water onto fish or filter media.
New water within 1–2 °C of tank temperature. Cold-water-shock kills fish quickly. Use a kettle or a kitchen mixer tap. NEVER ice-cold straight from the tap into a heated tank.
Every Sunday: test pH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate. Write in a notebook or app. Healthy: ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate under 20 ppm, pH stable for your fish. Trends matter more than single readings — a slowly rising nitrate = filter overdue.
Irish tap water in most cities is moderately hard, slightly alkaline pH 7.2–7.6 — perfect for livebearers (guppies, mollies, platys), African Rift Lake cichlids, snails. Soft acidic water (Discus, Apistogramma, Crystal Shrimp) needs RO filter — major investment. Pick easy fish that match your tap water.
Seachem Prime full dose (locks ammonia 24h) + 50% water change immediately + reduce/skip feeding for 3 days + retest twice daily. Most ammonia spikes resolve in 2–7 days if caught early. The faster you respond, the less stress + damage to fish.
Our water care and teatments range goes live as we vet suppliers — we won't list anything we wouldn't use ourselves. In the meantime, our calculators, breed guides and AI vet tools below are free and don't need stock.
Weekly, 25–30% of tank volume — for most home tanks. Heavily stocked or planted-no-CO₂: 50%. New cycling tanks: nearly daily until ammonia + nitrite stabilise at 0. Skipping water changes is the #1 cause of slow tank decline + fish disease.
Liquid every time. Test strips give wildly variable readings (often 50% off), expire fast, and lull you into false security. API Freshwater Master Test Kit (liquid) costs €30, lasts 2 years, and is what every experienced fishkeeper uses. Worth the small upfront investment.
Probably water quality. 90% of "mystery" fish deaths are ammonia spikes, nitrite, or temperature crash — none visible to the eye. Test the water immediately when something dies. If readings are wrong, water change + investigate (overstocked? filter clogged? heater stuck? overfed?). True disease is often the second-order effect.
Most freshwater community tanks: no. Aquarium salt is a stress reducer + mild ich treatment, but it harms shrimp + scaleless fish (kuhlis, plecos, cories) at any meaningful dose. Use only when actually needed (sick livebearers, ich emergency) and remove via water changes after.
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