# I am angry!



## juanitow (Jun 21, 2008)

For the past few weeks, I have had fish succumb to what I thought was dropsy. They bloated and died. My CRS who are the hardiest thing I've ever kept started dying. As some of you might have also experienced, a sick tank can make you feel depressed. I found out today that my mom turned on the water softener. I told her that salt water kills fish, but she wouldn't believe me. Now half my tank is dead the other half is dying and it wasn't even a parasite!

I'm also relieved, because I felt an enormous amount of guilt that my fish died because I was a bad fish owner. Now I know that it's not all my fault.

I'm still very angry though. I loved those fish.


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## AquaNeko (Jul 26, 2009)

Oh man I feel for your loss.  Do you have a spare hospital tank or a plastic tub you could use for treatment?

If our mom wants the water softener (for the shower to keep the build up/clean up down?) then see if a neighbor could let you use their garden hose for water changes.


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## TBemba (Jan 11, 2010)

1st off A water softener does add salt to your water but very small amounts the salt is used to recharge the resin beads and is discharged into your laundry tub or drain not into your drinking water. 2nd most water softeners are not hooked up to the cold water or drinking water (only to the hot water) You should not be adding very much hot/warm water to your tank. Actually you should never add any hot/warm water to your fish tank. Let it stand until it is room temp.

I have had a water softener for over 20 years and have kept fish of every description you can imagine and fill the tanks with straight tap water and even with softened water. Never had any deaths due to soft water.

So I would have to say you maybe you should take a second look at your fish keeping abilities.


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## juanitow (Jun 21, 2008)

TBemba said:


> 1st off A water softener does add salt to your water but very small amounts the salt is used to recharge the resin beads and is discharged into your laundry tub or drain not into your drinking water. 2nd most water softeners are not hooked up to the cold water or drinking water (only to the hot water) You should not be adding very much hot/warm water to your tank. Actually you should never add any hot/warm water to your fish tank. Let it stand until it is room temp.
> 
> I have had a water softener for over 20 years and have kept fish of every description you can imagine and fill the tanks with straight tap water and even with softened water. Never had any deaths due to soft water.
> 
> So I would have to say you maybe you should take a second look at your fish keeping abilities.


The way water softeners work is by an exchange resin that exchanges the hardness of lime (calcium bicarbonate) with sodium or potassium chloride. In other words, it takes away calcium and replaces it with sodium or potassium. These are tanganyikans I am keeping, so I don't think they would be happy with their all their calcium carbonate replaced with salt.

My cold water is also softened. I can tell because:

1. it tastes gross
2. it leaves a slimy film on my skin when I wash my hands with cold water


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## juanitow (Jun 21, 2008)

AquaNeko said:


> Oh man I feel for your loss.  Do you have a spare hospital tank or a plastic tub you could use for treatment?
> 
> If our mom wants the water softener (for the shower to keep the build up/clean up down?) then see if a neighbor could let you use their garden hose for water changes.


Thanks 

I am just going to slowly replace the water with hard water. There's a valve in the basement that I can use to turn off the softener, so getting hard water is not a problem.


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## cidco (Aug 10, 2010)

*Och*

Sorry to hear about your loss, bring a sample of your water to BAs and let them test it... Just to make sure everything is ok..


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## 50seven (Feb 14, 2010)

juanitow said:


> The way water softeners work is by an exchange resin that exchanges the hardness of lime (calcium bicarbonate) with sodium or potassium chloride. In other words, it takes away calcium and replaces it with sodium or potassium. These are tanganyikans I am keeping, so I don't think they would be happy with their all their calcium carbonate replaced with salt.
> 
> My cold water is also softened. I can tell because:
> 
> ...


+1

Every single installation that I have even done or seen, softened all of the water in the entire house, with the exception of the outdoor hose faucet.

When I first got into fishkeeping on my own this January, I did the same thing. I filled up the tank with softened water and killed my first three fish in about 3 hours. So don't feel bad. Just make your mom buy you new fish.

Or move out...


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## TBemba (Jan 11, 2010)

Laundry tub and washer cold water should never be Soften. Also your cold should never be softened. (reason it taste bad and etc) Whoever is installing these water softeners in TO area has no idea what they are doing. You must have to replace the salt every month and have it running every night. Pretty big waste of $$.

Still Most issues with fish recommend Salt as a treatment. I find it hard to believe you can kill your fish with soft water but I have never used the cold water that is softened in the kitchen sink. I have all my tanks in the basement and use the Laundry tub (without soft water) Mixed with some warm water (soft water) no issues. I have kept Discus, Tropheus tons of other Tangs even shellies and they are sensitive to water conditions.

how long did you have the fish and how long with soft water?

I am just saying you might not have the real reason. But only time will tell.

How quickly did they die?
was there any noticeable issues with the fish?
were they eating?

How are you so sure it was the softener?

Sure get the water tested if you want but with all those dead fish sitting in the tank until you pulled them will definitely effect the water quality after the fact. Will never get a what was the water quality like before they died. (think about it)


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## BillD (Jun 5, 2006)

laundry tub water should be softened, if you use the water for laundry. That is one of the few places it should be softened. Softened water actually has a higher TDS than the presoftened water if my information is correct. Each CA ion is replaced by 2 Na ions, which increases the total amount of dissolved solids in the water.
Regardless, I know people who keep tangs in softened water, rather than their more appropriate well water, with no problems.


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## gucci17 (Oct 11, 2007)

Yes, it can suck losing fish. I feel the same way whenever something happens to one of mine. But to be honest I don't think it's the soft water either. I know people that use water softener and their fish appear to be fine. 

How long have you had these fish and what type are they?


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