I bought couple of clown fish and damsel fish. Coz I cant use the electricity and therefore cant have a pump, I bought oxygen crystals instead. I was told by the shopowner that they will last 6 months. It kind of acts like a pump substitute. However I notice my fish seem to be gasping for air at the water surface! Ok Im really upset now. Seems to me they are dying. Having a pump is out of qn. How do I go about now?
2007-04-24 03:38:47 · 5 answers · asked by Wish 4 in Pets ➔ Fish
I would be very upset if I were you. What you have been sold is basically garbage. They don't work as sold and are usually quite dangerous to the fish. You should in my opinion demand a refund.
Further, you should be upset with whoever told you a marine a tank would work without a filter or air pump. Unless those two fish are in a 100+ gallon tank, the ammonia will get them eventually and you will at best always be fighting ammonia and dissolved oxygen problems.
My suggestion, find a new shop and look for reasonable replacement ideas for your tank. Freshwater and battery operated air pumps with air driven filtration would be an excellent start.
MM
2007-04-24 04:13:56 · answer #1 · answered by magicman116 7 · 4⤊ 0⤋
The only thing I know of that is remotely close to what you are asking about is called "Bag Buddies" and they are small tablets used when fish are going to be in a bag for more than an hour or two. It contains a mild sedative and an oxygen generator of some sort, probably peroxide in combination with something else. These will definitely not work in an aquarium.
No wonder your fish are gasping at the surface, they are about to die. Either from ammonia poisoning or from lack of oxygen or from the "oxygen crystals" you put in the tank. What did the directions on the package say? What fish store did you buy all this at? They really took you for a ride...
The smartest thing you could do at this point is to quickly take the fish back to the store and hope they can save their lives. Probably too late, though.
If you plan to try again..... do some research on the fish you want to have before bringing them home and set the tank up and cycle it before purchasing fish.
A good site to learn about fish is "About.com." Here are their pages on new aquariums, one for fresh and one for salt:
http://freshaquarium.about.com/od/aquariumstartup/Aquarium_Startup.htm
http://saltaquarium.about.com/od/startinganaquarium/ss/aqsetup.htm
Good luck in the future.
2007-04-24 12:58:58 · answer #2 · answered by 8 In the corner 6 · 3⤊ 0⤋
There is no such thing as oxygen crystals at ordinary temperatures. There are substances that react with water to produce oxygen. Metalic peroxides are one example. There is also produced a metalic hydroxide which is toxic. Unless you know what the chemical(s) is/are that you are puting into your aquarium you don't know what is being produced. My guess is that someone told you a story that was not true and accurate!!!
There are pumps that are available, as I have seen them advertised, that are powered by batteries, but this is not commonly done since the batteries tend to be more expensive---but a battery driven pump is you best solution.
2007-04-24 11:01:36 · answer #3 · answered by David M 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
From what I can understand, Oxygen Crystals are Sodium Peroxide.This is a very strong oxidant that is used for bleaching hair.
IF it can be used for fish, I would think the amount that is put in the water would be critical or the fish would get burned.
2007-04-24 10:53:07 · answer #4 · answered by bob shark 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
If you cant use electricity then you have no right subjecting the fish to inadequate environments. I suggest returning the fish back to the store you bought them from until you have the proper tank and supplies needed to take proper care of them. Saltwater is not a hobby you can get away with doing things cheaply or by cutting corners. Good Luck!
2007-04-24 11:32:08 · answer #5 · answered by lilith 3 · 2⤊ 2⤋