water change - fish shedding slime coat

[-gb-]

I've recently noticed that every time I do a water change my fish shed their slime coat. My fish are also darker in colour.

I do 75% water changes every other day. I fill up a 50 gallon drum with tap water that is the same temp that is in the tank. I then treat the water with one cap full of Prime (as directed on the bottle). My water out of the tap has a PH of 7.10 & my tank is set at 6.95. I have a CO2 setup that stabilizes the PH nicely.

Other info:
65 gallon tank, planted in pots, bare bottom, 5 adult discus.

Any ideas why my fish shed their slime coat?

Thanks!

[brewmaster15]

Hi,
If the water is not aged and aerated well it will often contain alot of dissolved gases.... these gases lift the slime coat off the fish. Often you will see small bubbles also over the surface of tank walls and sponges as well..

It can really stress a fish out so you may want to age your water or do smaller more frequent water changes.

hth,
al

[-gb-]

Thanks Al, Yes I do see a lot of bubbles in the tank after I do a water change. I was aging the water in the summer when it was less expensive to heat the water. What is the minimum recommended time for aging & aerating the water?

[brewmaster15]

Its really different for everyone....depends on the source of aeration and amount of dissolved gasses... trial and error is best way to determine..

Depending on the tank.... you may be able to change less water...especially helpful if you are using CO2 for those plants.

hth,
al

[-gb-]

Thanks again Al, I'll try aging the water for 8 hours and see if that does the tick and if not I'll work back from there.

[champak]

I also had similar problem, but the reason behind it was algae and not slime coat. Whenever i did water change, i use to notice some slimy white chips floating in water after water change, The problem was that the filling pipe was exposed to sunlight during day time so algae grew on it and during water change it use to come off in tank.

[Harriett]

Another thing to help degass more quickly is for the new water to smack into the surface --if filling into the tank, you could try using a garden spray head several inches above the water surface [reads like a good rain to the fish!]; if putting new water into an aging barrel, do the same or put a powerhead in there to move the water around a bunch. Both things help...but I agree that if you have a tank full of bubbles and discus getting deslimed, there is too much gas in the water or too large a water change for the amount of gas present. Remember that in the spring and the fall many city water companies change water treatment parameters based on weather temps changing and you should monitor what you are doing more closely while that transition is occurring.

[-gb-]

Thanks Harriett, good advice. I've aged my water and have my storage bin setup the way you've recommended. I did a water change today and no problems.

Fish are already looking better.

[Harriett]

That's great, glad it worked out. There are just a million little tricks and pieces of info to learn to make this hobby more successful and a happier experience. SD offers a whole lot of education.
Very best to you,
Harriett