Goldfish water

[amarillis]

My flatmate bought some goldfish on the weekend and the guy from the pet shop had put them in bright blue water, saying they had to stay in it for a week as it was 'medicine' to help their skin and to help them acclimatise to a new environment - my flatmate's goldfish bowl. Has anyone ever heard of this blue water stuff before?

[amarillis]

No I didn't mean a bowl as such, I think they aren't very nice for the fish at all - it is a large enough tank with plants, etc in it.

[montyy]

yes i have heard of it. i had to have it for my fish. it is to stop them getting a disease called 'whitespot'. however, i did not put mine in when i got my fish, but if i had realised then i would have, as my fiah began to form a white crust underneath them and began to form spots. one almost died, so we separated it from the rest. after the treatment, the fish was alright.

ps i too keep my fish in a large rectangular tank which has a filter and some little plants!

[Elfin]

When transferring fish into a new home filled with (tap) water, they use an additive (which is blue coloured) in the new tank to make the tapwater safe for the fish (to neutralise chlorine etc).  It also, as montyy says, protects against infections.  Not sure what's in it, but it works.

[chrisn]

The stuff is called MEDIFIN, my parents use it in their pond

[2nosey]

i use the same medicine for my fish because it's got white spots. it's called gold's disease safe. i suggest you buy some and add a few drops everytime you change the water. it's great stuff. also another good idea is to get gold's tap safe water it takes the chlorine out of the water.