Aquarium Water 'Top Off'

I have noticed a lot of people asking about 'topping off' aquarium water. This means that typically over a short period of time you may notice your aquariums water level going down from the water gradually evaporating into the air. Some people have the impression that you aren't suppose to replace that water in the aquarium, and that's actually not true. If you didn't replace that evaporated water than overtime your aquarium wouldn't have any or enough water in it to sustain its inhabitants. However, you do not want to consider topping off your aquarium water as a type of 'water change' because technically you wouldn't be changing any water.

So now you may be wondering what to do in this matter. Well, you can top off the aquarium water all you like to keep the aquarium from emptying out, but I'd suggest to do a partial water change at this time by emptying out some of the current aquarium water, and then replace that removed water and top off the aquarium in the process. If you happen to notice any of your water parameters (nitrite, ammonia, pH, etc.) aren't where you'd like them to be after testing the water then it may require more additional water changes. Be sure the new water you add into your aquarium is the same temperature or within 3-5°F of the current aquarium waters temperature (or you may risk getting your fish sick with things like ich).

A few ways you can try to reduce aquarium water from evaporating quickly is by keeping a lid on the aquarium, although you still want some openings on your lid so that the aquarium gets proper air and water exchange so that the tank can cycle naturally without causing toxic CO2 buildup. Another thing you can do is try to lower the aquariums water temperature if you do have an aquarium heater, or try adding in an air diffuser to reduce heat. Also insure you don't have any leaks in your aquarium or filtration, and that any air pump tubes used have working check valves on them. If you do run an air diffuser it may make water gradually splash/bubble out of the aquarium if you don't have an aquarium lid.

Treating Ich on Ranchu

This past week I made a big mistake thinking that my ranchu would be fine in a temporary bucket of water while I cleaned out the aquarium. Well, it took me awhile to get around to actually cleaning my tank so I transferred my ranchu into a new bucket of water and they ended up going through a drastic temperature change (ranchu can only handle around a 3-5F temperature change at time) and thus suffered from it. Bumblez is not at all a fan of cold water and thus he began slowing down his swimming, while Oakki had broke-out in ich on the front of his wen. Luckily I was able to remedy both of them at the same time, here's how I cured and treated the ich in under 3 days (be sure to treat ich ASAP)...

1: Do at least a 50% water change to the aquarium water (be sure the new water added in is within 3-5F of the current tank water temperature), and treat the water with Seachem Prime according to directions (Seachem Prime helps reduce stress, helps slime coating, and dechlorinates water).

2: Keep the water temp in the aquarium around 74-76F (I use an Aqueon heater), as this seems to be an ideal temperature for ranchu in general.

3: Add 1-TBSP of Aquarium Salt (I used the Jungle brand) per 8-10 gallons of water (aquarium salt reduces stress, provides electrolytes, and cleans.. it may also raise your pH so be sure to dose accordingly). Although it may not be necessary, I added in a pinch of aquarium salt everyday after this initial dose until my ranchu no longer showed signs of ich.

4: Turn off any aquarium lighting to reduce any stress caused by glare, etc as these fish have already undergone enough stress at this point.

5: Be sure to run an air diffuser in your aquarium (along with a 24/hr running filtration system) for at least several hours a day to insure the fish are getting plenty of oxygen in the water (this is very important if you are using any other water treatments to remedy your fish outside of what I have on this post), this is especially important for smaller aquariums and/or ones with a higher temperature.

I hope my ranchu ich remedy works for others just as well as it did for my ranchu, and be sure to do another 50% water change a few days after having done the first one as to reduce the risk of having ich spread, etc (just be sure the new water you're adding into your aquarium is in the ideal temperature range as I mentioned before, too drastic a change may only worsen or cause the ich to reoccur). Good/adequate water quality can solve a lot of problems (be sure ammonia levels are also in a safe range, preferably no traces of ammonia, this is especially important if you have a small or overcrowded aquarium).