Stress Coat

Originally posted by RTR
By not treating for ammonia along with chlorine, you are ammonia-stressing the fish every time you water change, which is sort of defeating the purpose of that exercise is it not? You are, in effect, minicycling every water change. Not in my fish tanks, thank you very much.
Click to expand...

Just some random thoughts - fishes do produce ammnia continuously, correct? By adding chemicals that remove ammonia, doesn't this starve bacteria, leading to small decrease in population? As soon as the chemicals have been used up, you will end up with fishes producing ammonia at slightly faster rate than what bacteria colony can handle, hence mini cycle... :D (I could be completely off...)

On the other hand, if these are those chemicals that converts ammonia from toxic form to non-toxic form that bacteria can still consume, I guess this problem doesn't exist.

Hey, go easy on me I'm only trying to learn... :D
 
Amquel, and maybe Prime and AmmoLock, don't deprive the ammonia from the bacteria. They just make it non-toxic to fish.

If you don't have chloramine, i.e., if you have only chlorine, using Amquel or similar is not very cost-effective. There are a number of places where you can get sodium thiosulfate crystals that you mix with distilled water, providing a basic dechlorinator for a fraction of the cost of Amquel (or StressCoat). Even better, you don't get all the other crud that's put into StressCoat!

Even cheaper, buy a big plastic garbage can and age your water a day or two. If you have chlorinated (not chloriminated) water, the chlorine will offgas on its own and you won't have to add a thing!

Fishkeeping really needn't be about all these expensive (and mostly unnecessary) products the industry would like you to buy...

Jim
 
I can't believe this tread is still alive.

Calling the Stress Coat ingredients "crud" is kind of a slap in the face, don't you think?

HTH-

Technical Reference Sheet
Stress Coat®

Purpose and Benefits:

Stress Coat forms a synthetic slime coating on the skin of fish, replacing the natural secretion of slime that is lost during netting, handling, shipping, fighting and other forms of stress. Stress Coat is a patented water conditioner suitable for fresh and salt water aquariums, water gardens and ponds. Stress Coat contains Aloe Vera, which acts as a liquid bandage, to protect and heal damaged fish tissue. Stress Coat instantly removes chlorine and heavy metals such as copper and zinc from tap water. Stress Coat also removes chloramines by breaking the chlorine-ammonia bond.

The effectiveness of Stress Coat with Aloe Vera has been proven by independent studies conducted at the University of Georgia, School of Veterinary Medicine. Researchers found that Stress Coat helped heal wounds and speed tissue regrowth. Dr John Gratzek summarizes the results: "Personally, I am satisfied with the results since my initial thoughts were skeptical to say the least. These definite statements can be made without equivocation: Stress Coat in no way harms aquarium fish, alters pH, or affects the biological filter. No ammonia or nitrite was detected in the test aquariums. The results indicated that the Stress Coat formula reduced the wound size compared to untreated fish tissue." Aloe Vera is high in mucopolysaccharides, an essential component of many tissues and believed to help in the healing process. The glycoproteins Aloctin A and Aloctin B are also present and identified as the probable tissue-healers.

Directions for Use:

Each dose of Stress Coat removes 3.0 ppm chlorine and 0.3 ppm heavy metals.
To protect fish and condition water:
Add two teaspoonfuls (10 ml) for every 10 U.S. gallons of aquarium water.
To remove chlorine and heavy metals and neutralize chloramines:Add one teaspoonful (5 ml) for every 10 U.S. gallons (40 liters) of tap water.
For tropical fish use only. Do not use on fish intended for human consumption.


Compatibility:

Stress Coat can be used with freshwater tropical fish, marine fish, invertebrates and coldwater species including koi and goldfish. Stress Coat will not harm aquatic plants. Stress Coat may cause foaming in marine aquariums using a protein skimmer. Stress Coat will not interfere with water test kits.


Here's a link to the MSDS of Stress Coat-

http://www.aquariumpharm.com/msds/85_StressCoat.pdf
 
Originally posted by chefkeith
I can't believe this tread is still alive.

Calling the Stress Coat ingredients "crud" is kind of a slap in the face, don't you think?

Click to expand...

I don't think it was a slap in the face... mildly insulting (to the makers of StressCoat), maybe, but not a slap in the face...

;)

Healthy fish grow wonderful slime coatings all on their own. If the point is that aloe vera speeds healing, I could accept that. But I don't see any need to continually expose my healthy fish to anything that "forms a synthetic slime coating on the skin of fish" (and on the gills and any other exposed tissue), especially when that stuff adds substantially to the cost of what is really a glorified dechlorinator.

And I still think their statement that it "removes chloramines," while technically accurate as they clarify it, is misleading. It removes chlorine, nothing more.

I'm sure there are lots of worse things one can put in their aquarium, and maybe there are no longterm bad effects from using StressCoat. My point is just that it is not necessary and the same effects can be had in much, much cheaper products.

That's all...

Jim
 
I can't believe this thread is alive either.

My fish are not wounded, are very rarely netted if ever, are not stressed, are not fighting, have not been shipped either for several years or never. Why would I need or want a synthetic slime coat? I age almost all my water and check for chloramine - if present (rarely), I use an agent which will inactivate the chlorine and complex the released ammonia into a harmless form (which Stresscoat will not do) .

If it is an agent that I neither want or need in my tank, to me that makes it pollution.

All IMO, in my practice, and in my tanks. In your tanks, the choice is yours.
 
Yes, that is exactly what RTR is saying - more ammonia in the tank, hence mini-cycle according to him/her.

I'm still not convinced which is better - the one that leaves some ammonia behind or the other one that removes too much ammonia for the natural balance... :D
 
Yup, that was exactly what I intended. Chloramine breaks into chlorine and ammonia, both harmful. Stresscoat inactivtes the chlorine, fine, but it leaves the ammonia free in the water and detectable by hobby test kit. By definition, detectable ammonia is harmful.

It is not possible to "upset the natural balance" with Amquel or Prime, as they lock the ammonia into the ammonium ion form (which is harmless to the fish and which is still available to nitrification bacteria).

My fish and my tanks do not ever see any detectable ammonia. I choose not to stress or risk my fish without any reason for doing so.

Your tank, your choice.
 
One more question... :D

If this product works so well in converting ammonia from one form (toxic) to another (non-toxic) without disturbing bacteria, how come this isn't used commonly during cycling? It sure sounds like a super-safe way to do a cycle using live fish?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom