Any good dechlorinators for bettas?

Hello,
Quick question... I'm almost out of dechlorinator and am ordering a few things for my fish today or tomorrow so I'm wondering if anyone has any good betta water dechlorinator recommendations, if it even matters. The current stuff I have been using is called Nutrafin Betta Plus, and it seems to work fine except for I feel like the amount I have to put in is kind of a lot (at least a lot more than a kind I used before). It says to use 5 mL per 0.5 Gallons. And because of this the bottle has run out so quickly which is annoying. It also leaves the top of the water looking somewhat oily...
Or that could all be normal, thoughts?

 

I use API's water conditioner for everything. Seachem's Prime is also a popular one

 

I use Tetra water conditioner, it's easy to use and really cheap on Amazon, I'll attach a link. It's a big bottle too.

Tetra 16172 AquaSafe Fish Tank Water Conditioner, 8.45 fl oz

 

If its chlorine you'd like to remove, I'd probably use a container, fill it with tap water, add a bubbler and allow the chlorine to escape the next 24-48 hours. Add some botanicals / leaf litter to get some humic substances and tiny critters in the water also. Your betta will appreciate it.

If your tap contains chloramine, using a dechlorinator is probably easiest, but costs some money.

 

Chlorine can't evaporate, so just beat to get a dechlorinator, unless you see on your water facilities website that there is only chlorine.

 

Hello,
Quick question... I'm almost out of dechlorinator and am ordering a few things for my fish today or tomorrow so I'm wondering if anyone has any good betta water dechlorinator recommendations, if it even matters. The current stuff I have been using is called Nutrafin Betta Plus, and it seems to work fine except for I feel like the amount I have to put in is kind of a lot (at least a lot more than a kind I used before). It says to use 5 mL per 0.5 Gallons. And because of this the bottle has run out so quickly which is annoying. It also leaves the top of the water looking somewhat oily...
Or that could all be normal, thoughts?

There might be one or two exceptions, but items sold specifically for bettas generally aren't any different from the products sold for all other tropical fish (except maybe the price).

 

Prime will be the most bang for your buck. Its concentrated more than most dechlorinators. Its only a couple drops for 5g. I think anything tagged Betta is more expensive just because. Betta.

I use Aqueon mostly because I fill buckets and it a trust issue with filling non treated buckets.

 

Thanks, y'all!

It makes sense that most are probably no different from just regular dechlorinator. I've done some research since then and that seems to be the case. I initially thought maybe there was a difference since I was seeing that there are separate water dechlorinators and conditioners marketed specifically for bettas. Thanks a ton!

And I agree, StarGirl, bettas are a pretty big market because they're "beginner" fish. So it makes sense that it'd be just because.

 

Chlorine can't evaporate, so just beat to get a dechlorinator, unless you see on your water facilities website that there is only chlorine.

Respectfully, chlorine can and does leave the water.

It outgasses from water - which is why we can smell it. It’s extremely volatile so it strongly prefers to be a gas in air than to be dissolved in water. Chlorine will be gone from tap water in a matter of a day or two if it’s left to outgas.

Chloramine is less volatile than chlorine but it also outgases. It just takes 4-5x as long to do it as chlorine does.

You can remove plain chlorine by using carbon to filter the water and do without conditioner entirely, the way all fish keepers did when I was first into fish.

But you cannot do that with chloramine unless you have some Catalytic charcoal, which is a lot harder to come by and far more costly than plain activated carbon is.

I’ve done some research into water conditioners and almost all of them use the same basic ingredient, which is sodium thiosulfate.

Prime & Safe use dithionite, which simply degrades into sodium thiosulfate, making it not-so-different from all the brands that just use sodium thiosulfate.

That is what conditioners are. They are reducing agents that reduce chlorine.

ST reacts with both chlorine and the chlorine in chloramine which reduces the chlorine to hydrogen chloride (2HCl), sulfur (S) and sodium sulfate (Na2SO4). Those compounds won’t harm fish.

Dosages for conditioners vary widely.

Fritz Aquatics Complete and Seachem Prime have the lowest dose I’m aware of at 1 ml/gallon and Seachem Safe calls for even less - so much less it can be difficult to use it without a good scale.

Do a bit of math and you can figure out the best deal when you need to buy some.

If product A calls for 5 ml/5G, that works out to 1 ml/G. A 100 ml bottle will treat 100 gallons.

If product B calls for 1 ml/10G, a 100 ml bottle will treat 1000 gallons of water. That’s a LOT less water you’re paying for in that product.

Then divide the cost of the bottle by the number of gallons it will treat and that tells which one is the best deal for you.

And try not to get too worried about any of the extra benefits some conditioners claim to provide. I’m in the middle of doing some experiments on that and if they work out as I expect them to, they will show that Prime and it’s competitors don’t do what they claim to do - detox ammonia and so on. I have reason to think those claims are fallacious. I never rely on conditioners to do anything but dechlorinate.

 

Ive used dechlorinator religiously for 20 years but stopped now. This is for Toronto and GTA tap water. No issues that Ive noticed

Not saying to stop using them, but there may be more to the cause of fish death than chlorine toxicity

I used API dechlorinator back then as it was the most cost efficient

 

Respectfully, chlorine can and does leave the water.

It outgasses from water - which is why we can smell it. It’s extremely volatile so it strongly prefers to be a gas in air than to be dissolved in water. Chlorine will be gone from tap water in a matter of a day or two if it’s left to outgas.

Chloramine is less volatile than chlorine but it also outgases. It just takes 4-5x as long to do it than chlorine does.

You can remove plain chlorine by using carbon to filter the water and do without conditioner entirely, the way all fish keepers did when I was first into fish.

But you cannot do that with chloramine unless you have some Catalytic charcoal, which is a lot harder to come by and far more costly than plain activated carbon is.

I’ve done some research into water conditioners and almost all of them use the same basic ingredient, which is sodium thiosulfate.

Prime & Safe use dithionite, which simply degrades into sodium thiosulfate and all of them that use ST to reduce chlorine.

That is what conditioners are,. Th.,,mnmhmney are reducing agents that reduce chlorine.

ST reacts with both chlorine and the chlorine in chloramine which reduces the chlorine to hydrogen chloride (2HCl), sulfur (S) and sodium sulfate (Na2SO4). Those compounds won’t harm fish.

Dosages for conditioners vary widely.

Fritz Aquatics Complete and Seachem Prime have the lowest dose I’m aware of at 1 ml/gallon and Seachem Safe calls for even less - so much less it can be difficult to use it without a good scale.

Do a bit of math and you can figure out the best deal when you need to buy some.

If product A calls for 5 ml/5G, that works out to 1 ml/G. A 100 ml bottle will treat 100 gallons.

If product B calls for 1 ml/10G, a 100 ml bottle will treat 1000 gallons of water. That’s a LOT less water you’re paying for in that product.

Then divide the cost of the bottle by the number of gallons it will treat and that tells which one is the best deal for you.

And try not to get too worried about any of the extra benefits some conditioners claim to provide. I’m in the middle of doing some experiments on that and if they work out as I expect them to, they will show that Prime and it’s competitors don’t do what they claim to do - detox ammonia and so on. I have reason to think those claims are fallacious. I never rely on conditioners to do anything but dechlorinate.

I meant chloramine, not chlorine. I didn't know that chloramine could actually evaporate though, even if it takes a long time.

 

I meant chloramine, not chlorine. I didn't know that chloramine could actually evaporate though, even if it takes a long time

Now you know something new, right? Always good to learn new things - every day I learn something is a good one I think.

 

Just Get an eyedropper and use 2 drops per gallon of seachums Prime.

 

Respectfully, chlorine can and does leave the water.

It outgasses from water - which is why we can smell it. It’s extremely volatile so it strongly prefers to be a gas in air than to be dissolved in water. Chlorine will be gone from tap water in a matter of a day or two if it’s left to outgas.

Chloramine is less volatile than chlorine but it also outgases. It just takes 4-5x as long to do it as chlorine does.

You can remove plain chlorine by using carbon to filter the water and do without conditioner entirely, the way all fish keepers did when I was first into fish.

But you cannot do that with chloramine unless you have some Catalytic charcoal, which is a lot harder to come by and far more costly than plain activated carbon is.

I’ve done some research into water conditioners and almost all of them use the same basic ingredient, which is sodium thiosulfate.

Prime & Safe use dithionite, which simply degrades into sodium thiosulfate, making it not-so-different from all the brands that just use sodium thiosulfate.

That is what conditioners are. They are reducing agents that reduce chlorine.

ST reacts with both chlorine and the chlorine in chloramine which reduces the chlorine to hydrogen chloride (2HCl), sulfur (S) and sodium sulfate (Na2SO4). Those compounds won’t harm fish.

Dosages for conditioners vary widely.

Fritz Aquatics Complete and Seachem Prime have the lowest dose I’m aware of at 1 ml/gallon and Seachem Safe calls for even less - so much less it can be difficult to use it without a good scale.

Do a bit of math and you can figure out the best deal when you need to buy some.

If product A calls for 5 ml/5G, that works out to 1 ml/G. A 100 ml bottle will treat 100 gallons.

If product B calls for 1 ml/10G, a 100 ml bottle will treat 1000 gallons of water. That’s a LOT less water you’re paying for in that product.

Then divide the cost of the bottle by the number of gallons it will treat and that tells which one is the best deal for you.

And try not to get too worried about any of the extra benefits some conditioners claim to provide. I’m in the middle of doing some experiments on that and if they work out as I expect them to, they will show that Prime and it’s competitors don’t do what they claim to do - detox ammonia and so on. I have reason to think those claims are fallacious. I never rely on conditioners to do anything but dechlorinate.

That answered so many questions, thanks! Also, it's so cool that you experiment yourself on different de-chlorinators and conditioners, I'm super interested in how your experiments end.

And thanks to all you other people! This has been really helpful!

 

That answered so many questions, thanks! Also, it's so cool that you experiment yourself on different de-chlorinators and conditioners, I'm super interested in how your experiments end.

And thanks to all you other people! This has been really helpful!

It bugs me that manufacturers of pet products can say just about anything they care to say on labels and it doesn’t have to be true - because there’s no law to make them be truthful.

 

My grandfather kept plants and fish without the use of technology, chemicals, et cetera. Then the industry came along, spread fear, but luckily they have solutions.

Too bad their advertisement has affected the minds of so many hobbyists.

 

My grandfather kept plants and fish without the use of technology. Then the industry came along, spread fear, but luckily they have solutions.

Too bad their advertisement has affected the minds of so many hobbyists.

I’m sure that’s just a coincidence.

 

I’m sure that’s just a coincidence.

Ha!

I visited my favourite company in the hobby, Seachem, the About page:

First sentence, first paragraph: 'Seachem’s philosophy is that the knowledgeable hobbyist makes the best customer.'

I'm not a customer, so I guess it's time to educate myself.

First sentence, second paragraph: 'For over 40 years, Seachem has been a company rooted in sound science.'

The heart of science is conducting falsifiable experiments and disclosing methods and results. At Seachem, everything seems to be shrouded by legal secrecy.

First sentence, third paragraph: 'Innovation means approaching old problems in a new way.'

What problems??

OK, I'll stop now .

What was the topic again? Ah yes, 'good betta water dechlorinator recommendations'.

 

Ha!

I visited my favourite company in the hobby, Seachem, the About page:

First sentence, first paragraph: 'Seachem’s philosophy is that the knowledgeable hobbyist makes the best customer.'

I'm not a customer, so I guess it's time to educate myself.

First sentence, second paragraph: 'For over 40 years, Seachem has been a company rooted in sound science.'

The heart of science is conducting falsifiable experiments and disclosing methods and results. At Seachem, everything seems to be shrouded by legal secrecy.

First sentence, third paragraph: 'Innovation means approaching old problems in a new way.'

What problems??

OK, I'll stop now .

What was the topic again? Ah yes, 'good betta water dechlorinator recommendations'.

They are very secretive and I’ve seen at least one response to a question about how Prime ’detoxes’ ammonia where they used a word in part of the description of how it does this for which I could not even find a definition.

It’s criminal that pet products, at least here in North America, are not held to some standard of transparency and truthfulness when it comes to what they claim for their products,.

I read all labels with a great deal of skepticism. When I started keeping fish, there was carbon, glass fibre floss and maybe pH tests though I never could afford them then and water was dechlorinated by leaving it out to degas for a day or two and nobody knew a thing about the nitrogen cycle.

The nitrogen cycle had not yet been discovered in the early 70s, not ‘til the 80s, so far as I know. Our fish did not all die for lack of knowledge about cycling, though losing a fish in the first days wasn’t terribly unusual, it didn’t happen nearly as often as one might expect looking back from today.

 

It bugs me that manufacturers of pet products can say just about anything they care to say on labels and it doesn’t have to be true - because there’s no law to make them be truthful.

Agreed.
I actually checked my normal tap water and compared it to some "dechlorinated water" and first off I actually found out that my regular tap water is already free of chlorine lol... which kind of debunks the purpose of this thread lol, and second I found that what I was using was making the water way harder and also raised the pH by about 2.0-ish. Yeah, so now I'm just using my tap water.

My grandfather kept plants and fish without the use of technology, chemicals, et cetera. Then the industry came along, spread fear, but luckily they have solutions.

Too bad their advertisement has affected the minds of so many hobbyists.

Also, agreed.
How annoying too! So now fish hobbyists who care about their fish have to search endlessly to actually find stuff that works. Oh well.
Also, hats off to your grandpa. I haven't really thought about how it would've been a few decades ago.

They are very secretive and I’ve seen at least one response to a question about how Prime ’detoxes’ ammonia where they used a word in part of the description of how it does this for which I could not even find a definition.

Well that's just great.

 

Some of the things they’ve learned are very important but most of the products that come in bottles or jars or little pouches in the average LFS are a waste of money.

Not all that long before my time, fish keepers had to find live food for the fish, or culture it, because there either wasn’t manmade food available yet or not available to them where they were.

Fish keepers would be found out and about with nets seeking daphnia, worms, scuds and assorted other potential sources of food for their fish as often as need be and there were some good books on where to find the critters, how to bring them home and culture them so you had some on hand.

They definitely did not have water conditioners, stress anything products, test kits, fancy substrates, cures for all diseases real or not quite or anything else like that.

There was no lighting anything like we have now either. Plants were mostly for the fish to eat and the planted tank as we know it did not exist. I remember the one and only Amazon Sword I got when I was maybe 13, such an exotic idea!

The tank had one 25W incandescent lamp and the plant just languished and finally faded away and I never even considered buying another one, not until about 15 years ago.

It was a totally different hobby when I first started and while some of the changes make sense, the proliferation of bottles, cans and packages of stuff you can buy where the label says ’you-gotta’-have-this’ is nuts.

 

Some of the things they’ve learned are very important but most of the products that come in bottles or jars or little pouches in the average LFS are a waste of money.

Not all that long before my time, fish keepers had to find live food for the fish, or culture it, because there either wasn’t manmade food available yet or not available to them where they were.

Fish keepers would be found out and about with nets seeking daphnia, worms, scuds and assorted other potential sources of food for their fish as often as need be and there were some good books on where to find the critters, how to bring them home and culture them so you had some on hand.

They definitely did not have water conditioners, stress anything products, test kits, fancy substrates, cures for all diseases real or not quite or anything else like that.

There was no lighting anything like we have now either. Plants were mostly for the fish to eat and the planted tank as we know it did not exist. I remember the one and only Amazon Sword I got when I was maybe 13, such an exotic idea!

The tank had one 25W incandescent lamp and the plant just languished and finally faded away and I never even considered buying another one, not until about 15 years ago.

It was a totally different hobby when I first started and while some of the changes make sense, the proliferation of bottles, cans and packages of stuff you can buy where the label says ’you-gotta’-have-this’ is nuts.

It's so interesting to hear how little people had to work with back in those days. Nowadays I guess the hobby is way more cluttered with the unnecessary.
Agreed, a few changes make sense, but really a lot of the new "necessary" things are just a waste of money.
I'm now wishing I had more time for my fish so that I could experiment too. lol