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flocculents and fish



News from the "green water front":

The battle continues.  I have the green water in my
40g tank under minimal control.  That means that after
I change water or diatom filter the tank, it looks clear
for one to two days.  By the end of the second day, it
looks a little cloudy; diatom filtration at that point
results in light green diatom powder after 1-2 hours.

I have also, several times (but never more than twice
a week), tried flocculents.  At first, I used Kent's Pro
Clear, but switched to Crystal Clear (Aquarium
Products).

The thing is, both seem to stress the fish, especially
the tetras.  I have lost 3 Megalamphodeus roseus so
far, as well as about 10 Paracheirodon simulans
(green neons).  The latter are known to be "sensitive"
although the literature (Baensch) says they don't like
high nitrate; it says nothing about flocculents.

Do you more fish-oriented types know why these
flocculents seem to have this bad effect?  Are the
flocculated particles clogging their gills?  I have quit
using the Crystal Clear in favor of just diatom filtering,
but I don't think it works as well this way to get rid of
the algae.

Roxanne Bittman