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SF Bay Area water question...



... East Bay, actually.

I guess this is slightly off topic, since it has more to do with fish than 
with plants; please bear with me - I'm so distressed and heartbroken. For 
the past couple of days, I've been having a major die-off. About two or 
three days ago I did approximately a 30% water change in two of my tanks. 
I've had ensuing losses from both. Is it at all possible that the water 
suppliers have been adding something to the water as a "pre-emptive strike" 
against biological warfare? Maybe extra chloramine or chlorine? I don't 
smell anything, though.

The only other recent change has been a switch from using water conditioner 
(Tetra's AquaSafe) to simple dechlorinator (Kordon's AmQuel). I did this to 
benefit the plants, but now I'm thinking that maybe for the sake of the 
fish, I should switch back to AquaSafe. OR, if in fact they HAVE increased 
the chlorine/chloramine levels, should I maybe double the amount of 
dechlorinator I add to the tap water? I can't imagine it being anything 
other than the water; up until now, my guppies have been virtually 
indestructible. Now a few of them have clamped fins and one or two are 
shimmying.

Is there maybe a way to get information from the supplier without having to 
be put on hold for eternity or getting the run-around, only to end up right 
where I started? Last time I tried to get a water report, I got a lot of 
attitude and confused-sounding people on the other end of the line. 
Everyone just kept giving me "another number" to call, and finally, I went 
full-circle when the umpteenth person gave me the number I originally 
tried. I gave up. I have no test kit for chlorine, nor do I have access to 
normalized silver nitrate and titration equipment. Any high school students 
taking chemistry in the East Bay? ;o)

Please, even if you don't know but have been experiencing similar things, 
I'd like to know. I still have a few fish that are borderline dead... I 
added more conditioner, but it may be too little too late. Thanks for any 
replies.

Sincerely,
Naomi