MY FISH AQUARIUM

Question
WOULD AN AQUARIUM WITH A LID OVER IT, AND NO OPENING ON THE HOOD. bUT i USE FEBREEZE TO MAKE MY HOUSE SMELL GOOD, BUT SPRAYED NOWHERE NEAR THE TANK. wILL THIS KILL THE FISH? THESE FISH ARE STILL JUVENILES AND ARE BEING FED FEEDER FISH, MY GUEST IS THAT THEY ARE TOO SMALL FOR THE FEEDINGS OF FEEDER FISH. PLEASE HELP ME TO GET TO THE TRUTH OF THIS MATTER. HE SAYS THAT THE PH BALANCE SAYS THAT SOME OTHER CHEMICAL IS IN THE WATER, I DON'T THINK THAT THIS IS TRUE, HE'S SHIFTING THE BLAME ON ME. PLEASE HELP?

Answer
Hi Sherri,
  I'm not 100% sure I understand your question, is this the problem.  Your spouse has a fish tank in which the pH is not reading correctly and he thinks that it is the Febreeze that you spray that is making the pH bad.  But, you suspect it is the feeder goldfish.  Is that the essence of it?  

  It is safe to spray something like Febreeze as long as you don't use too much and don't spray it in the same room as the tank.  

  The pH of a fish tank is a very complicated thing. It is unlikely the Febreeze would affect the pH.  I advise people not to use feeder goldfish with cichlids.  Feeders carry a LOT of diseases, particularly ick, and these transmit very easily to the fish in the tank. I know from personal experience having lost several valuable pike cichlids to diseased goldfish.  The problem is that most goldfish harbor this disease and you can't tell just by looking at them easily.

  If the cichlids are small, they should be fed with flake food and if they are larger, I use cichlid sticks or pellets.  He can also use foods like frozen brine shrimp or blood worms.  Any of these are better than feeder fish.

  What kind of cichlids are we talking about, how many and how large is the tank?

-- Ron
  rcoleman@cichlidresearch.com
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