Why can't fish live in tap water?

Question

the person who sold me my pet fish told me they cant live in the water from the tap and that they need natural water like rain water

Answer 1

  They will do just fine in properly treated tap water,  This means using a conditioner that removes chlorine, chloramine, and neutralizes ammonia if you have chloramine.  

  Python water change systems would not work well at all if you couldn't use tap water, and if dechlorinator didn't work almost instantly.  I do 50% to 80% water changes weekly, depending on the tank, and would have to have hundreds of gallons of water sitting around waiting for the dechlor to do it's thing.  That would never work.

Answer 2

You can use tap water and it will be fine. Just buy a de-chlorinator from your fish store and let the water sit for 24 hours (a safety precaution). Some fish though, prefer softer water, if you get these then you will need to buy a water distiller or reverse osmosis machine. Most of those fish commonly come from South America.

Also, for the person who say fish can't live in rain water because it is too acidic, what do you think fish live in, in the wild. Idiot. Fish enthusiasts do their research.

Answer 3

They can not be in regular tap water because the chlorine would kill them. You can buy some de-chlorinator at your local pet store so that this water is safe for fish.

Answer 4

It depends on how 'hard' your water is. I have just thrown in fish, but it can send them into shock. Alot of tap water has a lot of chemicals in it like chlorine, lead, and can have a different ph level then your fish needs. I would fill your tank, then check it with a test kit that covers everything. If it comes out wrong, then let it sit over night, and maybe get some chemicals for the things that were high/low, and check it again. Just be careful so you dont have a fish in shock! Good luck!  

Answer 5

It is best to put dechlorinator in tap water or to put tap water in jugs without caps on them and leave them for 24-48 hours.  I keep 10 gallons worth of water in soda bottles that I cleaned out.  Only problem with this is I have bottles all over the place, but it does the job just fine.

Answer 6

This is not entirely true. Fish cannot live in UNTREATED tap water. You can buy conditioners at a pet store or Wal-Mart (I recommend the liquids NOT the drop tablets). They are used to remove chlorine and other chemicals used to make tap water safe for humans but give it a weird taste.

It is best to add the conditioner to the tap water and let it sit for 24 hours. I keep mine in clean milk jugs. This eliminates the risk of chemical burn and allows the water to release the gases it holds when being forced through you plumbing.

Not many aquarists use rain water these days because of how difficult and time consuming it is to collect and the ease of treating water. There is also the risk of pollution changing the rain water chemical makeup.

Answer 7

Chlorines, Chloramines can kill your fish.

This is the main reason.

Answer 8

rain water is more likley to kill them due to the fact it lacks helpful minerals

and can have negative effects on the PH

you can use tap water just use dechlorinator

Answer 9

acauly dont put fish in rain water, the rain could be acidic. tap water is chlorinated ( the stuff in pools)  and fish cant live in it , if you really want to use tap water you could go buy "stress coat" at your pet store, and pour a bit in the tank or you could put the water in a pot a boil it for a while and let it sit for a day.

Answer 10

Fish cant live in tap water because theyre are harmful metals and chlorine in our tap water that could harm the fish. Our water is cleaned and processed for our convenience and not for a fishes health. Rainwater is okay to use sometimes but it also could be too acidic for fish but you can also use water conditiner to treat regular tap water that will eliminate anything that could harm the fish, thats what most tank owners use. I use AquaSafe to treat my water.

Hope this helps!

Answer 11

They could, if it wasn't for the chlorine your city adds to their water to make it safe to drink.  But, if you had well water, it'd be safe unless you had heavy metals present in your water.

Answer 12

I only use tap water and my fish have never died!!

Answer 13

Because tap water untreated has chlorine, heavy metals and chloramine. you CAN use tap water, you just need to get a tap water conditioner from the petstore=] theyre like 3 or 4 dollers=] just treat the water according to the directons=] i wouldnt use rain water.... it may be too acidic. just stick to using the tap water and the dechlorintor and you and your fshys will be fine!! =]

Answer 14

buy a 1-5 gallon water jug depends how much u need but fill with tap water and let sit 4 24hrs then its fine 2 use also could use stress coat 2 be safe but heard that stress coat really don't do much it just aloe and stuff