Is it really necessary to have a filtered tank or doing water changes for fishes? I have had a 5 gallon tank with a mollie, swordtail, and three guppies. They lived in that tank for about 6 months without a filter and only one water change. They are all healthy. My guppy gave birth to 50 healthy fry. Why do people stress about cleaning their fish tank? All i do is add a few drops of protective slime coating, dechorinator every two days. I am just wondering how my fish are still healthy.Nonfiltered or water changed tank?If you have enough gravel or surfaces, the tank could have grown all the beneficial bacteria it needs to be cycled and it cycled without you knowing it. I would stop adding the dechlor though as it is unnecessary to add unless you change the water, you don't want it to be overconcentrated in the tank.Nonfiltered or water changed tank?sii seniore parrro yy tu sin collest el nino y ninaNonfiltered or water changed tank?A lightly stocked aquarium with hardy types of fish such as yours often will do just fine with no filter and with very little maintenance. Bacteria that decompose and get rid of all the nasty waste and toxins will naturally develop to keep the tank clean. I would discontinue adding the dechlorinator, but if your fish are happy, no worries.
The rest of us get into a dither because we like to keep more exotic types of fish that are picky about their water quality and we like to keep absolutely as many fish as we can in every tank. We therefore spend a great deal of time, money, and energy trying to maintain as perfect a water quality as we can with so many very sensitive fish.Nonfiltered or water changed tank?nooo. its not necessary.
if you have enough plant and gravel only a regular top -up of water will be ok. your fish won't necessarily die. BUT DON'T OVERFEED!!!
however, consider regular water changes. it will do much good for the fish.Nonfiltered or water changed tank?dechlorinator only needs to be added when you do a water change. don't add it every two days. chorline evaporates on its own within 24 hours anyways. so adding it to your tank every two days does absolutley nothing. other than that, if your fish are living in that environment and surviving, than more power to them. they probably won't live as long as they are supposed to. but what do i know?! =)Nonfiltered or water changed tank?No matter the size of the tank, I always use a filter. It's not absolutely neccesary, but I think that it greatly improves the health and lifespan of aquarium fish. Even with the filter, though, water changes are neccessary for healthy fish, and a gravel vac every three to four weeks, depending on the size of the tank and the number of fish you have.
Dechlorinator, as others have answered, is not good in large quantities. It should only be used with water changes, and almost never in already aquarium-safe water unless it comes with a stress coat enhancer.
