Tropical Fish Forums

[jsuereth]

If I build a rainwater collector, is there a way I can determine if it's safe for fish without testing on a fish? I'm in the Pittsburgh area and I'm not sure what the pollution levels are anymore.

[unissuh]

Only alternative I can think of is to try it on a lower order creature e.g. if you have a shrimp colony going they are better indicators of water quality than fish. Unfortunately I can't think of anything else to test pollution. The other option, although more expensive, is to put the water through some chemical filtration (e.g. carbon) before use.
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Fishing in the Rivers of Light

[jsuereth]

Would mystery snails work? I seem to have more of them then I wanted (read: 0). It somehow seems less cruel, but perhaps just because I don't like snails.

I do have a shrimp colony, so I could spare one... but I'd rather use a snail if I have to.

Can I learn anything from pH (without harming anything deliberately)? I.e. if it's very acidic is it more likely to be polluted?

[unissuh]

Mm, not sure to be honest - mystery snails are pretty tough critters. To be honest even shrimp are not a perfect measure, I had a problem with tap water recently and no RCS were affected at all, just the fish. It's a starting point.

I don't think you'll be able to conclude anything from a pH test. I am of the opinion that this is possibly the most useless test kit commonly available as any result can be interpreted multiple ways...
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Fishing in the Rivers of Light