Do Guppies Need Water Conditioner?

Guppy fish are hardy fish which makes them the best fish for beginners. However, guppies do require an adequate water conditions for ensuring their good health and longer lifespan.

Whenever we perform a water change, we use tap water to replace the existing water. But unfortunately, tap water contains some harmful chemicals that need to be treated to eliminate them. A water conditioner does the work of eliminating such toxic chemicals, but do guppies need it. So, Do guppies need water conditioner? Let us find out.

Guppy fish need a water conditioner as it helps in neutralizing chlorine and chloramine. A water conditioner also helps eliminate other harmful toxins like ammonia, lead, and mercury from tap water. However, avoid using a high dosage of water conditioner as it will cause oxygen deficiency in a tank.

This article will discuss whether guppy fish need water conditioners and how we can purify the water without using a water conditioner. So, let us get into it.

Is a water conditioner necessary for guppy fish?

A water conditioner is necessary for guppy fish and every other freshwater fish.

Treating the aquarium water with a water conditioner helps you to eliminate chlorine, chloramine, metals, and leads like chemicals from the water.

The chlorine present in water is not harmful to us humans but can affect your guppy fish’s health, making them suffer from critical conditions.

Treating the water with a water conditioner will make sure to keep the water chemistry level adequate for your guppy fish.

However, using water conditioners in too much quantity can cause oxygen deficiency in your guppies aquarium.

Also read: Do Guppies Need Filters?

What are the advantages of using a water conditioner?

These are the advantages of using a water conditioner:

1. A water conditioner helps in eliminating chlorine and chloramine.
2. A water conditioner helps in neutralizing the ammonia.
3. A water conditioner helps in maintaining good water chemistry for your guppy fish.

Eliminate chlorine and chloramine.

Treating your guppy fish aquarium water with a water conditioner will help you eliminate harmful toxins like chlorine and chloramine from your guppy’s water.

The water we drink contains chlorine. It is not harmful to us humans but is very harmful to our fish, and eliminating it using a water conditioner is necessary.

Neutralize ammonia

Treating your guppy’s water with a water conditioner will also help in neutralizing the ammonia in your guppy’s water.

A high level of ammonia present in your guppy’s water will result in ammonia poisoning, affecting your guppy fish by burning their gills and body, making them come into critical condition.

Maintain good water chemistry

Using a water conditioner will help you maintain the water chemistry of your guppy fish aquarium water.

Water conditioner helps in eliminating harmful toxins like chlorine, chloramine, metals, and mercury.

It also helps neutralize the ammonia level of your guppy fish tank water.

A water conditioner helps you create a good water living condition for your guppy fish.

What happens when we don’t use water conditioner for our guppies?

Not using a water conditioner can affect your guppy fish’s health.

We use a water conditioner to eliminate harmful toxins like chlorine, chloramine, mercury, and lead from the water.

The water conditioner also helps in eliminating ammonia from our guppies tank.

Too many chemicals present in your guppy’s water can affect their health, making them prone to various diseases and parasites.

A poor water condition is a primary reason behind the majority of issues our fish suffer from.

So, consider using a water conditioner for treating your guppy fish aquarium water.

We advise you to use API Tap Water Conditioners for your guppies as it helps to eliminate all the toxic chemicals from the water, making it safe for your guppies.

You can buy it from Amazon API TAP WATER CONDITIONER.

Also read: Why Is My Guppy Fish Turning Black?

How to use a water conditioner?

Using a water conditioner is very easy. 

Follow these three easy steps to treat your guppy water from a water conditioner:

1. Add a water conditioner to the tap water.
2. Mix it properly
3. Pour the treated water into the tank slowly.

You can also add a water conditioner directly to your guppies aquarium.

However, when you are adding fresh water to your guppies aquarium, match the water temperature of freshwater from the water present in your guppies aquarium.

Sudden changes in water temperature can stress out your guppy fish.

You can use a heater to match the water temperature of tap water, or you can leave the water for some time to come to the room temperature.

You can add a water conditioner in the water with fish in it only when performing a small water change. When performing a major water change, add the water conditioner to the water before adding the guppy fish.

How often to use a water conditioner?

Use a water conditioner when:

1. Performing a water change.
2. When adding new fish to your tank

When we perform a water change, we use tap water to replace the water in our guppies tank.

Tap water contains chemicals like chlorine, chloramine, lead, and mercury, affecting your guppy fish’s health.

So, treating the tap water with a water conditioner is necessary to eliminate all these toxins and make the water safe for your guppy fish.

A water conditioner also helps in neutralizing ammonia.

Also, consider treating your water when adding new fish to your tank.

However, avoid using too much water conditioner, resulting in oxygen deficiency in your guppy fish tank.

Also read: How Often To Change Guppy Water?

How much water conditioner to use for my guppy fish tank?

Here is the amount of water conditioner you should use according to your guppy fish tank size.

Guppy Fish Tank Size	Amount of water conditioner
10 gallon	5ml (8-10 drops)
20 Gallon	10ml (18-20 drops)
30 Gallon	15ml (28-30 drops)

How can I purify the water without using a water conditioner?

You can purify the water without using a water conditioner by following these things:

1. You can use pretreated water or filtered water by buying it from a pet store. However, using a water conditioner is cheap to treat the water.
2. Leave the water for 24 hours to let the chlorine get evaporate automatically. It is the easiest way to dechlorinate the tap water.
3. You can also boil the water and leave it to cool down to eliminate the chlorine from the water.
4. Vitamin C also helps in eliminating chlorine and chloramine from the water. Consider adding one teaspoon of ascorbic acid per one gallon of water to eliminate chlorine and chloramine from the water.
5. UV light also helps in neutralizing the chlorine from the water. Consider providing UV light to your guppy’s water to eliminate chlorine and chloramine from the water.

These things will help you eliminate chlorine from the water without using a water conditioner.

However, we recommend using a water conditioner to treat the tap water as it doesn’t only eliminate chlorine but also neutralizes ammonia, lead, mercury, and lead.

Using a water conditioner is also very easy. It is also a cheap method to treat your guppy water.

Conclusion:

Guppy fish need a water conditioner as it helps dechlorinate the water and neutralize the ammonia.

Use a water conditioner when adding fish and performing a water change.

A water conditioner helps eliminate toxins like chlorine, chloramine, lead, and mercury from the water and makes an ideal water quality for your guppy fish to thrive.

However, don’t use water conditioners in too much quantity as it can result in oxygen deficiency in your guppies aquarium.

Consider using an API tap water conditioner as it will dechlorinate the water and help you eliminate ammonia, lead, and chloramine, like harmful toxins.

---

Reference: Journals, Wikipedia