Fish Spa

[19bri79]

Hi All,
New on here but thought I would give it a go and see what advice is out there. Me and my wife have recently opened a salon and have a fish spa installed. One tank with approx 80 fish this has been running for 2 weeks and water seems to be fine doing daily water changes and following all instructions we were told. Only problem there is 3 or 4 fish dying each day as we are concerend of the fishes welfare we were jut wondering if anyone can give us some advice from there experiences with them.
Thanks

 

[Suzanne1118]

Do you feed them proper food seperately? They cant survive just on dead skin. Also if anyone has infections on their feet they cant transfer to the fish. The health and safety are looking into closing it down altogether. It is banned in the USA already as it is proven to be extreamly unhygenic and crual to the fish. Sorry to be the barer of bad news as I know the tanks are quite expensive!

 

[19bri79]

well as far as closing them down this is just hearsay. They do get fed and what Iam looking for is advice from current owners of these spas don't need all the negatives about them. The fishes well being is priority and these have been getting used for many years all over the world before they became popular here I have done a bit of research on them.

 

[Moosebat]

Sorry but I think he whole concept is just wrong and the fact they are dying makes it worse JMO :sad:

 

[milliondollars]

Are you testing the water regularly for ph and acidity/ nitrites etc? This could be your problem and is easily rectifiable with the correct drops. Dis you add all the fish at once? Is there enough space for 'the fish? They may be stressed they don't like being moved around or lots of people waking past their tank . Temperatures all ok? What sterilisation are you using? Are the fish 'jumping' at all, ie out of the tank? It woul be a good idea to call your supplier and discuss with them they may be able to tell you as I don't know exactly what breed you have. You can also take a sample of your tank water to your local fish/pet store. Most do testing on site for a small fee, though you should be testing this yourself regularly xx

 

[Suzanne1118]

well as far as closing them down this is just hearsay. They do get fed and what Iam looking for is advice from current owners of these spas don't need all the negatives about them. The fishes well being is priority and these have been getting used for many years all over the world before they became popular here I have done a bit of research on them.

Unfortunately you asked for opinions and thats what you got. It is not hearsay, a friend of mine works for the health services. It is a matter of time, mind you it could be a few years! As for your comment 'they have been doing them all over the world for many years', if you do your research they have only been 'approved' in countries that have lower health standards. We usually follow suit of the americans (eventually). And I do have experience in them as the last salon I worked in had one tank but got rid of it as the fish were dying. The problem is you cant properly steralise the tank as this would kill the fish, and with so many clients passing their feet through there is bound to be cross infection!

 

[kimi1101]

The OP didnt ask for opinions. He asked if anyone could help as to why his fish are dying. Milliondollars gave what seems to be a good start to an answer. But you saying that you think it's unfair to fish and they will get banned sooner or later does not answer the question of why are the fish dying.

 

[Nailsinlondon1]

Hi 19bri79,
you may find this article a little bit helpful.
Ammonia Poisoning & Your Garra Rufa Fish
Hope you get to the bottom of your fish problem.
HTH

 

[19bri79]

thanks for the helpful replys you know who you all are as for the moaners and people against it then thats up to you's.

Can anyone tell me a good supplier for fish as I have seen others in shopping centres and they look darker in colour and larger than ours.

I will look into the info in previous threads.
Thanks

 

[Suzanne1118]

The OP didnt ask for opinions. He asked if anyone could help as to why his fish are dying. Milliondollars gave what seems to be a good start to an answer. But you saying that you think it's unfair to fish and they will get banned sooner or later does not answer the question of why are the fish dying.

The fish are dying as it is crual. Look it up on PETA. Each to their own Im not condeming anyone, its each individuals choice what treatments they do or dont do. Two doors down from my salon they sell them and many other fish and he doesnt seem to have a clue about them when I was asking. I think it really depends on who you buy them from etc and the studdies they've done. If the people who you got them from cant help then Id find someone who can.

 

[milliondollars]

As the fish grow they get larger and darker so perhaps the ones you saw are a couple of years old or more. The smaller ones are better IMO as the bigger fish can be quite aggressive, not in a nasty way but when they are nibbling it can feel quite hard for the client and clients are put off by bigger fish too.
When you look into a supplier you should make sure they are 'garra rufa' fish, not 'doctor fish' or 'garra fish' as these are not the true feet nibblers! Google suppliers in your area. They should be very knowledgeable on ph/nitrite/ammonia levels etc, and should be able to give you aftercare advice and also ongoing advice if you need it.
I would start by taking your water to be tested though as this is more likely to be your problem. Let us know how you get on.

 

[koolnailz]

We had this problem in our fish spa, 80 seems a lot for one tank, therefore they could be producing too much waste for the space they are in if your filter is not strong enough. Usually the filters sold if you get it as a "package" are pretty low quality. You might want to look into a bigger stronger filter, or try taking it apart and wash all your filter media im a bucket of water taken from the tank.Hope this helps.

 

[19bri79]

will look at cleaning the tank again and getting the water checked asap.
Hopefully this will get the answer Iam looking for.