So, my betta, Montgomery is pretty sick, but I didn't realize how sick until I got a whiff of his water. It's usually not smelly, but it's pretty bad. I need to do an emergency water change, but I wasn't anticipating to do a water change until tomorrow, so the water hasn't had a chance to sit for 24 hours. Should I risk changing the water with this fresh tap water? I have Amquel Plus, would that help? Is there anyway I can cheat on this 24 hour water sit rule? I don't think I can risk another day of having Monty in this water.

Do you have hard water?

if the additive is a dechlorinator then it will act instantly to neutralise the chlorine. you dont have to wait.

I have to leave soon so I will tell you what I would do. Keep in mind I am pretty new at this but I have done this and it worked great.

If your water is hard enough (high KH) your pH should be fairly stable. I would carefully match the temp using a thermometer then add your conditioner to the water. After that, I think it would be fine to add the water to the tank. If this is too radical for you, you could test the pH from the tap and let it set for several hours and test again. This should not only level the temps but give you the opportunity to see if your pH is stable enough to add to your tank.

I hope this helps. Good luck. I hope your little guy is feeling better soon.

Page of Staffs, Amquel+ is the BEST dechlor. out there IMO. As said by akk, it's safe to use straight tap water that's been dechlorinated. Been doing it for a year with no problems.
As for Montgomery's sickness, would you mind posting his symptoms? In addition to a good water change he may need extra help, the sooner you get back to us on that the sooner we can get him fixed up.

Okay, I changed Monty's water with the Amquel + in it, but I made the BIGGEST mistake ever with the water change. I'm so embarassed about my stupidity, that I won't even tell you what I did, except now I've just added to my betta's sickness. Ugh!

As for his other symptoms, I'm thinking he's got something fungal going on (it's pretty evident on his body), and not to mention the chronic fin rot is at it again. I'm thinking that the extreme heat wave that we experienced this week put him under a lot of stress. I was anticipating he'd get better as the tank got back to normal conditions, but no. I had extra Kanacin from my last fish, and I was preparing to start medication tomorrow, but realized that this wasn't quick enough.

He's been in trouble before with his health, and acted a lot like he is now (lethargic and hanging out on the bottom), but he's pulled through a couple of times before. Maybe even with the mistake I made just now, he'll pull through again. He's pretty tough. Then again, he's pretty old, too. We'll see.

Thanks for the help!!

-Amy

Don't worry, we won't put you down or think less just because you made a mistake. Heck, honestly, I make a lot of mistakes still, it's all about learning.

Hmm, fungal and lethargic is making me think Columnis...early stages maybe? I do hope it's just regular fin rot and not Columnis. Best of luck for him!

Never hesitate on changing out water if it's not sat 24 hours,As long as you have a water conditioner.Sure -aged water is better,but in situations like that,the worse thing that you can do is to leave him in the nasty water. It's more important right now to have matched temps & pristene water conditions. The Maracyns may be a good choice to start treatment with.Have you used those before?

Devs: I was recommended Kanacyn a couple of years ago for my ailing goldfish, but it was too late for him, and I still had some of the Kanacyn left over. I've heard all good things about Maracyn. If I didn't have some medications already in stock, I would have gone out to get the Maracyn.

Tam: I hope it isn't Columnis either, but thanks for the luck.

Montgomery still isn't good right now, but I didn't expect to see him better so quickly. I'm not giving up on him though. I know that he's a fighter. I'll keep you posted either way.

Thanks everyone for your help!

Amy