South Africa
API Stress Coat
The water conditioner with aloe vera: neutralises chlorine, chloramine and heavy metals and rebuilds the slime coat on stressed or injured fish. 5 ml per 38 litres.
View details: API Stress CoatAPI Water Conditioners & pH
Tap water is made for people, not fish: it carries chlorine, chloramine and traces of metal that burn gills and strip slime coats. API conditioners neutralise all of it in seconds, bottled bacteria get a new filter working, and the pH range holds water where your fish evolved to live. Every bottle on this page is dosed in millilitres per litre, so it is simple to get right.
API Tap Water Conditioner
The most concentrated API conditioner: 1 ml treats 76 litres, removing chlorine, chloramine and heavy metals instantly in fresh or salt water. Four sizes.
View details: API Tap Water Conditioner
API Aqua Essential
All-in-one conditioner that makes tap water safe and also binds ammonia, nitrite and nitrate in the tank. 5 ml per 200 litres for tap water; 5 ml per 40 litres for a toxin spike.
View details: API Aqua Essential
API Quick Start
Live nitrifying bacteria that start the aquarium cycle immediately, so fish can go into a new tank the same day. 10 ml per 38 litres, fresh or salt water.
View details: API Quick Start
API Stress Zyme+
A weekly dose of sludge-eating bacteria — over 300 million per teaspoon — that keeps gravel and filters cleaner and the biological filter strong. 5 ml per 38 litres.
View details: API Stress Zyme+
API Ammo Lock
Converts toxic ammonia into a harmless form instantly, and dechlorinates too. The bottle to reach for when a test reads ammonia. 5 ml per 38 litres every two days until clear.
View details: API Ammo Lock
API Accu-Clear
Clears cloudy or hazy freshwater within hours by clumping fine particles so the filter can trap them. 1 ml per 40 litres; safe with fish and plants.
View details: API Accu-Clear
API Aquarium Salt
Evaporated sea salt that supplies the electrolytes freshwater fish need for healthy gills — for new tanks, water changes and disease recovery. 454 g carton.
View details: API Aquarium Salt
API Betta Water Conditioner
A betta-sized conditioner dosed by the drop: 6 drops per 500 ml removes chlorine, chloramine and heavy metals, detoxifies ammonia and adds aloe vera and green tea extract.
View details: API Betta Water Conditioner
API Goldfish Protect
A conditioner made for goldfish: removes chlorine and chloramine, detoxifies the ammonia goldfish produce so much of, and adds trace minerals. 5 ml per 7.5 litres; 118 ml treats 178 litres.
View details: API Goldfish Protect
API Goldfish Aquarium Cleaner
Bacteria that break down goldfish waste and sludge in the gravel, cutting ammonia and nitrite and boosting the filter. Dose weekly at 5 ml per 7.5 litres.
View details: API Goldfish Aquarium Cleaner
API Aquarium Start Up Pack
Stress Coat and Quick Start in one pack: condition the tap water, seed the filter with live bacteria, and add fish. 10 ml of each per 40 litres.
View details: API Aquarium Start Up Pack
API Goldfish Care Pack
Goldfish Protect and Goldfish Aquarium Cleaner together: safe water with ammonia cover, plus bacteria that clear the sludge. 2.5 ml of each per 3.8 litres, weekly.
View details: API Goldfish Care Pack
API pH Up
A fast-acting liquid that nudges aquarium pH upward at 1 ml per 38 litres. Colourless, phosphate-free and nitrate-free, so it neither clouds the water nor feeds algae.
View details: API pH Up
API pH Down
Lowers freshwater aquarium pH in small, controlled steps — 1 ml per 38 litres — without clouding the water or feeding algae. Test, dose, retest.
View details: API pH Down
API Proper pH 6.5
A powder buffer that sets and holds freshwater pH at 6.5 for tetras, discus and angelfish, while also removing chlorine and detoxifying heavy metals. One scoop per 38 litres.
View details: API Proper pH 6.5
API Proper pH 7.0
Sets and holds a neutral pH of 7.0 for tropical community tanks while removing chlorine, neutralising chloramine and detoxifying heavy metals. One scoop per 38 litres.
View details: API Proper pH 7.0
API Proper pH 7.5
Sets and holds pH at 7.5 for goldfish, livebearers, barbs and Central American cichlids, removing chlorine and detoxifying heavy metals as it buffers. One scoop per 38 litres.
View details: API Proper pH 7.5
API Proper pH 8.2
A phosphate-free carbonate buffer that sets and holds pH at 8.2 for marine, brackish and African cichlid aquariums, and raises carbonate hardness as it works. One scoop per 38 litres.
View details: API Proper pH 8.2Frequently asked questions
Do I need a water conditioner if my tap water is treated with chlorine, not chloramine?
Yes. Chlorine alone is toxic to fish at tap-water levels, and a conditioner also neutralises the copper, zinc and other metals that reach a tap through household plumbing. API Tap Water Conditioner or Stress Coat deals with both in the time it takes to fill a bucket.
What is the difference between API Stress Coat and API Tap Water Conditioner?
Both remove chlorine, chloramine and heavy metals. Stress Coat adds aloe vera to help repair damaged fins and slime coats, which makes it the better choice after netting, transport or illness; Tap Water Conditioner is the concentrated, no-frills option for routine water changes.
Can I add fish straight after setting up a new aquarium?
With API Quick Start you can add a small number of hardy fish the same day, because it seeds the filter with the live nitrifying bacteria that would otherwise take weeks to establish. Stock slowly, test ammonia and nitrite for the first month, and keep a conditioner on hand for water changes.
Should I use pH Up and pH Down, or a Proper pH buffer?
Use the liquids for a small, one-off correction and a Proper pH powder when you want to hold a specific value permanently. The buffers lock pH at 6.5, 7.0, 7.5 or 8.2, which suits tanks kept for a particular fish group; the liquids shift pH gradually and are easier to overshoot with.
Are API water conditioners available in South Africa?
Yes. Jungle Aquatics in Fourways, Johannesburg stocks the API conditioner and pH range and delivers nationwide; live pricing and stock are on jungleaquatics.com.
Available in South Africa
Stocked & supported by Jungle Aquatics
South Africa's leading pet and aquarium store since 2007 — with the API range on the floor in Fourways, advice from people who test water every day, and easy ordering from anywhere in the country.
