Freshwater Dip???

flower

Well-Known Member
A fellow at a LFS, says he does a freshwater dip on new fish arrivals to get rid of parasites....I didn't ask him for any details..I wouldn't trust him anyway.
I looked it up...Is it a good thing for me to do with a new fish?
 

stoss

Member
A saltwater dip is 70 - 80% freshwater & 20 - 30% saltwater. A lot of people do it and it does get rid of the parasites, but I dont trust it. A quarantine tank is the safest bet, you just have to wait 3-4 weeks before you add him to your tank.
 

flower

Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by Stoss
http:///forum/post/3118239
A saltwater dip is 70 - 80% freshwater & 20 - 30% saltwater. A lot of people do it and it does get rid of the parasites, but I dont trust it. A quarantine tank is the safest bet, you just have to wait 3-4 weeks before you add him to your tank.
According to the web site where I looked it up..it was 100% RO water with no salt at all. It said the parasite ich explodes but fish handle it pretty well.
It said to soak the fish for 3-4 minutes, if they show stress remove it back to saltwater.
Fish from SWF.com arrive in 1.010 which is already hypo according to Cranberry. I was wondering about fish from the LFS.
Mosly I am wondering if it is unhealthy...I don't want to buy a fish from the LFS if the fish have had this done to them and it is unhealthy.
Then I started wondering if it is something I should do???
 

florida joe

Well-Known Member
Actually fresh water dips have been used in the hobby for as long as I can remember, from info I have gathered I make sure the ph and temp of the fresh water is the same as the water the fish is coming out of. I use a product to treat the fresh water such as Prime. And only use RO water. I use an air stone. I keep the fish in the fresh water for 4 minutes. IMO the hardest part is knowing if the fish is overstressed or just going to the bottom as an initial reaction to the fresh water.
The bottom line is that it is your fish your money there is an inherent risk in much we do
 

flower

Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by florida joe
http:///forum/post/3118262
Actually fresh water dips have been used in the hobby for as long as I can remember, from info I have gathered I make sure the ph and temp of the fresh water is the same as the water the fish is coming out of. I use a product to treat the fresh water such as Prime. And only use RO water. I use an air stone. I keep the fish in the fresh water for 4 minutes. IMO the hardest part is knowing if the fish overstressed or just going to the bottom as an initial reaction to the fresh water.

That is exactly what the article said to do...but does it hurt the fish? Should I do it, should I not buy from those who do it?
 

florida joe

Well-Known Member
That is exactly what the article said to do...but does it hurt the fish? Should I do it, should I not buy from those who do it?
IMO we are hurting the fish the second we remove it from the ocean. If it is in fact removing parasites. Then we are helping that fish as well as its future tank mates. I personally have no problem buying a fish from a LFS which has employed fresh water dipping As far as if you should do it, as I said above its your money and your fish. you have to weight the inherit risks and make your own decision
 

flower

Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by florida joe
http:///forum/post/3118272
IMO we are hurting the fish the second we remove it from the ocean. If it is in fact removing parasites. Then we are helping that fish as well as its future tank mates. I personally have no problem buying a fish from a LFS which has employed fresh water dipping in it stock

Thank You!..
 

lil.guppy

Active Member
My yellow belly hippo tang and my powder blue tang had ick. They were eating fine and acting fine but I read up on this and thought I would give it a try because I didnt have a quarntine tank. It killed them within 48 hours.
 

stoss

Member
Originally Posted by florida joe
http:///forum/post/3118272
IMO we are hurting the fish the second we remove it from the ocean. If it is in fact removing parasites. Then we are helping that fish as well as its future tank mates. I personally have no problem buying a fish from a LFS which has employed fresh water dipping As far as if you should do it, as I said above its your money and your fish. you have to weight the inherit risks and make your own decision
I agree with that. You should be inspecting the fish before you buy it anyway. If at the LFS and the fish looks good = buy it. If it looks stressed, weary or messed up in any way = dont buy it
 

florida joe

Well-Known Member
It killed them within 48 hours.
Oh Red how it pains me to disagree with you but you will never know if in fact the fresh water dip was the reason for your fish demise
 

adurost

Member
The Conscientious Marine Aquarist, Bob Fenner, advocates a FW Dip. Excerpt from an article entitled, "Dips/Baths, A Useful Protocol for Excluding Many External Fish Parasites"
Methylene blue and fresh water! What? Disappointed? Hear me out, this stuff works! And it's very safe. Methylene blue and fresh water is useful for both marine fishes and many invertebrates, a help against ich, skin and gill flukes, funguses, velvet (Amyloodinium) and most other external parasitic and infectious diseases. It has several other added benefits. It's a good oxygenating dye, sort of like our blood's hemoglobin, aiding in keeping oxygen concentration high. It also is helpful in reducing light penetration, soothing frightened livestock. In fact, Methylene Blue converts methemoglobin to useful hemoglobin, reversing the ill-effects of nitrite and even cyanide exposure.
These qualities are what make Methylene blue particularly useful as an "anti-fungal" for transporting stock and rearing eggs. Add to this the low cost, ready availability and lack of restriction on it's use and disposal and we have a winner! Score!
Should you have an impecunious situation, or are just a cheapskate (an inexpensive ray?), rather than buying Methylene blue solutions pre-made you can "make your own". Stock solid Methylene blue can be purchased from chemical supply outlets. Check your local "yellow pages". About one gram of dry material can be dissolved in about one hundred milliliters of water and about ten mils of this solution used per approximately one gallon of dip. Actual, keenly accurate measures aren't necessary as this material is safe and effective over a wide range of concentrations.
Okay, I'm Sold, How Do You Do This Stuff?
Here's what you need: 1) the intended livestock, 2) an adequate net and 3) bucket (no toxic chemical residues) or two, sufficiently large for the use at hand but not enough to allow the stock to thrash about in, and 4) dip material! Here goes:
1) Make up the dip mix. Use new or system water, adjusted/conditioned as prescribed.
2) Net, lift out the stock and place it/them in the prepared dip.
Thou Shalt Not Mix the Shipping Water in With The Dip Mix! Consider this just another (XI?) Commandment (no blaspheming intended). In fact, some fastidious types rinse the intended before the dip and after, before placing them in their next "home".
3) Watch Your Stock! What's that, number XII? No, I'm serious, unless you've done this a bunch or are using the suggested mellow Methylene blue, stay right there during the process. Your new acquisitions might just hop out onto the floor, you never know. Actually, the only reasonable way to gauge how much may be too much time to spend in the dip is to examine the dipped's behavior. If it becomes erratic (should I offer a definition? Nah!) with thrashing about, inversion, wild attempts at missile-impersonation, time's up.
4) Either rinse in an intermediate system-water only dip, or just net/lift the stock and place in the next quarantine/treatment or permanent system.
5) For long-duration baths, multiple-use of the same, OR the use of RO/DI water it is necessary to add a mechanical aerator (science jargon for bubbling airstone... pump, tubing...).
Summary:
Nuff said, eh? As far as treatment modes go, in particular prevention of passing external pathogens from one place to another, dips/baths, especially in concert with quarantine periods, are the method of choice for optimizing results.
Methylene blue and freshwater is a most useful, inexpensive, safe and effective dip material for most all dip-able marine organisms. It is virtually non-toxic to even scale-less fishes and other sensitive groups when used as a dip.
 

cranberry

Active Member
A left a fish in a FW dip for 30 minutes before I remembered him. He was happily swimming away.....
Side discussion....
If we all agree FW dips are proven harmless dips, why are we so afraid to lower our salinity quickly to a hypo of 1.009 when we take them from 1.023 or dadda in 2 secs flat.
Or why are we worried about acclimation to our tanks with drips and longterm procedures when we dip em like a donut in FW.
These are very common practices and traditional thought of as harmless.
 

aquaknight

Active Member
Originally Posted by Cranberry
http:///forum/post/3119356
A left a fish in a FW dip for 30 minutes before I remembered him. He was happily swimming away.....
Side discussion....
If we all agree FW dips are proven harmless dips, why are we so afraid to lower our salinity quickly to a hypo of 1.009 when we take them from 1.023 or dadda in 2 secs flat.
Or why are we worried about acclimation to our tanks with drips and longterm procedures when we dip em like a donut in FW.
These are very common practices and traditional thought of as harmless.
Ain't it?
 

crypt keeper

Active Member
I acclimate a fish for 15 minutes then place it in. I buy my fish from the same store that doesnt use copper. I have a few places near me that use copper in their systems.
I have never done a fw dip. Never really had a reason too. Is this a better way to qt a fish?
 

noah's nemo

Member
I've done FW dips on 3 fish so far ,clowns and a firefish.Started a new set-up they are the first additions.Firefish had a clear sign of ich.Did him first 3 and half minutes.Pulled him out,spots were gone.Did clowns next,have not seen any ich yet.This was about 2 weeks ago.I think i will do it whenever needed,seems harmless enough.
 

flower

Well-Known Member

Very interesting...I think I too will get some Methylene Blue and do a preventive dip, since it won't hurt. An ounce of prevention, and all that.
I very seldom add fish...And at least i know I don't have to ban the LFS that says they do this.
I also think I will continue to acclimate for an hour like I always did.
I am left with one more question. PH is 8.2 in my tank...how can fresh water match that PH? The only way I know to up PH is to add buffer, which is salty isn't it?
 
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