Fresh water dip?
- Thread starter xjayx
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dory36
Member
Our yellow tang had some brown spots on him and my lfs said to dip him in freshwater for 15 minutes for 3 days straight. They gave me a huge bag of freshwater and I dipped him in that. All the brown spots came off immediately and we decided to skip the other 2 dips because it was really stressful catching him. We just plopped him in---no acclimation at all. What are you wanting to dip?
dory36
Member
That's what my lfs told me to do and I trust them 100%. Now if it were ***** giving me that advice..... :notsure: Do you have a QT you can put him in? If you can get him out of your main display then you can treat him with some medicine. It really sounds like he has ich. Poor fellow....
jjlittle
Member
I did a fresh water dip on powder blue tang with ick I followed direction in a good boook i have cant recall the name off hand but it was not 15 minute. I did like 3 minutes which was less then they said which was like 6 minutes but i did get the ph the same as the tank as well as temp the same the ick died but the fish did to from not eatting do to aggression from my yellow tang a week later
xjayx
Member
When you guys did your fresh water dip, did you put the fish in a small container like a bucket or did it need a larger tank like a 10 gal qt tank?
I'm just trying to make sure I do everything right so I don't overstress the fish or kill him, I don't want to make things worse.
Thanks so much for the info you guys have given so far.
I'm just trying to make sure I do everything right so I don't overstress the fish or kill him, I don't want to make things worse.
Thanks so much for the info you guys have given so far.
T
tizzo
Guest
The book I am looking at right now, and the title is embarrasing but I will post it anyway. Saltwater Aquariums for Dummies LOL, p255 has a 3 step procedure...
1. Fill a one to two gallon container full of conditioned fresh water, matching the temperature and pH of the main aquarium.
The pH can be elevated by adding sodium bicarbonate to the container.
2. Add a quart of seawater to the bath to reduce osmosis shock to the fish.
3. Net the fish and place it in the container for three to ten minutes.
It may show signs of disorientation for a moment, but it should recover.
1. Fill a one to two gallon container full of conditioned fresh water, matching the temperature and pH of the main aquarium.
The pH can be elevated by adding sodium bicarbonate to the container.
2. Add a quart of seawater to the bath to reduce osmosis shock to the fish.
3. Net the fish and place it in the container for three to ten minutes.
It may show signs of disorientation for a moment, but it should recover.
aufishman
Member
you don't need to keep your fish in the fw dip for more than a minute. Don't worry about salinity or the pH. Just keep the temp relatively similar. You need to make sure that your fish is totally immersed. It also helps to agitate the water. You want your fish moving around and actively passing water over their gills. Make sure you dechlorinate the water, but use straight tap or well water not DI or RO, or it will have no effect on your fish. It sounds like you are dealing with Cryptocaryon or maybe ammylodinium. You need to nuke your tank (a formalin/malachite green solution will work well). Copper will work well too, but you can’t use it if you have inverts or plan on having inverts. Just keep in mind that the life cycle for both of these critters is around 2-3 weeks, and only one stage (the free-swimming infective stage) is realistically treatable. In other words, you need to treat continuously for at least 14 days in order to make sure you kill ‘em all. Most people make the mistake of quitting treatment once all the white spots disappear (this isn’t even the stage that you’re treating for). I’d nuke the tank, and dip them a couple times (once a week (beginning, middle, and end) should be fine. Also, keep in mind that anytime you have a parasite problem you need to watch out for a secondary bacterial/fungal infection (look for cloudy eyes and frayed fins).
teen
Active Member
actually ick has a 28 day life cycle so treating for the 2-3 weeks will not work unless ur established aquarium environment rids it by itself. u also dont want to add copper to ur main system, or any chemicals that claim to rid ur system of ick. ur best setting up a quarantine tank and treating that with copper or whatever else u want. if u have inverts and corals, u can leave ur tank fishless for a month and the ick will die of by itself because it has no fish as its host. if u dont have inverts or corals u can hyposalinitize ur tank. over the course of several days, lower ur salinity to 1.009 and let it be that way for a week or so (i think) then slowly raise the salinity back up to around 1.023 and that will kill the ick.
trainfever
Active Member
The following is taken from the book "The Complete Book of the Marine Aquarium"
Freshwater Bath
A freshwater bath can be prepared using a small aquarium or any other suitable container. This should be filled with 80 percent fresh water and 20 percent aquarium water to reduce as far as is possible undue stress. The pH is then raised to that of the aquarium by the addition of sodium bicarbonate. This will require roughly 1 teaspoonful per gallon but pH readings should be checked and carefully monitored. The temperature of the water should also be equal to that of the aquarium.
The affected fish is then gebtly eased into the water to induce an osmotic shock. Care must be taken at this stage to see that the fish's respiration does not become eratic. If this occurs, the fish should be immediately returned to its aquarium. It is quite normal for some fishes to respond by lying on their sides when placed in a freshwater bath, but their reactions should be closely monitored. At the least sign of difficulty, the fish should be removed.
Osmotic shock has the effect of ridding the fish of the parasites, since many pathogens absorb water at such a rapid rate that they literally swell up and burst. A fish treated in this manner should never be left unattended nor should it be left in the water for longer than 10 minutes. Most fishes begin to show signs of discomfort aftre only three to five minutes.
Freshwater Bath
A freshwater bath can be prepared using a small aquarium or any other suitable container. This should be filled with 80 percent fresh water and 20 percent aquarium water to reduce as far as is possible undue stress. The pH is then raised to that of the aquarium by the addition of sodium bicarbonate. This will require roughly 1 teaspoonful per gallon but pH readings should be checked and carefully monitored. The temperature of the water should also be equal to that of the aquarium.
The affected fish is then gebtly eased into the water to induce an osmotic shock. Care must be taken at this stage to see that the fish's respiration does not become eratic. If this occurs, the fish should be immediately returned to its aquarium. It is quite normal for some fishes to respond by lying on their sides when placed in a freshwater bath, but their reactions should be closely monitored. At the least sign of difficulty, the fish should be removed.
Osmotic shock has the effect of ridding the fish of the parasites, since many pathogens absorb water at such a rapid rate that they literally swell up and burst. A fish treated in this manner should never be left unattended nor should it be left in the water for longer than 10 minutes. Most fishes begin to show signs of discomfort aftre only three to five minutes.
1journeyman
Active Member
Originally Posted by AUFishman
You need to nuke your tank (a formalin/malachite green solution will work well).
/shudder
I completely disagree with this.... I would NEVER add medication of any type to my main tank.
You need to nuke your tank (a formalin/malachite green solution will work well).
/shudder
I completely disagree with this.... I would NEVER add medication of any type to my main tank.
mudplayerx
Active Member
I heard that iodine dips work wonders for parasites as well. However, I do not know the exact procedure so don't try it unless you research how.
aufishman
Member
Originally Posted by teen
actually ick has a 28 day life cycle so treating for the 2-3 weeks will not work unless ur established aquarium environment rids it by itself. u also dont want to add copper to ur main system, or any chemicals that claim to rid ur system of ick. ur best setting up a quarantine tank and treating that with copper or whatever else u want. if u have inverts and corals, u can leave ur tank fishless for a month and the ick will die of by itself because it has no fish as its host. if u dont have inverts or corals u can hyposalinitize ur tank. over the course of several days, lower ur salinity to 1.009 and let it be that way for a week or so (i think) then slowly raise the salinity back up to around 1.023 and that will kill the ick.
******'s life cycle is temp dependent. While the protomont can stay encysted and "dormant" for over a month, at the temperature most tropical aquaria are kept the life cycle will last 14-21 days.
actually ick has a 28 day life cycle so treating for the 2-3 weeks will not work unless ur established aquarium environment rids it by itself. u also dont want to add copper to ur main system, or any chemicals that claim to rid ur system of ick. ur best setting up a quarantine tank and treating that with copper or whatever else u want. if u have inverts and corals, u can leave ur tank fishless for a month and the ick will die of by itself because it has no fish as its host. if u dont have inverts or corals u can hyposalinitize ur tank. over the course of several days, lower ur salinity to 1.009 and let it be that way for a week or so (i think) then slowly raise the salinity back up to around 1.023 and that will kill the ick.
******'s life cycle is temp dependent. While the protomont can stay encysted and "dormant" for over a month, at the temperature most tropical aquaria are kept the life cycle will last 14-21 days.
aufishman
Member
Originally Posted by trainfever
The following is taken from the book "The Complete Book of the Marine Aquarium"
Freshwater Bath
A freshwater bath can be prepared using a small aquarium or any other suitable container. This should be filled with 80 percent fresh water and 20 percent aquarium water to reduce as far as is possible undue stress. The pH is then raised to that of the aquarium by the addition of sodium bicarbonate. This will require roughly 1 teaspoonful per gallon but pH readings should be checked and carefully monitored. The temperature of the water should also be equal to that of the aquarium.
The affected fish is then gebtly eased into the water to induce an osmotic shock. Care must be taken at this stage to see that the fish's respiration does not become eratic. If this occurs, the fish should be immediately returned to its aquarium. It is quite normal for some fishes to respond by lying on their sides when placed in a freshwater bath, but their reactions should be closely monitored. At the least sign of difficulty, the fish should be removed.
Osmotic shock has the effect of ridding the fish of the parasites, since many pathogens absorb water at such a rapid rate that they literally swell up and burst. A fish treated in this manner should never be left unattended nor should it be left in the water for longer than 10 minutes. Most fishes begin to show signs of discomfort aftre only three to five minutes.
I'm not trying to be a smart ass here, just relay some factual information. I've got a MS in aquaculture, and was taught how to administer fw dips by PhDs with tons of experience in marine animal husbandry. We administered routine fw dips as a prophylactic treatment every couple of weeks when we were weighing animals. The methodology given in this book is not correct.
“This should be filled with 80 percent fresh water and 20 percent aquarium water to reduce as far as is possible undue stress.”
The whole point of this treatment is to stress the parasites enough to kill them. The vast majority of established mature finfish are very hardy. A little fw dip isn’t going to adversely effect them (unless they are so infested that they are beyond help to begin with). You want your fish to be actively venting water over their gills (In other words, if you are doing it properly, your fish are going to look stressed). The method we used with juvi red snapper was to net them up, place them in a bucket of water (approx the same temp as the system water) while still in the net, and leave them submerged for no longer than a minute. The fish will thrash around and try to get out of the fw. This is normal. However, if you agitate the water with your hand/knock the bucket with your foot they will go to the bottom of the net and gill. Of course you must keep in mind, the dip only treats for the critters on your fish. You still have to either medicate your tank, or removed your fish until the parasites die off (with ****** and ammylo) due to lack of a host - If you are going through this much trouble I’d keep the fish quarantined for at least a month (and I’d still treat the quarantine tank).
aufishman
Member
Originally Posted by 1journeyman
/shudder
I completely disagree with this.... I would NEVER add medication of any type to my main tank.
Proper protocol calls for a quarantine tank. I'd say it's a safe bet that 75% of people (and I bet that is a very conservative #) don't. You've certainly got to know what you're doing with the meds.
/shudder
I completely disagree with this.... I would NEVER add medication of any type to my main tank.
Proper protocol calls for a quarantine tank. I'd say it's a safe bet that 75% of people (and I bet that is a very conservative #) don't. You've certainly got to know what you're doing with the meds.