Freshwater baths

[terasparrow]

wanted to give my fp clown a freashwater bath to try and ease his breathing, and help with his unidentified problem...I read an article saying that that helped someone elses clown, I was wondering how long I dip him for? how warm or cold should the water be? and do i have to reacclimate him? should I put the chlorine etc remover in the dip water before I put him in?
thank's Tera

 

[manycolors]

I had a clown fish that was sick and i did the bath... THE BATH- i have read that this procedure is harmless to the fish but i'm sure there are other people who will feel differently. When i did the bath, what i did was i got a 2 gal. bucket and put one gallon of fresh ro/di water in the bucket and then mixed one quart of tank water in with the fresh. brought the water up to the same temp of the tank and then placed my fish in there,what i read said to do this for 3-5 minutes. I did it for 5. Now this is supposed to kill the infection which makes perfect sence to me.... now the catch is, My fish died 24hrs. later. I do not believe it had anything to do with the bath however. I had the fish for about 3 months and over about the span of one week he grew a red then white spot on his head. I thought it was a scrape and when it turned white it was getting better, i was evidently wrong. To this day i do not know what it was. I didn't do the bath untill i saw my fish was breathing heavy so i'm guessing i waited to long and it was to late...... So in recap, I would say that as long as it is done properly, and under the correct circumstances the "Bath" should be benificial. I'm not a scientist but to me it seems very practical. I hope my experience and story are of some help and good luck

 

[wattsupdoc]

Giving a FW dip would not IMO be beneficial to an infection. You shouldn't give a FW dip for an "unidentified " problem> While it may be harmless if properly done, it can finish the little guy off also.
To do a FW dip:
Take some RO water, dechlorinated tap is OK, but I wouldnt use it myself. Just go to wally world and buy a jug of it. enough to at least completly submerge the fish in the container you want to use. Besure to pick a container that isn,t contaminated or wont be a problem if it stains blue. Adjust the chemistry in the water to match the tank water in temperature AND PH. Adjust up or down as needed. It is VERY important to match these paramters. Now then add a couple/few drops of Methylene Blue, just enough to color the water blue.
Not a big deal if you get it a little dark, but you dont want pale blue anyways. Catch the fish, preferably with something other than a net. But if you have to... Place the fish in the bath for 5 minutes, now BE AT THE STANDBY! Do not leave the fish alone, watch closely, be ready to net him.
Leave the fish in the bath for 5 minutes. Some say you can go much longer, but I never have, nor would, Dont be alarmed if the fish lays on it's side, starts swimming a little panicky, changes colors or gets polka dots.

Leave him in for the full 5 min. If he startsto look like hes going to jump out, thats another story there, remove him from the FW dip immediatly. After the 5 min is up, net the fish and return to the tank from which he came.