freshwater disease in saltwater

[nereef]

can freshwater disese be transfered to a saltwater tank? in other words, can the FW pathogens live in SW?
my roommate, without asking, used my syphon on his ciclid tank. what do you guys think. does he owe me a new one?

 

[happyvac]

I don't think any disease could live in both FW and SW, but I'm not sure.
Interesting...deserves a bump.

 

[nereef]

most bacteria couldn't live in both. i don't know much about fungal, parasitic, or viral diseases though.

 

[nereef]

maybe this should be moved to the disease forum...

 

[lion_crazz]

No, parasites cannot be transferred from freshwater to saltwater. This is the purpose of a freshwater dip, because the freshwater kills saltwater parasites, and vice versa.
I would just give the siphon a good soak in hot water and you should be fine.

 

[nereef]

thanks lion. you know how protective we all are of our investments. i guess my hose just got a freshwater dip lol.

 

[lion_crazz]

yup, that's basically it. Trust me, I know how you are. I am very protective and careful about anything that comes close to my fish tank.

 

[hapshot]

Well, unless you were going to use the hose right after that, there is no need for dipping because its going to dry up. BTW, what kind of cichlids does your room mate have? :thinking:
I had cichlids once but now saltwater

 

[nereef]

Originally Posted by Hapshot
BTW, what kind of cichlids does your room mate have? :thinking:
I had cichlids once but now saltwater

he just upgraded to a 56 gal corner bowfront.
2 electric yellows
1 jack demsey
1 living stoney
2 blue ones with vertical black stripes. (not sure what they are)

 

[hapshot]

Originally Posted by NEreef
he just upgraded to a 56 gal corner bowfront.
2 electric yellows
1 jack demsey
1 living stoney
2 blue ones with vertical black stripes. (not sure what they are)
That Jack Dempsey will outgrow that tank fast.

 

[lion_crazz]

I like livingstoni cichlids and I love electric blue jack dempseys. They are awesome looking.

 

[nereef]

they are good looking fish. as for the jack demsey, we're good friends with the lfs owner. he could trade it in if it gets too big. he's had the jack dempsey for a year though and its only put on a about two inches.

 

[beth]

No, FW diseases do not really interchange between SW, but to be on the safe side, sanitize it with bleach and water wash.

 

[unleashed]

normally no they cannot transfer from one type of water to another but some strands of deseases can live in all three enviroments.if you do you use bleach which i highly disagree with using in a fish tank at any given time.give it a good vinigar rinse to eliminate any residue left over from the bleach..Yes bleach leaves a residue that is toxic to some animals and fish.I worked for an all animal (including reptiles) vet for 4 yrs we were not allowed to use bleach to clean anything because of the residue left behind was toxic to small animals and cats.only a vinigar rinse(white vinigar) will remove this from the tank and sealants.

 

[lion_crazz]

Wow, I have never heard of that before unleashed. Every time I have ever cleaned a filter bag or ornament at an LFS, I always washed them in bleach and I never saw any ill effects from doing so.

 

[unleashed]

i didnt know it either until i worked for them.I used to use bleach water in the kennels for yrs until they told me the residue was toxic to cats and other small animals that clean them selves and could accually kill them if exposed to it too often.bleach isnt just chlorine it contains other chemicals to make it what it is.from my understanding its the othe ingredients that are the most harmful after long exposer.because the residue will accually be leached into the water which goes through the gill(direct source to the fishes blood stream)it should not be used.think about it we dechlorinate the water before adding it to the tank be it with RO units or dechlorinater products.in your tanks im sure you also do this why?because chlorine is toxic to fish.so do you realy think that rinsing with water is going to get rid of the chlorine?no its going to get into the water. vinigar will nutrilize and strip off any left over residue in the silicone and glass the water leaves behind. I only use vinigar to clean all of my fish tanks and equipment then rinse with water.....think as an adult for one minute what vinigar is used for(trying not to be crude here) and what bleach is used for .would you dare substitute one for the other at any other given use? now which one do you think is going to be safer for your fish.

 

[lion_crazz]

I absolutely see your point and do not plan to refute it. I am curious to see what Beth has to say about this though.

 

[creative]

I don't want to start an argument but there are to sides to this fence. I believe in bleach for sanitizing anything for the aquarium hobby. Most authorities agree that it is harmless as long as it has dried or has been rinsed well. We use clorine in our waer systems that we drink. It could be toxic in the right dosage. Clorine evaporates and is gone... I know there are those who disagree, thats fine we don't have to agree. Until I see some scientific evidence I will conitnue to use bleech as it is one of the few things we can use in this hobby that we don't have to give our right arm for.

 

[lion_crazz]

Yeah, I don't know what else to clean my filter bags in to get the clean. What do you use unleashed(I am just curious)?

 

[unleashed]

the only filter bags i use is for phosphate remover( roe )or something like that i just tossed the empty bottle the other day i dont reuse the bags i always use new ones they are cheep to buy(btw knee high stocking also make a great substitute).as for the rest of my media its all one pad called pura pad used in my wet dry /dry system.i normally only clean my equipment ect with fw or vinigar water.majority of paresites or bacteria cannot live from one to another enviroment. i use fw also to clean my sponges ect.if you have be feeding foods from your grocery store such as fresh seafoods ects i always rinse these well in fw before feeding to my fish this stops any paresites from the dead fish from being transfered to your fish,yes worms can be transfered like this.our food is cooked to prevent us from contracting them.if you want to varifie this one yourselves and have a microscope handy take a fresh peice of fish soak it in fw then look at the water under a microscope( yes I read alot lol) fw fish can be tested the same way using sw