fjdog Posted January 15, 2008 Share Posted January 15, 2008 I wanted to find out what the opinion of a freshwater dip for new fish additions was. After reading a bunch of aquarium-related material, it is clear that there are many advocates for the quarantine tank (and a few oponents). This said, I set up a 20 gal in the garage for my latest purchase and it seems to be going well, except for the fact that it is a PITA to upkeep two tanks, especially with the frequent water changes. Now, I have also read that some folks will do a final freshwater dip to reduce parasite load when introducing any new fish. It seems that if the fish is doing well in quarantine and does not show any signs of illness or parasite infection, this is a bit of overkill. Also, if you are trying to acclimate a fish to new water parameters by doing a drip acclimation, doesn't the freshwater dip kind-of represent an extreme acclimation stress? Does not really make a lot of sense to me, but I am still somewhat of a newbee. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael7979 Posted January 15, 2008 Share Posted January 15, 2008 Personally I'd go with a hypo-salinity treatment to try and rid the aninal of pest AND skip any thoughts of a FW dip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badguitarist Posted January 16, 2008 Share Posted January 16, 2008 freshwater dips can definately be a very usefull tool in ridding animals of parasites but they are not always nessesary and as your thread suggests down right scary if you've never done one before. I rarely do them unless i feel the fish needs it. for example: parasites such as worms and flukes are erradicated very effectively by freshwater dips. Having worked at a petstore for 31/2 years you learn to appreciate them for quickly and easily ridding animals of parasites that are not normally that easy to get rid of. as far as acclimating just make sure the water is the same temp and same Ph (this is where a high quality Ph test comes in). If the quarantined fish is otherwise healthy though Theres rarely a need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barelycuda Posted January 16, 2008 Share Posted January 16, 2008 I feel your pain on the QT issue but they are a must. A few months back I purchased 4 pairs of clownfish for broodstock pairs. I set up 4 QT tanks for the new fish with the plan to Quarantine them for 4 weeks before circulating their water into the breeder system. All fish appeared happy & healthy upon putting them in their tanks. A little over a week after that my cinnamon clowns starting showing signs of ich. If I had put them onto the system without quarantine they would have introduced the ich to approx. 1000 fish. Also if you are thinking about breeding fish ( at least clownfish in my case) freshwater dips or hyposalinity are the only way to rid the fish of parasites. Copper treatments are common for parasites but at least for clownfish can make them sterile. QT tanks are a pain but worth every bit of effort compared to a parasite outbreak. Cuda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palani Posted January 16, 2008 Share Posted January 16, 2008 I agree with badguitarist. FW dips are very effective against flukes and other parasites. Just like he said, you need to be sure the TEMPERATURE and pH is the same, or else it could possibly kill the fish. And don't do one for more than 5 minutes, or when the fish starts looking very stressed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsoz Posted January 17, 2008 Share Posted January 17, 2008 how about you do a FW dip sometime durring the QT process, that way the fish gets readjusted to the QT tank, then after a week or so switch it over to the main tank? This way the FW dip does not occur while you are trying to acclimate the animal from the QT to the display, and it gives the animal a chance to recover/strengthen before it must compete with other fish in the display. Just an idea. dsoz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
josh Posted January 17, 2008 Share Posted January 17, 2008 I've done a freshwater dip on all of the fish in my tanks except for the gobies. I've read that its to much for the gobies, and they are disease resistant to start. Haven't lost a fish to it, the first few times I did it were short, in the minute range or so because the fish dont like it and I freaked out. The last fish i dipped was getting close to five minutes, probably not quite. Some fish are visibly affected and fall on their side gasping in a few minutes, which is when I get them out. Some fish seemed like they could last forever and arent visibly affected. I use DI/DO water adjusted to same PH as tank, and enough drops of methylene blue to turn the water blue. I've read that if you dont do anything else to your new fish, freshwater dip them. Better QT for four weeks and freshwater dip. Bob Fenners book The Conscientous (sp?) Marine Aquarist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fjdog Posted January 17, 2008 Author Share Posted January 17, 2008 I've done a freshwater dip on all of the fish in my tanks except for the gobies. I've read that its to much for the gobies' date=' and they are disease resistant to start. Haven't lost a fish to it, the first few times I did it were short, in the minute range or so because the fish dont like it and I freaked out. The last fish i dipped was getting close to five minutes, probably not quite. Some fish are visibly affected and fall on their side gasping in a few minutes, which is when I get them out. Some fish seemed like they could last forever and arent visibly affected. I use DI/DO water adjusted to same PH as tank, and enough drops of methylene blue to turn the water blue. I've read that if you dont do anything else to your new fish, freshwater dip them. Better QT for four weeks and freshwater dip. Bob Fenners book The Conscientous (sp?) Marine Aquarist.[/quote'] Yeah, this is where I first read it recommended. He also recommends caulerpa though and it seems many people are moving away from this algae. There are many different viewpoints from many different "experts" on many different things. I just like to take the information and make informed decisions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
josh Posted January 17, 2008 Share Posted January 17, 2008 yep, many opinions, not much thats definite in the saltwater world. man i wish i hadn't added that caluarpa, pain in my butt (laugh) what do you do Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badguitarist Posted January 18, 2008 Share Posted January 18, 2008 the only problem with dipping them and then adding them back to the quarantine tank is that your reintroducing the fish back into a possibly "infected" tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dstoneburg Posted January 18, 2008 Share Posted January 18, 2008 Reefcentral has/had a large debate going on for a while about freshwater dips. From what I read the general conclusion was its a dangerous procedure that puts un-needed stress on the fish. The only time ive heard of it really being necesary is if the fish is so severly infested with it ick, a FW dip is a last effort to reduce the parasites enough for the fish to live through hypo. Its also ironic to me that someone would take a fish who sucesfully completed a QT procedure and put him through a stressful situation such as a FW dip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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