Freshwater dips?? Good or bad?

[Dkray944]

What are y'all's thoughts in fresh water dips? If you had positive results please let me know your process. I'm going to be adding a fair amount of fish to my new tank over the next year and was wondering if this method works.

[Reefnub]

Ice heard it's bad for fish but I have done it to a 1/2" baby nemo which had ich bad real bad so I did a fresh water dip and left him in there 5 or 7 min and saved his life and still have him 9 yrs later. I think if it' s necessary to save a life I would other than that I have never done it since and have had no problems with adding fish. That's just my story and I'm no expert either. Good luck.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Mike]

I have only heard of people using it to kill parasites, usually ich. Not sure why one would do it on healthy fish.

[alton]

I first acclimate, sometimes Prazi Pro dip for an Hour, FW dip for 10 to 20 minutes, and then into QT tank where unless I notice something after several weeks, I do not medicate any further. I have had Angelfish get stressed during this routine, and others that enjoyed the FW. The first time was my Regal that cost over $200 which was I think more stressful for me than him.

[Dkray944]

This is good to know. In the past Ive always closely observed the fish while acclimating. If I didn't see any issues I would just add it to the display. If I saw issues or issues arised I would then quarantine. This has worked well for me over the years so I'll guess I'll just stick with it.

[Justin]

I feel the same way as Reefnub. I think it does some crazy stuff to SW critters and helps get external parasite off the host real quick. I would honestly just put your fish in QT for a min. of 2 weeks if you can and then add them to the general population if they are one eating healthy, and two show no signs of any parasites. You know QT also helps give the new fish a place to relax and grow nice and fat before you add them to the DT.
I am currently using my spare 40 breeder as a grow out tank for both my coral frags and any new fish I have that need to get fattened up for my DT. Right now I just have some juvenile bangaii's in there because they would be terrorized and out-competed by the other members of my tank. Once they get nice and plump and about a qtr to half dollar size, I will introduce them to my tank.

[leliataylor]

I have done a number of FW dips over the years and have never lost a single fish (seahorses are very sensitive to ciliates which can prove fatal if left untreated). The only time I use it is when I have a know parasitic infection. Actually the fish I have put into FW tend to stress less than using a formalin dip or long term Quick Cure bath (which contains malachite green and stays within the internal tissue of the fish for a prolonged period of time). You need to buffer the water to the same pH, adjust to the temp to match the tank and make sure it is well aerated. Observe the fish for any signs of becoming unresponsive and move it back to the tank if this occurs. Ideally you want to leave them in the dip for 20 minutes. When doing a FW dip it is possible for the fish to develop a secondary bacterial infection from the lesions left behind when the parasites die. Anytime I do a FW dip the fish remains in a QT for a minimum of 6 weeks and depending on their response receives BS gut loaded with Ascorbyl Palmitate to boost their immune system (BS convert Ascorbyl Palmitate to vitamin C).

[Justin]

Its funny that this thread comes up. During lunch, I was admiring my tank and was just checking out my corals when I saw egg masses underneath one of my favorite corals, a neon green Torch! Upon further inspection, I saw a couple of polyclad worms moving around its base. I quickly setup my QT and dips stations and hit the pests with a 10 min. Bayer dip and a quick rinse in FW and finally a QT to observe and wait for another 3 days for the eggs to start to hatch and do the whole process again.
It sucks but I know they are not AEFW, just polyclad worms that prey on clams and snails. I don't have any clams but I do have several snails in my tank. Tonight I'm going to swing by HEB and get myself some fresh clams and create a trap for any potential remaining worms in my tank. Hopefully, I am just dealing with a few individuals that were hanging out under my torch.