Freshwater Bath?

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Hi guys,

Is it necessary to let your new fish that you have just brought home, swim in fresh water for about 3 min, after aclimatising , before you put the fish into the main tank.
 
If you talking about a freshwater dip, I think you just adding stress, so no I certainly would not
 
Ideally you should have a small quarintine tank, but if you don,t I agree with Kanga will only create more stress.
 
only if he has white spot
 
Ideally you should have a small quarintine tank, but if you don,t I agree with Kanga will only create more stress.

Agreed - keep all new fish (and corals too...) in a Q-tank for at least two weeks (3 would be better) before you put them into your display tank. The Q-tank should have the same water quality as the display tank - in fact, you should do large (20% - 50%) water changes on the Q-tank every week, using water from your display tank.

Do NOT give fish any fresh-water dips unless there is an absolute need for this, and then only if you know what you're doing (matching pH and alkalinity, etc.).

Hennie
 
I am pro fresh water dips as a routine part of acclimatisation process before fish goes into quarantine for 4 weeks
 
i previously had QT tanks but currently nothing.i dont usually do freshwater dips unless its absoloutley necessary.so at the moment,all im doing is placing my fish in my sump for a few days and then releasing them into the display (not something i would advise though)
 
All due respect i think u guys need to do more research on fresh water dips , it reduces stres not increasin it as u suggest. Thats y when u lower salinity to treat white spot etc. it reduces the stres of the fish and strenghthens the fishes immune system.
 
All due respect i think u guys need to do more research on fresh water dips , it reduces stres not increasin it as u suggest.

Can you tell us where you got this info.

Taking any animal out of its natural enviroment will increase stress. Even catching or trapping animals or fish will stress them.
 
All due respect i think u guys need to do more research on fresh water dips , it reduces stres not increasin it as u suggest.

Well, if this is true (and I totally disagree) then why bother to add salt - if this is so "stress free" just keep all your marine fish in fresh water - you will have very happy, stress free fish - only problem is, they will be very happy, stress free, DEAD fish :nono:

Thats y when u lower salinity to treat white spot etc. it reduces the stres of the fish and strenghthens the fishes immune system.

Joe, there's a huge difference between hyposaline treatment and fresh-water dips.

For one thing, with hyposaline (low salt) treatment the fish are acclimated to the low salinity over a period of hours, and are NOT just placed into pure fresh water. Also, although the salinity is reduced, the alkalinity of the water is kept high, and this ensures a stable pH of 8.1 - 8.4, which is again NOT the case with a casual fresh-water dip. And, of course, hypo-saline treatment is NOT done with fresh water, but with water at a REDUCED salt content.

Here is an extract from an excellent article by Terry D. Bartleme, Stress in Fish

[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]Fish are more susceptible to stress than many other animals because of a greater dependence upon their surrounding environment (Wedemeyer, 1996a). The delicate surfaces of the gills come into direct contact with chemical toxins that cause stress; this is exacerbated in marine fish by the fact they actually drink large quantities of the water.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]Four important body functions are closely associated with processes in the gills: gas exchange, hydromineral (osmoregulation) control, acid-base balance and nitrogenous waste excretion. These processes are possible because of the close proximity of the blood flowing through the gills to the surrounding water, as well as the differences in the chemical composition of these two fluids (for example, the salt content of fish blood is about 1/3 that of seawater and roughly 100 times that of freshwater).[/FONT]
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[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]Adrenaline released during the stress response increases blood flow to the gills to provide for the increased oxygen demands of stress. The release of adrenaline into the blood stream elevates the heart rate, blood flow and blood pressure. This increases the volume of blood in vessels contained within the gills, increasing the surface area of the gills while helping fish absorb more oxygen from the water. The elevated blood flow allows increased oxygen uptake for respiration but also increases the permeability of the gills to water and ions. This is what is known as the osmorespiratory compromise (Folmar & Dickhoff, 1980. Mazeaud, et, al., 1977). In saltwater fish, this leads to accelerated ion influxes and water losses. In freshwater fish, the effects are reversed; it increases water influx and ion losses. Small fish are more susceptible to hydromineral disturbances due, in part, to a higher gill-surface-to-body-mass-ratio than their larger counterparts.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]One of the most characteristic aspects of stress in fish is osmoregulatory disturbance, which is related to the effects of both catecholamine and cortisol hormones. The extent of the disturbance following stress depends upon the ionic and osmotic gradients (difference) between the internal fluids of the fish and its surrounding environment (water). If the stress is persistent and of sufficient intensity, changes in the cellular structure of the gills may occur under the influence of cortisol. In this situation, increased death and turnover rates of branchial epithelial cells leads to accelerated aging of the gills. These degenerating and newly-formed gill cells do not function normally, which further limits the fish's ability to maintain water and ion homeostasis under stressful conditions. Thus, acute stress limits the fish's capacity to osmoregulate, and prolonged periods of extreme stress may result in osmotic shock and death.[/FONT]

And here's an extract from News from the warfront with Cryptocaryon irritans by the same author:

[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]Treating fish with a series of short-term baths at a salinity of 8 to 10ppt will effectively destroy tomonts. This method requires a three hour treatment every third day for a total of four treatments. All tomonts exposed to a salinity of 10ppt for three hours eventually degenerated (Colorni, 1985). In the event of an infection with a low salinity variant of Cryptocaryon irritans, such as the Chiayi isolate or strain, a salinity of 8 to 10ppt will not effectively eradicate the parasite.[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]Handling fish every third day that are already weakened by disease may be risky (Colorni, 1985). Teleost reef fish have an internal salinity of 11 to 12ppt. It is questionable as to whether many species of teleost reef fish that can tolerate an external salinity level below that found in their internal fluids without undue stress. [/FONT]
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I've highlighted and underlined the most pertinent parts - in short, hyposaline treatment (at a salinity not less than that of fish blood!) in the short term (weeks, not years...) reduces stress by lowering the osmotic pressure between the water and the fish blood. Lowering the salinity below that of the fish blood would again INCREASE osmotic pressure, and this time in the wrong direction, thus increasing the energy requirement, "flooding" the fish with fresh water and diluting the blood, and increasing stress.

Fresh-water dips can be used as a rather severe medical treatment (much like chemo-therapy in humans, where the body is poisoned in an effort to kill the disease before the person...), but just as our doctors don't treat our common illnesses with chemo, we should restrict fresh-water dips to only when it's really necessary.

Hennie
 
Guys u know i fully understand ur response, but i personally fwd almost every fish i bought , never quarentined any , and ive never lost fish to desease or ill health . Just a few suicide jumpers. Now im definately stil a beginner but in the last year1/2 ive not even seen a single spot on any fish ive owened, and not many reefers can claim this.
 
I think neither are wrong, its just that one works for one person and doesnt for anouther and you two can argue till your lungs go blue.

hope this helps
 
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