Fresh water dips

joe

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Good Morning , i just thought i would share my experience with Fresh water dips..
well its quite simple actually the last 3 fish i bought from LFS i didnt bother to aclimate to my tank i just dipped them in fresh water , whether its just luck or that fresh water dips actually work is another story but i must say i havnt had any issues with any of my new stock and at no point have i had any problems :

this is the process i follow:
How To Give Fish a Freshwater Dip or Bath

From Stan & Debbie Hauter,


One of the simplest and fastest ways to reduce and eliminate the numbers of all types of ich organisms, as well as flukes and lice that are parasitic on saltwater fishes is to give them a quick freshwater dip or bath. This method of hyposalinity is very effective, takes little time to prepare for, and is strongly recommended as the first step in treating ich diseased fish prior to placing them into a QT for long term treatment with the proper medication for what ails them.
Difficulty: Easy
Time Required: Less than 10 minutes
Here's How:

  1. Fill a plastic container of choice with an appropriate source of freshwater, such as RO/DI filtered water. If you have no choice but to use tap water, be sure to dechorlinate it first.
  2. To prevent unnecessary shock and stress, try to match the pH and temperature of the freshwater to that of the aquarium water the fish will be removed from.
  3. To prevent ammonia from building up in the treatment water, add an ammonia eliminating product. AmQuel by Kordon is highly recommended for this purpose, and it is a dechlorinate as well (shop & compare prices).
  4. Although an optional step, it is recommended that some type of antibiotic medication be added to the treatment water as well. Because fish will be confined in a small amount of water, probably with other fish, the freshwater will cause them to expel waste, which in turn will most likely foul up the water. A nitrofurazone based product works well to help protect the fish from being exposed to their own waste during the procedure.
  5. Keep the water vigorously aerated during treatment. The simplest way to do this is to insert an air stone into the container.
  6. Remove all the fish from the infected aquarium and place them into the freshwater. If you have a large number of fish to treat, do not overcrowd the container. You can do small groups at a time, changing the water after each group has been treated.
  7. For the best results fish should remain in the freshwater for a duration of 3 to 4 minutes. If any fish is showing signs of undue stress after a minute or two, remove it.
Tips:

  1. If when you initially put the fish in the freshwater they settle to the bottom on their sides and do not move about, don't worry, they usually upright themselves and start moving around within about the first minute. If concerned you can nudge them a little bit to stimulate movement, and if any fish looks to be overly stressed, remove it.
  2. Sometimes during the dip/bath the water can become extremely fouled with waste. By making up and setting some extra treatment water aside it can be used to do water changes during the procedure if this occurs.
  3. If you do not plan to quaratine new fish prior to placing them into the main aquarium, and as long as there are no signs of stress from being in transit, it doesn't hurt to give them a quick freshwater dip or bath as a preventative measure.
What You Need:

  • Plastic container
  • Ammonia destroying product
  • Nitrofurazone based medication
  • Air pump and air stone
  • Freshwater
  • QT
 
Man I wouldnt try this unless its EXTREME circumstances
 
U know kanga i was just as sceptical but its amazing how well fish react to the dip...
A friend of mine recently visited the UK and most of the LFS there use FW dips.
 
I can just imagining myself killing a R500 fish.

Can this method only be used for fish?
 
look guys im really not trying to promote FW dips , just sharing my experience .
 
And thanks for doing so Joe. If it works it works.

Call me a wussy but that's just me. When I try this I will call you to come over to make sure I don't kill anything...:lol:

One thing I have wondered. How do you get the pH of RO water up to 8.4 or whatever your tank water's pH is without adding salt? Are there commercial products you can use? Getting the temp the same is the easy part I think.
 
Started FW dipping all my new fish before adding them to the display tank. Haven't lost one yet. Some LFS' also dip and their losses have decreased dramatically.
 
Tel u the truth i mix RO and some tap water . I dont buffer or use medicine , but these are optional .
 
One thing I have wondered. How do you get the pH of RO water up to 8.4 or whatever your tank water's pH is without adding salt? Are there commercial products you can use? Getting the temp the same is the easy part I think.

This is interesting. Like Galibore the pH part troubles me. Any more info on how?
Copperband what do you do about pH? Or does it not matter in Polokwane?
 
Thanks Copper, Bicarb should do the trick, we use it for Malawi's.
 
If you have the book by Robert M. Fenner 'The Conscientious Marine Aquarist', he has a section on freshwater dips, including his recipe on how to, on page 152 and 153. If anyone is interested, I can scan and post it here.
 
Excellent. Very step by step, better than Fenner.
Thx
 
Book too big for scanner. Will type out later when I have some time.
 
Ok, hope I don't get into trouble with copyrights. Mods can delete if you think so.


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No probs, I agree. But I still think that thread is better, much more details.
 
Fresh water dips are excellent remedies for sick or new fish, again do some reading and watch the PH and temp of the treatment water. Fish can take an upward swing in PH with no problem, its the downward swing thats a killer.
 
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