Fresh water dip?

littlemannin · 08/17/2006, 05:38 PM

has anyone done a FW dip for a fish with ick? I came home from work and hes covered with white spots, pale, and rubbibg on rocks. Then stops in the cornwer of the tank and rests. Does this sound like ick and will the FW dip help. How long do I leave him in FW. My Quaratine isnt set up right now?

littlemannin · 08/17/2006, 06:15 PM

Ok. I guess not. Anyone know how to catch a domino with ick? My god this guy is quick!

TWallace · 08/17/2006, 06:23 PM

FW dips won't do much for ich. They infect the whole tank, not just the fish. Dipping may kill some of the parasites, but most will be embedded too deep in the fish to be affected by the water conditions. Also, many more parasites will be free swimming in your tank, where they'll just reinfect the fish after the dip.

Cesar333 · 08/17/2006, 06:32 PM

Hey whats up, my first post here.
I used to do this a long time ago when i was an aquatics specialist at a fish shop. first get a small tank or container and fill it with RO/DI water and try to match the temp of your tank. Make sure to have your freshwater dip tank properly airrated. take your little domino and drop him in the freshwater for 3 to 5 min. then put him back in the tank. I found this method worked 90% of the time.

Zoos · 08/17/2006, 06:36 PM

Wow a damsel with ick......... lol

littlemannin · 08/17/2006, 07:24 PM

my damsel with ick is gonna take out the entire tank! I know its just a damsel.... but now... how do I get him out!.My god .. I never thought a $4 fish would take down a $3000 tank! Never again!
Sorry stressing here!

TKByrnes · 08/17/2006, 08:23 PM

go fishing..... litteraly. small barbless hook and a piece of shrimp. it has worked for many people.

druce · 08/17/2006, 08:39 PM

this my friend is why you QT your fish

I learned this the hard way 6 months ago....

blas · 08/17/2006, 09:08 PM

Agree on quarantine but even with that things happen in the main tank, ich is almost always there and it take a fish down on their luck and whala! ich is here again. I have been battling that stuff for a month in my 180 with a tang that up until now has not ever had ich, I hate that stuff and try catching a fish in a 180 stocked with 250lbs of live rock pretty much next to impossible not to mention the stress you would put the sick fish through. One of the hazrds of this here hobby : (

Freed · 08/17/2006, 09:20 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by blas
Agree on quarantine but even with that things happen in the main tank, ich is almost always there and it take a fish down on their luck and whala! ich is here again. I have been battling that stuff for a month in my 180 with a tang that up until now has not ever had ich, I hate that stuff and try catching a fish in a 180 stocked with 250lbs of live rock pretty much next to impossible not to mention the stress you would put the sick fish through. One of the hazrds of this here hobby : (

OK, here we go. First off, blas, get the idea out of your mind that ich is almost always there in your tank whether you like it or not. THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST RIDICULOUS ASSUMPTIONS AND OLD WIVES TALES ANYONE CAN COME UP WITH. Ich is not always present in a tank. It has to be introduced into the tank via fish, inverts, live rock or anything WET. This is the only way to introduce ich(cryptocarian irritans) into your saltwater tank. IF you QT properly, you will NEVER introduce it into your main system. This means QT ALL live rock, fish, inverts, corals, etc.

The reason you have been battling it is because it looks as though, and I am just assuming, that you haven't properly QT'd your new arrivals and are now fighting the monthly cycle of the ich reinfesting all of the fish you have. If you would take the time to take all the fish and put them in QT and properly do hyposalinity on them, you would be rid of the "ich" and you wouldn't have any more worries.

ReefWreak · 08/17/2006, 09:20 PM

The arguement of having a lot of rock and stuff is definatly valid, but that's why some people suggest that you use the barbless hook if you can't catch it by net. I've got a tomato clown that had it last week, I never treated for it cause I couldn't catch him (don't have the time/patience/heart to hook him), but it's gone now so i'm waiting to see how it goes.

Either way, good luck to all of you/us with ich!

littlemannin · 09/09/2006, 06:33 AM

Well, the damsel died and the ich took out my yellow tang also... but... There is a good side to this happening. I have always had a problem with nitrates in my tank. Not real bad (about 2 to 4). Now that the Yellow Tang and the damsel are gone and I only have a Coral beauty left in the tank with some mushrooms, snails and hermits, my niitrates are 0. I'm thinking there is definately some merit to the "TANG POLICE" saying 55 gallons is to small for a tang. Go figure. Just goes to show sometimes bad things turn out for the better. I think for now I will just keep the one fish and finally knock the green hair algea out of my tank!

MJAnderson · 09/09/2006, 08:34 AM

I'm confused about QTing everything...

I thought when you QT for ich the 2 things you do is low salinity and copper, both of which you can't do to LR, most corals or inverts. So how do you QT everything? I've QTed corals for bugs and fish for ich, but have never QTed inverts or LR.

ledford1 · 09/09/2006, 09:53 AM

In QT, you don't necessarily have to lower salinity and and copper. ALthough you may choose to do so should you see a disease/parasite to treat.

You can just run a QT normally. Put in a new fish and let it acclimate to feeding and such, and of course look for any problems with the fish. Running the QT normally would allow you to keep an eye on LR additions as well. Should there be any Ich on the rock, without any fish in the tank, it won't last much longer - and you don't kill the rock with copper.

Cosmo^Kramer · 09/09/2006, 05:41 PM

You don't go fishing you use a fish trap.When my regal tang had it I lowerd the salinity in a QT tank.I also used melafix in the QT.Worked out great.Melafix also kills flatworms,I discover that by accident.I'm happy so say the regal out grew my tank and is now living in a 250 gallon reef.Heres a link to the fish trap,they work great
http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewIt...product=UL1511

08/17/2006, 05:38 PM	#1
littlemannin Premium Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Maine Posts: 276	Fresh water dip? has anyone done a FW dip for a fish with ick? I came home from work and hes covered with white spots, pale, and rubbibg on rocks. Then stops in the cornwer of the tank and rests. Does this sound like ick and will the FW dip help. How long do I leave him in FW. My Quaratine isnt set up right now? Last edited by littlemannin; 08/17/2006 at 05:51 PM.

08/17/2006, 06:36 PM	#5
Zoos Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Miami, FL Posts: 1,334	Wow a damsel with ick......... lol __________________ "The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education." Current Tank Info: None.

08/17/2006, 08:23 PM	#7
TKByrnes Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Fairfield, PA Posts: 1,331	go fishing..... litteraly. small barbless hook and a piece of shrimp. it has worked for many people. __________________ Baby it was on sale half price I PROMISE!!!! Current Tank Info: 90 gal mixed reef-55 gal sump-mag 9.5 return pump-10 gal frag tank 15 gal refugium. 2x 150 watt HQI outer orbit 4x pc actinic

08/17/2006, 08:39 PM	#8
druce Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: North Liberty, IA Posts: 1,349	this my friend is why you QT your fish I learned this the hard way 6 months ago.... __________________ Click the red house to see tank pics and my blog and to get the link for my RC tank thread! Current Tank Info: 90 gal AGA RR, 55 gal long for sump, 17g Aquafuge pro as refugium - 2x 150w MH, 2x 96w Actinic

09/09/2006, 05:41 PM	#15
Cosmo^Kramer Registered Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: Westchester,NY Posts: 1,370	You don't go fishing you use a fish trap.When my regal tang had it I lowerd the salinity in a QT tank.I also used melafix in the QT.Worked out great.Melafix also kills flatworms,I discover that by accident.I'm happy so say the regal out grew my tank and is now living in a 250 gallon reef.Heres a link to the fish trap,they work great http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewIt...product=UL1511 __________________ If you choke a smurf,what color does he turn? The Police never think it's as funny as you do Current Tank Info: Starting up a Cadlights signature series.

08/17/2006, 06:15 PM	#2
littlemannin Premium Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Maine Posts: 276	Ok. I guess not. Anyone know how to catch a domino with ick? My god this guy is quick!

08/17/2006, 06:23 PM	#3
TWallace Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Seattle Posts: 1,464	FW dips won't do much for ich. They infect the whole tank, not just the fish. Dipping may kill some of the parasites, but most will be embedded too deep in the fish to be affected by the water conditions. Also, many more parasites will be free swimming in your tank, where they'll just reinfect the fish after the dip.

08/17/2006, 06:32 PM	#4
Cesar333 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: NYC Posts: 19	Hey whats up, my first post here. I used to do this a long time ago when i was an aquatics specialist at a fish shop. first get a small tank or container and fill it with RO/DI water and try to match the temp of your tank. Make sure to have your freshwater dip tank properly airrated. take your little domino and drop him in the freshwater for 3 to 5 min. then put him back in the tank. I found this method worked 90% of the time.

08/17/2006, 07:24 PM	#6
littlemannin Premium Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Maine Posts: 276	my damsel with ick is gonna take out the entire tank! I know its just a damsel.... but now... how do I get him out!.My god .. I never thought a $4 fish would take down a $3000 tank! Never again! Sorry stressing here!

08/17/2006, 09:08 PM	#9
blas Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Chandler Arizona Posts: 370	Agree on quarantine but even with that things happen in the main tank, ich is almost always there and it take a fish down on their luck and whala! ich is here again. I have been battling that stuff for a month in my 180 with a tang that up until now has not ever had ich, I hate that stuff and try catching a fish in a 180 stocked with 250lbs of live rock pretty much next to impossible not to mention the stress you would put the sick fish through. One of the hazrds of this here hobby : (

08/17/2006, 09:20 PM	#11
ReefWreak Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Astoria, NYC Posts: 10,159	The arguement of having a lot of rock and stuff is definatly valid, but that's why some people suggest that you use the barbless hook if you can't catch it by net. I've got a tomato clown that had it last week, I never treated for it cause I couldn't catch him (don't have the time/patience/heart to hook him), but it's gone now so i'm waiting to see how it goes. Either way, good luck to all of you/us with ich!

09/09/2006, 06:33 AM	#12
littlemannin Premium Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Maine Posts: 276	Well, the damsel died and the ich took out my yellow tang also... but... There is a good side to this happening. I have always had a problem with nitrates in my tank. Not real bad (about 2 to 4). Now that the Yellow Tang and the damsel are gone and I only have a Coral beauty left in the tank with some mushrooms, snails and hermits, my niitrates are 0. I'm thinking there is definately some merit to the "TANG POLICE" saying 55 gallons is to small for a tang. Go figure. Just goes to show sometimes bad things turn out for the better. I think for now I will just keep the one fish and finally knock the green hair algea out of my tank!

09/09/2006, 08:34 AM	#13
MJAnderson Premium Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: East Bay, CA Posts: 2,633	I'm confused about QTing everything... I thought when you QT for ich the 2 things you do is low salinity and copper, both of which you can't do to LR, most corals or inverts. So how do you QT everything? I've QTed corals for bugs and fish for ich, but have never QTed inverts or LR.

09/09/2006, 09:53 AM	#14
ledford1 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: NW Arkansas Posts: 2,241	In QT, you don't necessarily have to lower salinity and and copper. ALthough you may choose to do so should you see a disease/parasite to treat. You can just run a QT normally. Put in a new fish and let it acclimate to feeding and such, and of course look for any problems with the fish. Running the QT normally would allow you to keep an eye on LR additions as well. Should there be any Ich on the rock, without any fish in the tank, it won't last much longer - and you don't kill the rock with copper.