Freshwater Dip Question

[Evyllchyld]

Alright everyone, I need some help. I woke up this morning to see that my female clown looks a lot better, but my male clown just look terrible, his ich is REALLY bad. I'd like to try a fresh water dip. How should I go about this??? Is it just like it sounds?? Should I catch them both and put them in 80degree fresh water(same temp as my display) for 5 mins then throw them back in the display tank or am I missing something?? Thanks for any help.

 

[Lakeside518]

I have always used RO water heated to same temp as Display.

Added the fish and timed with my microwave. LOL For 5 mins and returned to the QT tank.

 

[Evyllchyld]

is a 2.5g tank large enough for a freshwater dip? or does size matter :rollface: And do you think I should setup a QT tank also or would it be ok to just FW dip them then add them to the display again?

 

[Lakeside518]

All depends on the size of the fish you are dipping? I have used a 2.5 gallon for this purpose with no probs. A QT is always safest Slowly lower you SG over a period of time. Treating with Hypo. Some also use Copper in QT tanks but make sure you test it.

 

[Evyllchyld]

I also forgot to add they are the only fish in there, so I don't have to worry about other fish catching it.

 

[Evyllchyld]

They are two small percs, one 1 3/4 inch i'd say and 1 1/4 pretty small. And also you'd say that a FW Dip alone won't be enough to "cure" these two of ich?

 

[Lakeside518]

In my experience no. I was never able to wipe out Ich alone with FW dips. That was my experience. You will discover for yourself.

FW dips would clear it up and give you a false sense of "everything is okay" Then it would appear again worse.

 

[Evyllchyld]

Alright, how slowly should I lower my salinity a day?? and lower it to what. From what I've read i should lower no more then .002 a day and should lower it to about .014? If what I just wrote was true, i have my SG at 1.025 right now. Should i do a FW dip, then put them in a QT tank at 1.023 or is that do drastic for them that quickly?

 

[Lakeside518]

That should be fine. I would go as low as 1.010 So everyone has told me. Thats what i go down to. I have had good results. Nock on wood.. Never had Ich again since. No deaths

 

[Evyllchyld]

Thats all you did was hypo?? You didn't treat them with medicine or anything? Also, I have a 10g tank i'll setup as a QT can I just mix fresh RO water and add that since I only have a 12g display tank? and just do water changes every other day?

 

[Lakeside518]

Yeah i use a 10 or 20 gal for a QT tank. A 10 gallon with those fish is fine. I also use copper and maintain & test it to keep it at the level recommended. I have also tried Ruby Red Kick Ich but wasnt impressed with it.

 

[Evyllchyld]

Thanks a lot lakeside. I really appreciate the quick responses. I've done probably 200 hours of research on clownfish and diseases, and SW in general and thought I would be ready for it. Guess not Thanks for the help.

 

[Lakeside518]

If you decide togo with Copper i can recommend the best kind and test kit. I picked it up at Eddies

 

[Evyllchyld]

I'm not totally sure yet. I have to run out and buy a new heater for the 10g and get it all setup before I decided what I wanna do. What exactly does copper do for your fish though? I though that it didn't help for ich?

 

[reefD]

they way i do a freshwater dip is put ro water into a small cup. net the fish and dip him for a few minutes. im a bit confused when you ask is 2.5 gallon tank big enough for a freshwatre dip? the size of the freshwater dip container doesnt matter. it can be a big bucket or a small bag. either way the water is totally fresh ..void of any salt. the fish is in this envirnment for minutes only so size doesnt matter. is like bagging him up for travel. sorry if i misunderstood you.

 

[reefD]

copper is good for ich but very very dangerous for all inverts(snails,hermits,shrimp,etc) and corals. even anglers cannot tolerate any cooper dosing at all.

 

[Evyllchyld]

The reason I asked if a 2.5g is large enough was just a safety question, i was fairly confident size didn't matter but was just making sure.

 

[reefD]

ok yeah i always use a bag the same size as the lfs. works just fine.