Both of my clowns and possibly my coral beauty(not sure if its a bubble or something since theirs only one spot on him.) have ich. I don't have space in my room for a qt and i don't have the money for one either since i'm 17 with no job lol. But how do i go about doing a freshwater dip? All i know is to dechlorinate the water, and to get the water to the same temperature as the saltwater tank. Is there any thing else i should do?
Freshwater Dip
- Thread starter Frxnchie
- Start date
downbeach
New member
If you only have the fish in the DT, you could try hyposalinity. But, it wouldn't be good if you have LR or any inverts.
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2007/6/fish
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2007/6/fish
tekjunkie28
New member
I wouldn't worry too much about ich. Just feed them good food and keep there stress down. They will recover and be okay. Later on you can a qt setup and treat with hypo. Ivd advise against copper bc it also kills the fish but at a slower rate
MrTuskfish
Team RC
Some fish might recover for a while; but the ich remains and always wins. Copper works great, if you know how to use it, it does not kill fish when used correctly. Do you have a source for this copper statement, I'm curious how such info gets around?
To the OP:
FW dips do nothing for ich. The parasite is well under the skin and the SG of the FW doesn't affect the parasite at all. The white spot you see isn't the actual parasite. I'd sure wait until you can quarantine new fish before adding new ones.
If you have enough money for salt, you should have enough money for a cheap qt tank. Consider asking friends to check their attics for old 10 gallon tanks. GO to wallmart and get the 7 dollar pump. You could probably even get away with tank transfer method between 2 5 gallon buckets filled to 3 gallons. Use a water conditioner like prime to mitigate ammonia and nitrite...please read about treating and understand the life cycle and what you are up against. then post any more questions. We have so many folks posting who apparently skip numerous resources at the top of the forum.
h2so4hurts
New member
Yep.
I hate the "I can't afford a QT" line too. You can afford a $30 fish but you can't afford a $10 pump, $10 heater and a 5 gallon bucket? Come on...
MrTuskfish
Team RC
Craigslist is a good source for a QT too. Ironically, much of the stuff is probably from hobbyists who gave up because they failed to use a QT.
aleggett321
New member
I won't weigh in on the discussion about price and necessity of a QT tank but I can answer your question. This is the process I have used:
1)Bring a small container of RO water (I think that Amquel treated water would be ok for this quick treatment) to the same temperature as the DT.
2)Use baking soda to bring the pH up to the same reading as the DT water.
3)Immerse the fish for about 4 minutes and return to the tank, taking care not to dump the fresh water into the DT.
Don't be too concerned if the fish looks stressed or lies on its side briefly. They recover quickly once returned to the DT.
Good luck.
MrTuskfish
Team RC
FW dips, and other things that don't eliminate ich (UV, cleaner fish & shrimp, reef-safe cure-alls garlic, etc. etc.) do two things: give the hobbyist a false sense of optimism and delay real treatment. The result is more lost fish.
