jdmcivicek9
In Memoriam
my powderbrown tang has white parasites on him and i was wondering what all is involved in a freshwater dip??and how should i do it??
freshwater dip
- Thread starter jdmcivicek9
- Start date
paulamrein
New member
If it were me, I would try not to do one, if ph or temp is wrong you can seriously damage the fish. Not sure really what a dip would do anyway with most parasites having protective coatings while on the host. I realize this opens a huge can of worms so take it as one opinion, with limited experience but extensive research.
93Foxstang
New member
If the fish is eating and your water test out good i would not do a freshwater dip only use it as the last option.
jdmcivicek9
In Memoriam
thanks for the help yeah my water checks out fine and i did a water change yesterday so i will watch him for a few more days before i decided what to do...thanks
If it's white spots you are probably seeing the exit wounds of marine ich(crytocaryon irritans). The only proven methods for treating this condition are quarantine with copper sulfate treatment or hypo salinity. I personally prefer the copper.A fresh water dip will kill some of the parasites that are on the skin but not those embedded in the fish or in your tank on the substrate and rock. You can't use copper in a reef tank since it is lethal to invertebrates. The only way to insure your reef is free of ich is to leave it fishless for 72 days. Alternatively, you can hope for the best and if no new strains of ich are introduced to the tank for 11months the existing strain will perish. That means you can't put any new fish in since they would either be hit by the ich in the tank or possibly introduce a new strain.
jdmcivicek9
In Memoriam
wow that sucks...i didnt realize it was so serious...can a fish get rid of the ich on its own??like if i add an vitamin booster into the water to help its immune system would that help??
paulamrein
New member
Most fish develop immunity but it is after outbreak after outbreak and the way the parasite reproduces you will have hundreds of thousands in a matter of months and even the healthiest fish could succumb. It is also researched that after about 10 to 12 months without any additions to the tank the strand will die out. but, why wait that long. Best bet is to QT. The threads on top will go into pain staking detail of the how's and what's.
jdmcivicek9
In Memoriam
good deal!!thanks for all the help and information!!!this is a great website!!!
jdmcivicek9
In Memoriam
so my powderbrown died...and im pretty sure he spread his parasites to the other fish...in the last 2 days ive lost my dragon goby, manderin goby, and pink psudocromis...id like to catch the other fish and quarintine them but i can catch them because of all my live rock!!!is there a reefsafe chemical i can add to maybe help wipe out the ich??
jdmcivicek9
In Memoriam
yeah i kinda figured...how long should i keep them in quarintine and also what should i do about the display tank as far as getting rid of them??
Leaving the display without fish for two months is the standard advice and should get them all but it has been shown that some cysts can remain "unhatched" and vialble for up to 72days. Once they do hatch they must find a fish host within a few days or perish. I know it's a tough solution but the time passes quickly and you will have a disease free tank at the end of it. If you quarantine new additions you may enjoy your fish for a very longtime. Some of these marine fish have lifespans of 20 or 30 yrs.
If you choose not to remove the fish and some do survive. The survivors may very well have some ich that they can tolerate but you can't see, most likely in the gills. This means there is ich in your tank and the survivors have developed some level of tolerance. This strain of ich will end it's cycle in about 11 months( it can only complete 34 life cycles). So, if you do not introduce a new strain the ich will be gone in 11 months even if there are fish in your tank to host it. Any new addition during this time,however, will likely be infested.
jdmcivicek9
In Memoriam
thanks for all the help i will work on taking the fish out this weekend!!!
