freshwater dips

[melissfish]

how do i do this, if it is less stressful then meds i would like to try it, will my fish be stressed from freshwater , do i acclimate them or just dunk them, please any advice would be helpful

 

[quarryshark]

Well, what is you situaltion? Dips are a nice tool sometimes, but are generally not a "cure"" for parasites. They do give some relief however, but if you fish are suffering from a parasitic infestation, then a solid treatment is needed.
The dip itself needs to be temp and PH adjusted to match the tank they are coming out of. That is the major problem with dip mortalities.
IMO, if you have a parasitic outbreak, hyposalinity or Cupramine is the best way to treat. All fish need to be removed from the main and treated in a qt setting.
The main tank need to be void of fish (hosts) for a period of at least 6 weeks to allow the parasite to go through its life cycle and die off.
HTH

 

[srgetz]

quarryshark is exactly right. To really give you advice we need to know what problem or symptoms the fish is displaying. IMO there are few instances where FW dip is a cure or even beneficial.

 

[melissfish]

i decide to use cupramine its for whitespot (cryptocarrions)

 

[srgetz]

Good move, melissfish. Just remember to keep treating as recommended in the instructions, IE treatment is not complete when the spots dissapear. You will have to leave the display fishless for 30 days minimum (6 weeks is the safe figure normally given) anyway in order to kill off the remaining ich.

 

[melissfish]

im leaving it fishless for 6 weeks ( a good excuse to add more corals) im using cupramine as it was easier to source than a refractometer. My QT is overstocked though. (15 gal) with 9 small fish in it. the ammonia is up and down. daily vaccuuming is my current method. any better ideas.

 

[quarryshark]

Keep with the daily water changes. If you can get a bigger tank, that would be best.

 

[melissfish]

the big tank has corals and inverts in it, that was the biggest QT i could get for the moment.

 

[quarryshark]

Then water change like crazy (20% a day). Do daily changes until the ammonia levels off.

 

[melissfish]

i am ammonia is up to o.5 every day so im using cycle and ammo- lock to help remove it and the water changes, this shouldnt interfere with the copper, should it??

 

[srgetz]

You may be getting a false ammonia reading from the copper & ammolock. See if you can get an ammonia alert badge by Seachem, it is not affected by those treatments.

 

[quarryshark]

Ammonia is a fact of life with a qt. Keep with the water changes, It can take some time for the water changes to catch up(and establish) a good biofilter.