Opinions on freshwater bath

[RTV]

I've been doing a lot of reading and have seen conflicting opinions on freshwater baths. Some sites suggest 'dipping' fish in fresh water before placing them in the main tank. I've also read that its an effective method to rid your fish of ick and other parasites. And, I've been told that it is way to stressful for the fish and should be avoided at all cost. Does anyone here have an opinion on the subject?

[reefrunner69]

I beleive it is too stressful for the fish, I think you will simply weaken your fishes immune system with the FW dip and open them up to any sort of infection. Remember this fish is already on the verge of a nervous breakdown, it's been yanked from the ocean (in most cases), held on the beach, then shipped to a wholesalers, thrown into a tank, likely then shipped to the LFS and thrown in a tank and quite likely not eaten very much in the week or so it takes for that too happen. Practice a good quarantine and you will have much better luck in my opinion than with shotgun techniques.

[RTV]

Thanks for the info. Just trying to figure out the best way to do things. I definitely want to do whats best for the fish.

[Brenden]

Avoid doing a FW dip. Reefrunner pretty much covered it. You are just stressing the fish.

[pkremer]

Not to mention the fact that I have read that although this will cause "most" of the ich parasites to jump off, the ones that are burrowed in deep may not come off...if you don't get EVERY single parasite to fall off, you just wasted your time and caused the fish a huge amount of unnecessary stress.

Some people use them to cure fish in QT, but I can't imagine any sillier. You take the fish out and dip him in freshwater, even if everything jumps off, you then put him back in the same tank that he was infected in in the first place...

Paul

[tecwzrd]

Please do not do that! I did it once for one minute when I first started with SW and it’s quite painful to watch them flopping/gasping. I replaced back in QT as soon as I saw how stressful it is to the fish.

Performing hyposalinity is stress less and much more effective and medicine free!

[flamingonhot]

Freshwater dips do almost NOTHING. If they have ich there isn't a real big chance that ANY will die. It has been proven, from what i've read, that some will fall off of the fish, same with aquarium salt in freshwater tanks. The salt makes certain types of ich fall off...but barely enough to save the fish.

Most saltwater fish can't take being in freshwater for more than a couple of minutes, barely enough time for it to kill any parasites wedged in they're intestines, etc. If you think they have something try hyposalinity if you think it's a must. I would much rather someone QT and possibly use a little medication here and there than anything else though. If your fish has a major ich infestation or disease there is most likely something wrong with the tank, temp, etc. Trust me, when I started I wasn't the best "fishkeeper" and I had ich...once. Since then I have never had any of my saltwater fish get any disease or parasite...and in saltwater condtions it shouldn't be seen as much as in freshwater tanks. If your getting ich a lot that probably means your fish are stressed, temps are too low, or something else.

Ah well felt like typing lol.

[tecwzrd]

flamingonhot, not to offend but some off what you said is a bit "off"

Originally Posted by flamingonhot

If they have ich there isn't a real big chance that ANY will die.

Ich and other parasites if gone untreated will usually kill not only the fish infected but can also spread and kill all the fish in the tank.

Originally Posted by flamingonhot

If you think they have something try hyposalinity if you think it's a must. I would much rather someone QT and possibly use a little medication here and there than anything else though. .

QT is highly recommended due to the fact that most inverts would die during hyposalinity and the use of medication to treat Ich/parasites while effective can induce even more stress then the Ich/parasites themselves. Hyposalinity is a well-proven method of ridding fish of both and the lower sg helps them recover more quickly and is completely stress free.

Originally Posted by flamingonhot

If your fish has a major ich infestation or disease there is most likely something wrong with the tank, temp, etc.

Tank conditions do play a roll regarding stress and health of the fish but Ich/parasites do not appear out of "thin air" just because one or more parameters are off.

Ich/parasites are solely introduce to the main tank through improper QT procedures and/or by placing an Ich/parasite infected fish into the main tank thus infecting the rest. That is why it's critical to QT newly acquired fish/inverts for 3+ weeks to observe for any signs of sickness and for general health before adding to the main.

Again, I do not mean to offend you. I just want to pass on what I've learned over the years and a lot of what you said is often thought to be the case.