Freshwater dip for clowns or not?

[Anthony1]

I am going to purchase two percula clowns shortly and put them in my tank which currently has no fish. The 38g tank has been up about a year and one half with a shrimp, various snails and a few crabs. I don't want to introduce disease to the tank. I don't have a quarantine tank.

If you recommend a dip, then for how long should I dip the fish and should I dip using the same fresh water (distilled) that I use to mix the salt with? How should I introduce the fish to the dip and then to the tank....just drop them in?

 

[Jawbone]

Tank raised Clowns are pretty resiliant little fishes and gernally dont get sick. That said I think the average dip is from 3 to 5 minutes.

 

[jamesw]

What would be aiming to accomplish by freshwater dipping the fish? That is an important question that needs to be answered first, then the others can be addressed.

Cheers
James

 

[Jawbone]

Oh I guess I should have read and understood the question a little better.

I dont recommend dips.

If you are convinced you need to dip then 3 - 5 minutes is the general rule.

The freshwater MUST match the PH and temp of the tank water. The biggest problem I see is you are now dealing with 3 different waters to try and acclimate a fish into. The bag water. Your aquarium water and the Freshwater Dip water.

If I were you I would just put the fish in your tank by the acclimation method of your choice and dont worry about the possibility of spreading a disease to other fish that are not even there.

Stress is like fuel to many diseases and just helps the disease take hold of the fish in its weakened stressed out condition.

If you are really concered about the spreading of disease then use a UV sterilizer. Big controversy here using UV on a reef but a lot of us use them. And since the UV is a lot less stressfull than the freshwater dip it is the method I use.
I use one for a few days prior to introducing a fish and for a few days after introducing a new fish, If I dont see any problems I turn off the UV. If I see signs of trouble (or am introducing a tang) then I leave the UV ON for a longer period of time.

 

[Anonymous]

I recently saw a clown tang get a fresh water dip at the LFS and could not believe how many squiggly, nasty critters came out of that poor guy. He didn't seem too stressed by it all, and I'm sure he was better off.

That having been said I agree with jawbone and am squeemish about subjecting a fish to that during the already-stressfull acclimation process.

 

[jamesw]

Wow!

Could you elaborate on the nasty critters that came off the clown tang please?

This is exactly what freshwater dips are for - killing/dislodging ectoparasites. The osmotic stress basically "pops" the parasite - but unfortunately, the fish is undergoing the SAME stress during the dip...it just isn't enough to kill the fish.

HTH
James Wiseman

 

[Anonymous]

They were whitish and mostly too small to appear more than snowflakes. There were a few longer, wormlike things though, more than a centimeter in length. Some seemed to be coming out of the fishes tailpipe, but could have been embedded in the skin nearby.

I was surprised to see anything at all; thought the parasites would be microscopic and/or "popped" into nothing by the osmotic stress.

 

[Anthony1]

I don't really want to introduce anything like disease or parasites into the tank. I'm hoping and trying to get the tank raised clowns, but, I may not be able to get them. I assume these would be more disease and parasite free than wild caught clowns...therefore eliminating any need for a dip?

There seem to be worthwhile arguments for and against the freshwater dip. Is there an article on freshwater dip procedures anywhere?

Thanks for the replies.

 

[danmhippo]

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Anthony:
<strong>I don't really want to introduce anything like disease or parasites into the tank. I'm hoping and trying to get the tank raised clowns, but, I may not be able to get them. I assume these would be more disease and parasite free than wild caught clowns</strong><hr></blockquote>

Actually, it depends on the holding station the TR was in before you buy them. The TR can and will contract disease when stressed, no doubt about it. Just the TR are more used to the captive life and can adapt quicker and are more environmental friendly.

 

[danmhippo]

Also, Terry, one of the expert on disease diagnosis and treatment (member # 331, if you want to search for her posts) has replied several threads on this board on hyposalinity.

A couple of her responses below:
http://www.reefs.org/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=1&t=033176&p=
http://www.reefs.org/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=1&t=032021&p=
http://www.reefs.org/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic&f=1&t=030205
http://www.reefs.org/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=1&t=030521&p=

 

[ynot]

Thanks, hippo. Great threads.

Anthony

 

[Terry B]

danmhippo
Hmph, thanks to referring to me but I am a he not a she. LOL I do not often recommend FW dips. They can be used as a tool in some circumstances but they can also be counterproductive. Usually there is a better way. My question is why don't you quarantine? A Qtank can be set up very cheaply and they are important to your long term success.
Terry B

 

[Anthony1]

Terry,

After reading the threads, I agree, I think it is best to quarantine the fish first. Based on what I've read in the threads and elsewhere, I'll fill the q tank with some old tank water, pop on a mechanical filter with airstone, add the fish, and gradually lower the sg to 1.009 and keep it there for a month. Any need to keep a light over the q tank and is there anything else to consider when setting up and running a q tank?

Thanks

 

[danmhippo]

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Terry B:
<strong>but I am a he not a she.</strong><hr></blockquote>

OOOOOOOOOps!!

I sincerely apologise about that!

I've met a little girl with same spelling as my name last week. It's odd to find girl spelled "JIMMY", but it happened.

 

[ddavis4um]

I recently got some tank raised clowns and, since they are so hardy, just dropped them in a tank with some angels and a bubble tip anomone. Well, after 12 hours (the next morning) one clown, a black ocellaris, had about two dozen ich lesions on it. Before placing into a hospital tank hastely set up, I did do a fresh water dip, about 4 minutes, in RO water properly buffered for pH (and a cup of tank water). Well, most of the ich lesions were gone after this treatment. A few hours later, the rest were gone following a non-CU treatment in the hospital tank.
Luckily, this clown fish is easy to catch.
I'd say the fresh water dip did well!
Good luck!