Freshwater bathe all new fish?

[katsreef]

I've seen varying opinions across different threads so I wanted to ask:

Do you make a freshwater bath for all new fish you get, or just ones that show signs of flukes?

In the next week I'll be getting a pair of clowns and ywg goby. I don't have QT tank so I'm considering at least doing a freshwater bath after acclimating but not sure if it is a good idea to stress seemingly healthy fish with it.

 

[gbroadbridge]

I've seen varying opinions across different threads so I wanted to ask:

Do you make a freshwater bath for all new fish you get, or just ones that show signs of flukes?

In the next week I'll be getting a pair of clowns and ywg goby. I don't have QT tank so I'm considering at least doing a freshwater bath after acclimating but not sure if it is a good idea to stress seemingly healthy fish with it.

Never.

All fish go into a QT and I watch them for 2-3 weeks. If something shows up I treat it then.

No need to unnecessarily stress a fish already stressed out by transport.
You're basically giving any disease a free ticket to infect the fish.

If you can't QT yourself, buy from a supplier that has already done the QT and then you just have to trust them.

 

[Tired]

As far as I know, anything that will be dislodged by a freshwater bath tends to be pretty obvious. The nasty stuff (ich, velvet) that can slip by, won't be touched by the freshwater.

 

[Miami Reef]

In theory, it sounds like a good idea. However, flukes tend to lay eggs on the fish; dips won’t kill the eggs. Not all adult flukes will dislodge from a single bath either.

What will most likely happen is that the fluke eggs will hatch in the display and continue their lifecycle.

A lot of people don’t QT anything and have good results. It’s taking risks, though.

If I were to QT all my fish for flukes, I would most likely do hyposalinity because it seems the most effective treatment. Prazipro has a lot of failures IMO.

 

[katsreef]

Never.

All fish go into a QT and I watch them for 2-3 weeks. If something shows up I treat it then.

No need to unnecessarily stress a fish already stressed out by transport.
You're basically giving any disease a free ticket to infect the fish.

If you can't QT yourself, buy from a supplier that has already done the QT and then you just have to trust them.

I would if they offered that, I'll have to see if they do. These are the only fish going in the tank so if I can't get QT ones I'll just monitor and last resort make a hospital tank

 

[katsreef]

In theory, it sounds like a good idea. However, flukes tend to lay eggs on the fish; dips won’t kill the eggs. Not all adult flukes will dislodge from a single bath either.

What will most likely happen is that the fluke eggs will hatch in the display and continue their lifecycle.

A lot of people don’t QT anything and have good results. It’s taking risks, though.

If I were to QT all my fish for flukes, I would most likely do hyposalinity because it seems the most effective treatment. Prazipro has a lot of failures IMO.

Sounds like a bath on a healthy fish may just stress rather do any good. I would QT if I could but at the same time I think I can manage without since these are the only fish going in there

 

[katsreef]

As far as I know, anything that will be dislodged by a freshwater bath tends to be pretty obvious. The nasty stuff (ich, velvet) that can slip by, won't be touched by the freshwater.

I'll keep an eye on the fish instead of causing unneeded stress then. I just finished my fallow period for brook so I'll definitely be on edge for a while

 

[Tired]

Keep an eye on them in a separate tank, right? Adding them to your main tank means that, if they have any diseases, the entire tank now has those diseases.

 

[katsreef]

Keep an eye on them in a separate tank, right? Adding them to your main tank means that, if they have any diseases, the entire tank now has those diseases.

No they are going in the main tank. I don’t have qt. My main tank has 0 fish and these are the only ones going in it anyways. It’s a nano tank

 

[ReefGeezer]

Pretty old school. The intention of a freshwater dip was to attack ich and velvet cysts. It requires that the pH of the water be raised to match the tank water to reduce stress. If you really were to address flukes and other parasites, a formulan bath is more appropriate. It requires care in application though.

I used to do both. Now I buy fish from suppliers that QT for me.

 

[katsreef]

Pretty old school. The intention of a freshwater dip was to attack ich and velvet cysts. It requires that the pH of the water be raised to match the tank water to reduce stress. If you really were to address flukes and other parasites, a formulan bath is more appropriate. It requires care in application though.

I used to do both. Now I buy fish from suppliers that QT for me.

Unfortunately none of the stored around here seem to do that. That would be the best option though! Sounds like I’ll skip the fw bath unless issues arise

 

[ReefGeezer]

Unfortunately none of the stored around here seem to do that. That would be the best option though! Sounds like I’ll skip the fw bath unless issues arise

I don't buy fish locally anymore. I order them on the internet from suppliers that QT all their fish before shipping. Many are in the US. Can you ship fish into Canada? I use this one a lot.

 

[katsreef]

I don't buy fish locally anymore. I order them on the internet from suppliers that QT all their fish before shipping. Many are in the US. Can you ship fish into Canada? I use this one a lot.

Looks like I can but only over a certain amount of $$ spent and I won’t be spending that much on the few fish. Thank you though I have some popular suppliers in Toronto area so I will take my chances

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I've seen varying opinions across different threads so I wanted to ask:

Do you make a freshwater bath for all new fish you get, or just ones that show signs of flukes?

In the next week I'll be getting a pair of clowns and ywg goby. I don't have QT tank so I'm considering at least doing a freshwater bath after acclimating but not sure if it is a good idea to stress seemingly healthy fish with it.

Never do that on fish that were shipped to you, way too stressful.

FW dips are overrated as a disease control method - I only use them as a diagnostic tool and sometimes to buy some time for another treatment.

FW dips are not effective against fluke eggs, marine ich or velvet, so they don’t protect the new fish or the fish already in your tank.

Jay

 

[katsreef]

Never do that on fish that were shipped to you, way too stressful.

FW dips are overrated as a disease control method - I only use them as a diagnostic tool and sometimes to buy some time for another treatment.

FW dips are not effective against fluke eggs, marine ich or velvet, so they don’t protect the new fish or the fish already in your tank.

Jay

I’ll be driving 4 hours for my fish this time to because last time I ordered online I got some sick fish/they sent the wrong fish.

Thank you for the information! I’ll only use it for buying time/diagnostic so I don’t cause unneeded stress

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I’ll be driving 4 hours for my fish this time to because last time I ordered online I got some sick fish/they sent the wrong fish.

Thank you for the information! I’ll only use it for buying time/diagnostic so I don’t cause unneeded stress

Make sure the store packs the fish with oxygen, not just air. If they can't do that. you should try to rig up some means to aerate them for the 4 hours. At the very least, you can undo the bags, squeeze the air out, let new air inside, re-seal the bag and then keep it with some gentle motion to allow for aeration - do that every 30 minutes while travelling.

Jay

 

[katsreef]

Make sure the store packs the fish with oxygen, not just air. If they can't do that. you should try to rig up some means to aerate them for the 4 hours. At the very least, you can undo the bags, squeeze the air out, let new air inside, re-seal the bag and then keep it with some gentle motion to allow for aeration - do that every 30 minutes while travelling.

Jay

Thank you for the advice, I'll make a note of that right now!