Freshwater dip on invertebrates

hrdneglcry · Mar 17, 2023

Can feather dusters be freshwater dipped. How about hermits and snails? And what would the duratuon be for a safe amount if time? Can Serpent Stars be freshwater dipped before adding?

Jay Hemdal · Mar 17, 2023

I’ve never tried dipping feather dusters, but they tend to drop their gills when stressed, I would not dip them. Snails can be dipped, they just close their operculum. Some hermit crabs can survive FW dips. Never put an echinoderm in FW (starfish or urchin) it can kill them.
The main question is why dip them? FW dips are best used as a diagnostic tool for fish flukes or to buy some time for fish with Brooklynella. Dips don’t eliminate disease, just lower the incidence for some external parasites. Better to hold the inverts in a fishless system for 30 days.

Jay

hrdneglcry · Mar 17, 2023

I read that sometimes flukes can live on snails as an intermediate host. So I wondered if they can live on crabs or feather dusters. I wanted to knock them off before transferring them. I have one fish prone to flukes. If I keep his stress down it seems to be ok. But I wanted to avoid any new flukes and I was transferring crabs from another tank to his tank. I only read that the flukes can hide out with snails not with crabs.