Freshwater dip.

[rapmelodies]

I had this go horribly wrong and lost a blue tang. I am trying to see where it went wrong. I had a blue tang being quarantined. When I bought him he was visually free of ick and very agressive eater. After about 10 days of observation I noticed very fast breathing and some flashing. His appetite was very low and spent alot of the time hiding. I have been following brs videos about the 80/20 method, they mentioned the vast majority of fish will have gill flukes. They mentioned that prazipro was super safe for the fish. I was starting to suspect flukes and did more research on freshwater dip method. I used seachem marine buffer with rodi water and let it mix and reach the same temp as the tank. I put the blue tang in and got him out before the 5 min timer. He was breathing very hard and it started to lower towards the end of the timer as I was getting him out to put back in saltwater. He was looking rough. Instantly I held him and tried moving him through the water to help water get through his gills. He unfortunately didn't make it. All the research and videos I watched from marine biologist and fish farms stated this is not a lethal method to determine flukes and help with them before using medication. Is this usually lethal or did I miss a step? I have been in the hobby for over fifteen years. I am jumping into setting up a massive fish tank with very high end fish and need to be able to properly quarantine and medicate fish.

 

[blaxsun]

I keep my freshwater dips to under 3 minutes - especially if you don't have an airstone. He was most likely too far gone - especially if he'd already more or less stopped eating.

 

[rapmelodies]

I keep my freshwater dips to under 3 minutes - especially if you don't have an airstone. He was most likely too far gone - especially if he'd already more or less stopped eating.

Visually he had great color and wasnt skinny.

 

[blaxsun]

Visually he had great color and wasnt skinny.

When my tank got velvet, any fish that stopped eating and behaving normally were pretty much toast regardless of what I tried.

A UV sterilizer is a great investment to keep parasites in-check so that your reef inhabitants can build up a natural immunity or tolerance.

 

[toomanymatts]

If you set up a qt start with copper...

 

[rapmelodies]

When my tank got velvet, any fish that stopped eating and behaving normally were pretty much toast regardless of what I tried.

A UV sterilizer is a great investment to keep parasites in-check so that your reef inhabitants can build up a natural immunity or tolerance.

I get what you are saying. I guess this fish didn't seem that far gone. I am not even sure if it had flukes. So I guess that is what upsets me the most.

 

[rapmelodies]

If you set up a qt start with copper...

Waiting on my hannah tester. In my area I never see blue tangs that look healthy. So I pulled the trigger early. They always have ick and are underweight. Which is why I was so shocked this one didn't make it through a freshwater dip.

 

[blaxsun]

Waiting on my hannah tester. In my area I never see blue tangs that look healthy. So I pulled the trigger early. They always have ick and are underweight. Which is why I was so shocked this one didn't make it through a freshwater dip.

Tangs tend to be ich magnets and are very susceptible. Freshwater dips can really stress a fish - particularly a sick one.

 

[rapmelodies]

Tangs tend to be ich magnets and are very susceptible. Freshwater dips can really stress a fish - particularly a sick one.

I guess he had to have been more sick then I thought. I figured I was being overly cautious. Because he still had decent weight and no markings.

 

[toomanymatts]

Waiting on my hannah tester. In my area I never see blue tangs that look healthy. So I pulled the trigger early. They always have ick and are underweight. Which is why I was so shocked this one didn't make it through a freshwater dip.

Ya, you only want to mess with copper with a hanna kit. It is the most accurate.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I had this go horribly wrong and lost a blue tang. I am trying to see where it went wrong. I had a blue tang being quarantined. When I bought him he was visually free of ick and very agressive eater. After about 10 days of observation I noticed very fast breathing and some flashing. His appetite was very low and spent alot of the time hiding. I have been following brs videos about the 80/20 method, they mentioned the vast majority of fish will have gill flukes. They mentioned that prazipro was super safe for the fish. I was starting to suspect flukes and did more research on freshwater dip method. I used seachem marine buffer with rodi water and let it mix and reach the same temp as the tank. I put the blue tang in and got him out before the 5 min timer. He was breathing very hard and it started to lower towards the end of the timer as I was getting him out to put back in saltwater. He was looking rough. Instantly I held him and tried moving him through the water to help water get through his gills. He unfortunately didn't make it. All the research and videos I watched from marine biologist and fish farms stated this is not a lethal method to determine flukes and help with them before using medication. Is this usually lethal or did I miss a step? I have been in the hobby for over fifteen years. I am jumping into setting up a massive fish tank with very high end fish and need to be able to properly quarantine and medicate fish.

I just use tap water for FW dips. If you added buffer, you need to check to ensure the pH is proper before dipping the fish.
Fish rarely die from a FW dip. When they do, it is usually because the fish was already too sick. For example, if the dip knocks off a huge number of flukes, that leaves many holes in the fish’s skin and they can just bleed out.
Jay