freshwater dip
 

my powderbrown tang has white parasites on him and i was wondering what all is involved in a freshwater dip??and how should i do it??

Take a large plastic container or bucket and fill with R/O water at the correct temp. Also pH correct the water. Place affected fish in water for 5-10 min.

If it were me, I would try not to do one, if ph or temp is wrong you can seriously damage the fish. Not sure really what a dip would do anyway with most parasites having protective coatings while on the host. I realize this opens a huge can of worms so take it as one opinion, with limited experience but extensive research.

If the fish is eating and your water test out good i would not do a freshwater dip only use it as the last option.

thanks for the help yeah my water checks out fine and i did a water change yesterday so i will watch him for a few more days before i decided what to do...thanks

If it's white spots you are probably seeing the exit wounds of marine ich(crytocaryon irritans). The only proven methods for treating this condition are quarantine with copper sulfate treatment or hypo salinity. I personally prefer the copper.A fresh water dip will kill some of the parasites that are on the skin but not those embedded in the fish or in your tank on the substrate and rock. You can't use copper in a reef tank since it is lethal to invertebrates. The only way to insure your reef is free of ich is to leave it fishless for 72 days. Alternatively, you can hope for the best and if no new strains of ich are introduced to the tank for 11months the existing strain will perish. That means you can't put any new fish in since they would either be hit by the ich in the tank or possibly introduce a new strain.

wow that sucks...i didnt realize it was so serious...can a fish get rid of the ich on its own??like if i add an vitamin booster into the water to help its immune system would that help??

Most fish develop immunity but it is after outbreak after outbreak and the way the parasite reproduces you will have hundreds of thousands in a matter of months and even the healthiest fish could succumb. It is also researched that after about 10 to 12 months without any additions to the tank the strand will die out. but, why wait that long. Best bet is to QT. The threads on top will go into pain staking detail of the how's and what's.

good deal!!thanks for all the help and information!!!this is a great website!!!