Dripping new fish???

[stanfill reef]

OK, so I have always followed the recommendation of dripping fish for a few hours before putting them in the tank. I always understood that this is to acclimate the fish to temperature, salinity, etc of the tank compared to where they are coming from.

So the question is, why do we work so hard to drip fish? Some on this website, and others, recommend a freshwater dip. This has to be much more tramatic to the fish than moving from a bag to the tank. And when the freshwater dip is complete, you just place the fish in the tank....no dripping.

Why don't we just float the bag and put the fish in otherwise? Just doesn't seem to be consistent to me.

 

[dkelly]

The freshwater dip should ideally be adjusted to match the tank's temp and pH. So they are mostly experiencing osmotic shock.

 

[wbholwell]

And I think most people don't perform a FW dip unless the fish actually has parasites. Usually a QT period coupled by close observation is adequate. No sense in needlessly stressing an already stressed fish, IMO.

 

[xyzpdq0121]

Ok let me clear up a few things....

You drip acclimate your fish to your tank before putting them in to get them used to the PH, Salinity, temp, etc... NOW YOU SHOULD NOT BE DRIPPING THEM TO MATCH YOUR MAIN TANK YOU SHOULD BE DOING IT TO YOUR QT TANK! You do have a QT tank right?

A freshwater dip is something totally different.. It is used to rid the fish of any parasite that it might have. It is not 100% effective but better then nothing. A FW dip is not a requirement but a QT period of 3-4 weeks IS!

Two very different things...

To do it all right you would drip acclimate your fish to match your QT tank. (Remember you ARE using a QT tanks, right?) You would prepare your FW dip to be a few degrees higher in Temp then your QT tank and 0.1 PH lower then your QT tank. You dip your fish for 15-30 min in the FW and then rinse in a bowl of clean FW (that has been adjusted also) and then dump the fish into your QT tank.

A FW dip is less stressful on your fish then you think... I have dipped almost 100 fish by now and have never lost one due to it...


BTW: read this:

 

[dkelly]

15-30 minutes? I've always heard 3-10 minutes. Remove the fish immediately if it displays extreme stress. I've dipped several of my fish, tangs especially, to treat ich without issues. The osmotic shock is pretty immediate and pests are expelled. Some of the fish will lie still on their side in the bottom of the bucket for a while (unless you gently tap them with something) but they will eventually start swimming again. I use a flat tupperware container with a lid to remove them from the dip bucket, wash them down with adjusted FW and return them to the QT tank. Much easier on them than a net.

The most stressful part is catching them!

 

[stanfill reef]

Yes, I move them into the QT tank first. We have a model citizen in our QT tank right now waiting for another 10 days before release on good behavior.

The question is why do you drip? If the pH and temperature are the same in the bag as in the QT tank, the primary difference will be salinity (and sometimes that may be the same). I would think that it would be a very good idea to drip inverts that are more sensitive to salinity than fish that can handle it relatively easily.

I have always dripped because everyone says so, just trying to ask the question "WHY?"

 

[dkelly]

"When the salinity of seawater is lowered, or hyposalinity is applied, it results in a lowering of the osmotic pressure of the water at the same time, thus the related name Osmotic Shock Therapy (OST). Fish and a few other sea creatures can withstand and adjust to this change in pressure, but protozoan (Cryptocaryon/White Spot Disease, and Brooklynella/Clownfish Disease), dinoflagellate (Oodinium/Velvet or Coral Fish Disease), and flat worm (Black Spot Disease) ich organisms cannot. Reduce this necessary pressure, particularly rapidly, and they literally explode! Although delicate corals and invertebrates may not immediately rupture as ich parasites do, these too are marine animals that cannot tolerate exposure to low osmotic pressure, resulting in a rather quick death."

 

[xyzpdq0121]

dkelly;52811 wrote: 15-30 minutes? I've always heard 3-10 minutes.

Yep... Most things I have read suggest anything less then 5-10 min is a waste.. I seem to believe people like Noga and Fenner on the issue and dip 15-30 min without problems.

 

[xyzpdq0121]

Stanfill Reef;52814 wrote: Yes, I move them into the QT tank first. We have a model citizen in our QT tank right now waiting for another 10 days before release on good behavior.

The question is why do you drip? If the pH and temperature are the same in the bag as in the QT tank, the primary difference will be salinity (and sometimes that may be the same). I would think that it would be a very good idea to drip inverts that are more sensitive to salinity than fish that can handle it relatively easily.

I have always dripped because everyone says so, just trying to ask the question "WHY?"

You are also trying to lesson the shock of moving from other water Perams such as Ammonia and NO3 that might be in the bag. You are just giving the fish the ability to adjust.