That Fish Blog – Aquarium Advice and Information

We all know that washing our hands and bodies helps control germs and diseases but what about in our aquariums? Fish and corals may not have hands to wash but we still have a similar option: Dips and Baths. We use these to remove parasites and pests or treat for some conditions and infections. A “dip” – whether it is for fish or corals – involves removing the organism from the aquarium and placing it in a separate container with the dip solution for a short period of time before putting it back into the tank. Similarly, a milder treatment known as a “bath” uses a weaker solution for a longer period of time. 


The type of dip or bath that is right for you depends on what you are treating. In this article, we are going to cover the most common dips: Freshwater dips for saltwater fish, dipping corals using Iodine or a commercial coral dip. For information on using dips to remove pests from freshwater aquarium plants, see our article Dipping Plants To Eliminate Snails for the different options available.

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Freshwater Dips For Saltwater Fish 

 

Putting a saltwater fish into freshwater may seem like a risky move – and it is if done incorrectly – but when done properly, it can be useful in removing parasites like Flukes and some Protozoans. The keys here are preparation, timing and observation. It isn’t as easy as dropping your clownfish into your goldfish tank! You can use this method for new arrivals before adding them to your tank or to treat fish from a display or quarantine tank.

1. Prepare your dip container and water. The container should be clean and free from any detergents or waste and large enough for your fish to swim comfortably. Use clean, dechlorinated freshwater that is the same pH and temperature as your aquarium….this is key! You may need to use a buffer like baking soda or high range buffers for African cichlid tanks to raise the pH to match your aquarium, but make sure it is as close as possible. Adding your saltwater fish to freshwater with a much lower pH (for example, a neutral 7.0 when your aquarium pH is 8.4) is very stressful.

2. Once your water is prepared, carefully move the fish from the aquarium into your dip container. If you are using a net, be especially careful around any fish with spines that may get caught or damaged.

3. Continue to observe your fish in the dip. If you see (or suspect) parasites like Flukes, you can use an eyedropper or turkey baster to gently blast water onto your fish to help knock off any parasites.

4. If you notice any strong signs of stress, remove the fish from the dip and get it back into saltwater right away. Otherwise, a minimum of 5 minutes will help remove most parasites, and most fish can typically tolerate a dip up to about 10 minutes.

5. The dip water can be reused for several dips if you have multiple fish to treat, but dispose of the water after you are finished and rinse your container for next time. 

 

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Dipping Corals

 

Dipping corals can help remove pests and parasites as well as treat a number of infections and conditions. Many brands of coral dip solutions are available on the market and typically use ingredients like botanical oils to kill or dislodge pests from corals. Iodine can also be used in some situations, especially when treating new frags or damaged colonies with tissue that can be vulnerable to infection. When choosing a dip, be sure to read the instructions as some dips can’t be used on some types of corals and concentrations or timing can vary from brand to brand. The instructions here are a basic guideline for most corals and dips.

1. Prepare the containers for your dips. These dips should always be done in a separate container but can usually be done with either water from the tank (if you can safely remove enough for the dip) or with freshly prepared saltwater. The container should be big enough to completely cover the corals being dipped but doesn’t need to be larger than necessary to avoid wasting your dip to reach the proper concentration.

• Depending on the dip and concentration you are using or the corals you are dipping, you may want to prepare a second container to “rinse” your corals after the dip. This should be about the same size and amount of water and can also be either tank water or fresh saltwater.

2. Add your dip solution to the water before adding the coral. This makes it easier to mix the solution throughout the dip container without dumping it directly onto the coral. Most dips have recommended concentrations like 1 teaspoon per gallon of water but can usually be adjusted depending on the coral; use a weaker solution for more sensitive or stressed corals or stronger solution for resistant pests or very hardy corals.

• For Iodine dips, you can use the color to determine the strength. On a white background, a weak Iodine solution should be about the pale tan of a manila envelope. A strong Iodine dip would be a rusty red-brown but the corals should still be visible. Avoid a concentration so strong that you can’t see through it.

3. Add the coral to the dip and follow the instructions on your dip. Most corals can be dipped for 5-10 minutes but if the coral appears very stressed or starts releasing a lot of slime, remove it from the dip. Hardy corals like polyps or milder solutions may be dipped for longer.

4. After the dip, rinse your coral in the dip by gently “swishing” it around underwater. If you prepared a rinse container, you can do the same in this container as well. This is especially useful after strong Iodine dips or with especially mucus-y corals.

5. Replace your corals back into the tank and dispose of your dip and rinse containers….don’t add this water back into your tank! 

 

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When done properly, these dip methods can help keep your tank parasite- and pest-free without the need to medicate the entire tank, or to supplement a medication regime. Feel free to contact us if you aren’t sure if a dip is right for you!

 

September was a bad month for Honolulu Harbor and all of the fantastic fish, corals and wildlife that called it home. On September 09, 2013 over 233,000 gallons of molasses spilled into the harbor, sinking to the sea floor and suffocating everything in it’s wake. The cracked pipe that allowed the mess to flow into the harbor was repaired within days, but the damage caused by the viscous mess has been rapid and devastating.

You think of molasses and you don’t think of widespread death, but flood a pristine marine environment with sugary syrup and that’s the result. The heavy fluid ends up being lethal in several ways.  The goop clogs gills, suffocating fish quickly. It coats corals and inverts, robbing them of light, oxygen and water flow vital to their ability to thrive. The sugars are also a rich food source for marine bacteria which reproduce in massive numbers, depleting dissolved oxygen as their numbers grow.  The dissolved sugar alters the pH of the water and also creates what’s called an osmotic effect, basically dehydrating marine organisms whose living cells expel water in an attempt to equalize with their external environment. Within hours the death toll began to rise, and to date thousands upon thousands of fish, inverts, corals and even other animals like sea turtles have perished. 

Unlike oil spills that may be wicked off of the surface of the water, the nature of this spill means that cleanup of the molasses itself is not an option. The syrup will dissolve and nature will slowly eat it up and wash it out of the harbor and into the sea. Clean-up in this case means fix the leak, monitor the progress of the damage, and collect the carnage of dead sea creatures that wash up on shores and pile up in shallow areas so that predators like sharks and barracuda aren’t attracted to area. While some creatures may bounce back and return to the harbor pretty quickly, it may be years until the coral reefs, vital to the economy and ecology, in the harbor recover.

What a sad situation. Unfortunately, the only real course of action is to allow nature to clean up another man made mess. On the bright side, nature knows how to take care of herself, and despite the scope of the problem, this particular spill is in many ways still better than oil or some other chemical deluge. Now all anyone can really do is wait and see…

 

 

Marilyn Monroe; Tyra Banks; Kate Upton; and now, Bubble Magus. What do they all have in common? CURVES! I’m talking, of course, about the seductive Curve series of skimmers from Bubble Magus. What makes these vixens of skim different, is a dramatically curvy body that builds on the already popular cone skimmer design. This allows the skimmer to perform even better, as the microbubbles take a turbulent-free ride up its serpentine sides. The SP2000 pump is conveniently placed inside of the body, keeping the Curve 7 protein skimmerfrom taking up too much real estate in your sump. The bottom of the skimmer also features a mysterious red plug, which I later found out was to be used if you decided to upgrade or replace the current pump with a different brand, like Sicce. The plug pulls out and allows for differently configured pumps to fit nicely into the body of the Curve. Then you just plug the hole left by the former pump, making the Curve very, very versatile. Read More »

Choosing the right aquarium salt mix to add to your tank can be can be a confusing process, especially if you’re new to the hobby. But, it isn’t as complicated as it may seem, you just need a little background info to get you on the right path to choosing the salt that is appropriate for your set-up.  

Salt in Freshwater Aquariums

Adding salt to a freshwater aquarium is not a necessity, but it is used by many aquarists as a treatment to add electrolytes to the aquarium water, and as both a stress reducer and a parasite deterrent. Basic Aquarium Salt is not the same as the formulated mixes used to make a brackish or saltwater aquarium. Aquarium Salt is simply Sodium Chloride, and does not contain minerals and trace elements like calcium and iodine like sea water mixes. Adding small portions of this salt can help to treat osmoregulatory stress, an imbalance or disruption in the exchange of salts and minerals between the fish itself and its environment. Stressful situations such as transport, disease, or injury can cause osmoregulatory stress, but if used properly, aquarium salt can increase blood and oxygen flow through the gills, helping the fish relax and heal. When used in higher concentrations for short time periods as a dip or bath, salt can help to build a the protective slime coat on the body, preventing parasites from attaching and even killing one-celled parasites like Protozoa, that may already be on the fish. While aquarium salt does have some benefits, it is not a necessary additive. Once introduced to the tank, salt does not evaporate out of the tank. It can only be removed with water changes and plants, inverts and other sensitive species may be negatively impacted if the concentration is allowed to rise. Read More »

I can’t believe it is mid-September already, and we are just a few weeks away from our Fall TFP/NCPARS frag swap. The Swap is on Saturday October 6th, during our weekend long Customer Appreciation Sale here at TFP.  The Fall Frag Swap, one of the biannual swaps we host with NCPARS, is shaping up to be a great event.  Our joint swaps have been growing and growing with each coming event, and have become one of the largest swap events on the east coast.  Our Winter Frag Swap this past January had over 400 attendees.  With the additional crowd that comes for our Customer Appreciation Sale event, this swap should be a very busy.

The Customer Appreciation Sale weekend includes all the deals we offer in October throughout the store, Plus some great deals that are for the Frag Swap and Sale weekend.  Weekend deals include 25% off all TFP livestock, Buy three get one free select salt bucket deals.  There will also be some sweet coupon deals on our October sale flyer for the sale weekend.  If you are not already on our retail flyer mailing list, you can still sign up for our email notifications from our TFP home page (just make sure you select notifications for our retail store in your preferences)

 

 

 

 

 

 

For the frag swappers, there will be eye candy galore, from some of the best coral hobbyist on the east coast, including NCPARS own Dan Rigle who was recently featured in Coral Magazine.  Jason Fox, will be on hand, showing off some of his rare beauties.  TFP will have a nice stock of our own frags on hand, including a nice selection of ORA and ACI aquaculture coral.  For more information visit NCPARS Website to register for the event, or visit Fragswapper to see or list items for trade or sale.

 

 

Our Vendors have donated some nice items for the NCPARS raffle, including a 60 gallon reef ready cube tank, stand and Reef Capable LED light from Marineland and many other great items.

Aquatic Manufacturer Representatives will be on hand from; United Pet Group (Tetra, Marineland, Instant Ocean, Perfecto…….), Two Little Fishies, Seachem, Aquarium Pharmaceuticals, Reed Mariculture, Hagen, Ruby Reef

Pet Product Manufacturer Representatives will be on hand from; Merrick, Nature’s Variety, Blue Buffalo, Nutro, Nutrisource, Answers, Earthborn, Dogswell, Zukes, Marchioro, Pawganics, Multipet, A&E Cages.

There will be a little something for everyone, so bring the family, and join the fun.

Hope to see you here!

Dave