Freshwater Bath

[fishman]

After all the trouble I have had with my tank I found a few white spots of ich on my tang .I read that the freshwater bath works well.I triied it 2 times before and lost both fish.Does anyone have any advise about this?Maybe how to fix the bath and how long it should last.Thanks

[Chris]

I have never given a fish a bath, I start treating the tank with Coral-Vital, which is great for promoting the growth of coraline algae, etc BUT also discourages ich from adhering to fishes skins.

So when the ich pops off in its cycle then goes to reattach itself to the fish it can't therefore ending the cycle and the ich dies off.

[jhnrb]

I have used cleaner shrimp and gobies in combination to effect an ongoing maintenance. In my last system I had a blue tang that would from time to time come down with ich, within a few days the cleaners would clean it up, or, the cysts droped off but did not come back. most of the time there was a stess factor or water quality problem, or new addition associated with the outbreaks. so, in addition to the actual treatment of ich, consider an ongoing maintenance crew if funds allow it. I am not an advocate of fresh water dips, so have no personal experience with it and would not want to advise based on others recommendations.

[keith mac]

i had white spot on my regal tang and on my copperband and mixed garlic in with brine shrimp it worked a treat after 2 days its worth a go

[jhnrb]

with ich there is a cycle. once you see the cysts on the fish, they will drop off and in 7 to 10 days come back with a vengence, so, if you treat and it works you must treat for the full 14 days or to manufacturers recommendations. hope this helps

[Chris]

I know Coral-Vital works well against ich and will also help your coraline grow at the same time.

[TerryB]

Man there is a lot of erroneous information out there about this parasite! Follow this link to scientifically backed information on the subject. This is a series of five articles on Cryptocaryon irritans (ich). It covers freshwater dips and some of the other remedies mentioned.

http://www.marineaquariumadvice.com/...um_fish_1.html

HTH,
Terry B

[jhnrb]

simply put freshwater dips can put the fish in osmotic shock so be careful with the freshwater dip.