Dips/baths for freshwater fish - for what purpose?   11/30/06
I have kept both freshwater and saltwater fish in the past, and always conducted a freshwater methylene blue dip for marine fish.  My question is can this be done to freshwater fish, goldfish, cichlids, etc.  What types of dips/baths do you recommend for freshwater fish ???
Thank you, John A
<This depends on if you are talking about "prophylactic" dips, or dips for a particular illness, condition, etc.  Also, of course, depends on the particular species of fish. What is the purpose of the proposed dip?  I need a bit more information to properly answer your question!
For what it's worth, I don't personally see a need for the "preventative measure" dip, as a properly used quarantine tank will keep any nasties from the LFS to your main tank. But you may be asking something different altogether - I'm just not sure!
Best regards, Jorie>

Cleaning Out an Infected Tank  10/08/06
Hey Crew,
<Hi, Pufferpunk here>
I have a 33 gallon, lightly planted tank with one fantail goldfish. My goldie has been battling bacterial illnesses for a couple of months and has finally developed dropsy...it appears that the end is near.
<Awww... so sorry to hear that! =o{ If it's time to end it's suffering, might I suggest an overdose of clove oil & freeze in a baggie of tank water?>
But this is not why I'm writing. We'd like to turn this tank into a tropical community tank once our goldfish has passed. The system itself has been very stable (I test regularly, and am satisfied that my goldfish's illness is not water quality-related). My concern is adding fish to this tank. My sick goldie has probably turned into quite a bacteria factory. Is there a safe way to later add fish to this tank, without putting them at risk? Obviously I could tear the tank down and sterilize everything, but the system is cycled and I don't want to start over again if it can be avoided. Is there a safe way to do this? Thanks in advance for your help.
<Absolutely no way to avoid a complete tear-down.  You certainly don't want to infect your new fish!  Soak everything in a scoop of Oxyclean for an hour & rinse.  Oxyclean dissolves into a non-toxic substance & only needs to be rinsed thoroughly once (unlike bleach).  Start the cycle over by fishless cycling or add Bio-Spira to the filter & just add fish!  ~PP>
JM

Dead Three-spot Gourami (Bob Fenner) Hey, I'm still alive!    5/28/06
Thank you for the quick response, Mr. Fenner!
<Welcome>
From what I understand then, instead of trying to 'treat' my fish that look sick, I should first make sure I know what's wrong with them? Because that's excellent advice and I feel like an idiot!
<Not an idiotic statement at all... Au contraire! Yes to the very important steps of careful observation and patience>
I do have another question though: If I had left him alone to adjust, would it have been likely he would have survived?
<Not able to state/guess... many such problems do resolve themselves on their own. It is my estimation that much more livestock is "bumped off" than dies, by "mis-medication", treatments by well-meaning aquarists, than by "natural causes". Bob Fenner>