Blue hippo question.

I got a blue hippo today and I'm a little concerned about how it looks right now. I used the same technique I use for new fish. 1/2 hr freshwater bath. Matched ph and temp. And now it's in my qt. It's laying on it's side in a corner right now. If I use a little bit of light, it actually looks like it's swimming into the corner. Not sure if it's sleeping or if I'm going to wake in the am to a dead fish. Thanks

 

1/2 hr fw bath? why? Do you want the fish you buy to die? That is insane- you most likely killed the poor fellow.

 

That bath is a good way to kill it. Blues then to lay flat when stressed, mine even sleeps like that.

 

30 min of a FW bath seems CRAZY!!!! IMO. Sounds like he is stressed! Do you have anything in ur QT for him to hide in/behind? How did you introduce him to your qt tank? Damage may already be done with the insane FW stunt!!

 

Google freshwater bath. You will read post after post and article after article where 30 min is perfectly normal and some suggest beneficial for fish.
There are a few rocks and 4" PVC tee.

 

Well I wish you the best, he is just stressed to heck.. If he doesn't make it then youll have your own idea of a 30 min FW bath, I highly suggest you don't do that again IMO! Gl and keep us updated, keep any lights you have off to help with his stress.

Prepare for the worst and hope for the best!!

 

Good article

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-10/sp/feature/index.php

 

That is very bad thing with tangs because they stress so easily. QT is 50/50 at best for being beneficial.

I wish you the best.

 

LOL, yea goggle- please- you ask for help, we (I) am telling you to ignore that B.S. crap- it's wrong and not the correct way to acclimate your critters- PERIOD.

It's akin to asking humans to breathe water, rather then air. More then likely you have caused gill and lung/liver damage and the Blue hippo - well- time will tell.

Please do not acclimate your fish in this way any longer- it is the WRONG WAY to acclimate ANY critter.

 

Copy and paste from a different source. I honestly have done it before without any issue. I really hope in this case it doesn't turn out to be a big mistake.

Re: Freshwater Dip

Actually, the dip is quite the reverse if done as I have outlined. It makes the transition to captive life a relaxed event. The time factor has benefits with no signs of stress indicators, as I have learned:

1) I have dipped sick fishes using different lengths of time. I check the water for parasites at each specific time. The data indicates that during the first 5 minutes about 70-90% of a given (random) parasite has left the fish. The scale increases until about 26 minutes, about 99% or more of the parasite has left the fish, and none were found in the bath water.

I have done the same process (noted above) and finished with skin scrapes, fin clips, and gill clips. At the 20 minute mark, no parasite that likes the gills remained. The parasites in question were those that are affected by FW treatments.

2) If the parasite is known, a reduced time for a treatment (rather than the 30 min preventative treatment) can be timed to that specific parasite.

3) The time in the bath gives the fish an opportunity to redirect its energy reserve. Osmoregulation requires a lot of energy from a fish. A fish that has came through the system may not have bulked up again and this long of FW bath is a time-out on its energy allocation. Whether this actually gives the fish an opportunity to shuttle its energy reserve to internal defenses (immunity, etc.) will require a lot more, and sophisticated testing (which is unlikely the next few decades since ornamental marine fish research projects aren't given much funding).

4) Generally stressors reduce the fish's lifespan, encourages opportunistic pathogens, and lead to quantitative physiological signs of stress. Although those research projects are yet to be performed with regards to an extended FW bath time, fish that have been through this very procedure are over 19 years old in captivity, outliving their lifespan in the wild. I would conclude the relatively limited dip time compared to a very long number of years in captivity, did not have a negative impact on their captive lifespan.

5) How long can a marine fish handle being in freshwater? That has yet to be documented for most marine ornamentals, however some food marine fishes have lived in freshwater and water almost fresh for over a year.

6) Some experiments have been conducted by public aquariums on keeping ornamental marine fishes in very low salinity waters for years, successfully. One would expect one or more signs of stress would have surfaced during this time, yet none were observed.

7) Literature concludes in general that very low salinity water is of benefit to the fish [3) and 4)].

You may wish to do an Internet search for the subject and see what is currently available on the matter.

In the hobby there are very few people that consider a FW dip to be more stressful than a Formalin bath treatment for some parasites. Keep in mind the Formalin bath treatment is a series of baths on the same fish, each of which lasts more than 45 minutes. I have never subscribed to this perception in light of the information I had once gathered. Supporting research is not likely in the near future and it remains more or less an opinion.