The Puffer Forum

• SALT DIP & BATH – Parasitic crustacea are increasingly serious problems in cultured fish and can impact wild populations. Most parasitic crustacea of freshwater fish can be seen with the naked eye as they attach to the gills, body and fins of the host. Most affect the gills of freshwater fish, commonly seen in warm weather. A 3% salt dip, followed by 0.2 %-prolonged bath for three weeks, may be effective in eliminating this parasite. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/BODY_FA041

i bought a new palembang puffer and saw some worms near the gills.

how to use the salt bath? 3%?how?can i use my marine tank water and dip the puffer in?

Thanks![/code]

Where are you? flubenol 15 would be a lot more effective than a salt bath, have a look at the sticky at the top of this forum

Salt bath can get those parasites out quickly & then treat with meds to be sure everything is gone. Using your marine water should be fine, I've done the same.

how long should the dip last?

Thanks!!

Try 20-30 minutes, if the puffer can take it.

Thanks! currently im treating mine with ich...raised the temp to 32 celcius...and yes...32...he is doing fine...within 12 hours they are almost gone..once they are all gone, i will proceed with the saltbath..there are some worms attached to the area behind the fins...will the salt bath help to remove it?

Thanks!

What do you mean, you're treating yours with ich? It has ich too?

yea...the puffer has both ich and parasite.

The tank is a Quarantine tank..60 gallons...

What are you using for ich? Puffers are very sensitive to ich meds.

met blue and heat...30-32 degrees...he is doing well now...hovering around.

I'd just go with the recomendations in my article on ich in the Library & remove the meds with a 50% water change & fresh carbon.

The methylene blue will aid a fish's breathing, but don't add it to the tank. Do a water change as Pufferpunk advised, and read her excellent article on treating FW Ich; it's very easy to read and will explain what you need to know. Then, instead of the Methylene Blue, use airstones, a powerhead, or a bubblewand to agitate the surface of the water to improve oxygen exchange (very important when maintaining high water temperatures), and possibly lower the level of the water in the tank a little (if you're using a HOB filter) so that is splashing on the surface a bit more. Preventing oxygen depletion should be a major concern along with maintaining water quality. That's all covered in Pufferpunk's article, and I'd really check it out as it very clear and informative.
http://www.thepufferforum.com/forum/lib ... tal/fwich/

The high temp and then the salt dip should do the trick, but adding strong Ich medications may very well make things worse. Even though Methylene Blue is safe at rather high concentrations, it shouldn't be added to a tank for prolonged periods of time but rather be used in dips when a fish is having breathing problems.

Be sure to add an airstone when you are doing the saltwater dip.