slaeyer Posted November 4, 2004 Share Posted November 4, 2004 I'm also in the FW dip conundrum..... yeah or nay.... how should I go about it... this'll be my first attempt at dwarfs! I should be ordering in about a week or 3.... just need to finish stocking my cleanup crew right now! Link to comment
slaeyer Posted November 4, 2004 Share Posted November 4, 2004 Oh yah... where can I buy that formalin stuff? My LFS doesn't seem to know where they can order it from! Link to comment
Hyshnari Posted November 4, 2004 Share Posted November 4, 2004 I got Formalin from an amazing LFS -- he special orders PE Mysis (for my H. Kudas), cyclop-eeze bars, and anything I need for me. If your LFS needs help finding it, here's a quick description: Formalin - Formaldehyde 37% - Generic Aquatic Fish Treatments by Aquarium Products (yes, the brand is "Aquarium Products"). I would say it's a must to have on hand if you get WC dwarves - but if you end up ordering from OR (OceanRider) or IA (Inland Aquatics), you may not need it. As for FW dipping, it depends. I did it twice due to the nematode problem, and it caused one of my very pregnant males to dump a whole bunch of fry prematurely. Again, I would say that if you have WC 'horses, it is a must, as is quarantine before you put them into your main tank. If you have CB, quarantine is still a must if you have other 'horses, but perhaps not the FW dip. My reasoning for the quarantine is this: when treating my dwarves with formalin, it knocks out your bio-filter entirely. If I had immediately put them into their permanent home, they'd be subjected to a whole new cycle once treatment is over. As it is, I had to move them from one quarantine tank to another bare tank just to make sure the nematodes didn't tag along. As for the FW dip, it's not too hard. Alisa Abbott's book says that you don't need to equalize the pH, but apparantly most of the org'ers don't agree with this advice. To be safe, I would equalize the pH before dipping the 'horses. Just gently grasp the seahorse by the tail (I know, it seems scary since they're so small and you don't want to hurt them - but parasites will hurt them more) and transfer them to a small bowl with the freshwater. Remember that it needs to be both the same pH and the same temperature - you can stick the fw in a water bottle and float it in their tank to equalize the temps. Use a product such as pH up or pH down to equalize the pH. Leave the dwarves in there for 3-5 minutes, and remember to only dip one at a time. If the dwarf looks obviously stressed, or is simply lying on the bottom, remove it immediately even if the 3-5 minutes are not up yet and transfer it to the QT tank. Keep the dwarves in quarantine for at least three days or more, if needed. After 3 days, if they show no signs of problems, you can then do one more FW dip and transfer them to their permanent home. Do NOT dip males that are giving birth, and do NOT dip fry. In fact, if you have fry, transfer them out with a ladle or turkey baster, making sure not to expose them to air, and stick them in a second bowl/container. Slowly add new tank water and remove the old water from their bowl until the water in the container is nearest to 100% new tank water as you can get it, to minimize contaminants from the old water. Some must-have meds to keep on hand: - Panacur -- I cannot stress this enough! Hydroids are DEADLY! Even if you don't plan on using it right away, keep a packet (it's awful cheap) on hand for emergencies! - Methylene Blue -- for qt tanks to help reverse the effects of ammonia poisoning. Remember that it stains blue, so use it in a plastic bucket or something dispendable - Formalin -- Anti-parisitic. It knocks out your biofilter, though. Also, don't forget to decap the brine shrimp before hatching to minimize the chances of hydroids entering the tank and to make the brine more nutritional. Sorry about the length of the post. I get carried away. Link to comment
booboo Posted November 6, 2004 Author Share Posted November 6, 2004 How exactly do you use Panacur Mythlene blue Formalin I plan on buying abotts book today Link to comment
booboo Posted November 6, 2004 Author Share Posted November 6, 2004 oh yah what if you have your dwarf tank with only a snail or two and mybe something else Should you still quarintine so you could treat them with stuf? Link to comment
slaeyer Posted November 6, 2004 Share Posted November 6, 2004 Originally posted by booboo oh yah what if you have your dwarf tank with only a snail or two and mybe something else Should you still quarintine so you could treat them with stuf? Definately a good question, one that I would like to know as well. My main concern is that I don't know if I have a quarantine tank small enough to hold them while still being able to feed them well. My main qt tank is a 10 gallon tank! I'm planning to buy CB fry when ready! Link to comment
Hyshnari Posted November 6, 2004 Share Posted November 6, 2004 Easily done. I only know the directions for formalin off the top of my head, but (for MY bottle -- always read the directions on the package) it's 2 drops per gallon (remove the carbon from the filters) until control is achieved. Then treat again 10 days later to get rid of any remaining parasites (I'm assuming this is for the eggs that may have hatched) As for qt, I would definitely qt EVERYTHING. Snail included. Snails, from what I understand, are a bit more picky about FW dipping, but perhaps a 2-3 minute dip wouldn't hurt. You can always take it out early if you're nervous. I'd treat the tank with panacur just to be safe, as well, since by the time you SEE the hydroids it may be too late. And the qt tank? I use a 10-gallon too! I just bought one of those plastic mesh tank dividers (You can get for about $7 at Petco/Petsmart) and divided off about 2 gallons of water. That's where the dwarves go. Stick any heaters/filters/etc on the opposite (8 gallon) side of the fish tank. I put a towel over the 8 gallon side so that it's in total darkness, although you can darken it whatever way you like. Then stick your light source (even if it's just room lights) at the front of the tank, so that the brine shrimp clusters in the front. Between the tank divider and the light drawing the brine shrimp away from the back of the tank, the dwarves will have a nice, concentrated area to feed, as well as the added help of an extra 8 gallons of tank water to stabilize the params. Let me know if you need me to repeat that in more detail, or if you need a photo of it. Link to comment
slaeyer Posted November 6, 2004 Share Posted November 6, 2004 I think you answered it fairly well! Thanks Only other questions I have are as follows: Will panacur harm the inverts in my tank? I'd like to treat the tank before my horses arrive to make sure it's hydroid free, but don't wanna kill my snails or shrimp. Same goes for formalin, is it safe to use to treat a whole tank, or is it only ok in quarantine. Link to comment
Hyshnari Posted November 9, 2004 Share Posted November 9, 2004 If you head to syngnathid.org -- in their Tiny Tykes forum -- they've got a sticky about Hydroid removal. There have been a couple reports of panacur harming certain types of snails and such. Personally, I found that the size of the dosage can be VERY small and still be effective at removing hydroids. On one of my larger doses (1/32 of a teaspoon!) I did lose two or three nassarius snails -- my ceriths, blueleg hermits, and most of my remaining nassarius snails were just fine, however. It seems to affect them on a case by case basis. As for formalin, you must definitely treat in a QT tank. Formalin ruins your biological filter, and must be run without carbon. It's easiest just to remove the affected horses and treat them in a qt tank, then move them back into the display tank once they're recovered. You CAN treat the whole tank -- I am treating ALL of my 'horses before they even TOUCH the display tank, and I highly reccomend QTing and pre-treating WC dwarves in a QT tank before moving them to their permanent residence. It'll save you alot of hassle in the future. I've got several pregnant dwarves now, so I'll keep you all updated on how that goes. If all goes well, I may be willing to sell a couple of the 1st generation CB babies (once they're grown to a decent size) to a couple other responsible aquarists if they're nervous about buying WC or potential disease-carrying 'horses. The babies are going to be isolated on their own as soon as they're born to minimize their contact with the WC's. Can't guarantee anything, though. Link to comment
slaeyer Posted November 9, 2004 Share Posted November 9, 2004 I'd definately be interested in buying some CB fry from you! PM or email slaeyer@gmail.com and we'll arrange something when you're ready! Link to comment
BKtomodachi Posted November 12, 2004 Share Posted November 12, 2004 slaeyer, where are you located at? I grew up in Kearney.... Link to comment
slaeyer Posted November 15, 2004 Share Posted November 15, 2004 Originally posted by BKtomodachi slaeyer, where are you located at? I grew up in Kearney.... I live in Kearney! Been here most my life (how sad is that?) Where you livin now? Link to comment
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