Salt Dip Observations

[Sakura 500]

I thought it might be nice to have a thread where we can all discuss our observations during salt dips for our fish. When I did salt dips for Luca to deal with his mouth issue, I noticed some things...

First Dip:

He did really well. He did "faint", or tip over, quite a few times. But each time he would either right himself after a few seconds, or he would respond to minimal disturbance by righting himself. He was able to be left in the salt bath for a full 5 minutes with no problem. When returned to normal water, he seemed maybe slightly dazed and swam slowly or stayed in one place (not bottom-sitting) for a really short amount of time; 1 or 2 minutes tops. Then he resumed his normal activity level. There's a full video of his salt dip experience here:

[i wanted this to show up as a clickable link, but it keeps embedding it! Sorry.]

Second Dip:

The next day, I did another salt dip at the exact same concentration. This time he tolerated it a little worse. He was still able to stay in the salt bath for the full 5 minutes, but he "fainted" more, and it took him much longer to right himself each time. When returned to normal water, he seemed slightly dazed and swam slowly or stayed in one place (not bottom-sitting) for less than 5 minutes. Then he resumed his normal activity level.

Third Dip:

Third and final salt dip at the same concentration. This time he tolerated it much worse. He "fainted" sooner, more often, and had a really hard time righting himself, even when disturbed. Eventually he started to seem more unresponsive after each "faint", and he also began looking like his mouth was stuck open (that was scary). So I took him out after only 3 minutes had passed. When returned to normal water, he seemed dazed and swam slowly or stayed in one place (not bottom-sitting) for about 5-7 minutes. Then he resumed his normal activity level.

I wonder why Luca's tolerance to the salt dip diminished each day? I guess it was a stressful experience, and so with each new dip, he had a little less energy and ability to deal with it? I just thought it was a little strange because from reading other recent D&D threads, Luca's reaction seems slightly abnormal.

I just wanted to hear from others who have done salt dips to see if their observations are similar or different. I assume that every fish is different and so there will probably be varied observations. But it would be nice to establish some sort of baseline for what is normal during and after a salt dip, especially for repeated dips.

[dnalex 13,633]

I've done numerous salt dips by now; and the only correlation I've been able to see is that if the fish was already weak, he/she will not last as long.

That's about it. I did not see the subsequent weakening that you did.

[Gcourtney 854]

capser became lifeless on his side , he perked up after being in fresh water so I'd give him about 3 max four 4 minuets

Madeline lost balance a little at the end of 3 minuets

Edited February 18, 2013 by Gustave

[Sakura 500]

That's about it. I did not see the subsequent weakening that you did.

That's interesting. Any idea why I saw this with Luca? The salt concentration was exactly the same every time (both salt and water were measured out with a scale).

[dnalex 13,633]

I'm not really sure, and I've tried to see if I can draw any sort of correlation. There have been fish who experienced the exact opposite as Luca, which was terrible the first time, and then progressively better, until they basically don't seem to care that they are in 3% salt.

I'll see if I can ask some others to see what they may have observed.

[Calamity 418]

. There have been fish who experienced the exact opposite as Luca, which was terrible the first time, and then progressively better, until they basically don't seem to care that they are in 3% salt.

^^ This is been my experience with my 2 new ones. ^^

While doing the daily dips, the first time we went into 2% it was a little shocking, but day 2 they didn't care. Same deal for day 3 at 3% we were a little unsure of this new solution and were a little tippy here and there, but by day 5 they just zoomed around the bucket like it was their second home.

Now that I'm done that week of salt dips, and we're back to doing just 3% every time i start a new round of prazi, their not so happy about the salt and I think it's because their not as used to it anymore. Squishy seems to be better with it then One Eye who last dip, only lasted 4 mins until I wasn't as happy with his preformance in the bucket. Well see what they think of todays dip.

[Narny105 1,992]

I've had the opposite. First Salt dip I ever did on Mr Bigglesworth when I first got him, he was severely weak and did not come out of the dip well. He was removed after the 2nd faint and did not last the full five minutes. He was like this for around 9 hours. Next day, he was 100% better than before the dip.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTPR4YBjjjs

Previous to this, he didn't do well in over 0.2% salt in the tank, now he's fine with 0.3% with no issues, however since I have a past- dropsied fish who also doesn't cope with salt well, I don't usually salt past 0.1% with him in the tank, so my prazi rounds are generally without salt unfortunately since I don't have the time to do daily dips.

Since this, he's had about 3 dips more, and has been in the full 5 minutes with no issues and was swimming normally when put into the recovery tank.. It's more common for animals, including us, to adapt to an environmental change the more we are exposed to it, which is probably why we see more fish improving the more times they are exposed to salt, whether in the water, or dipped.

Just thought I'd throw in my 2 cents

[Sakura 500]

Thanks for adding your experiences Narny! That video of him is tough to watch, you must have been so worried at the time.

[Mikey 6,780]

My new chocolate oranda never fully fainted. He was most of the time always normal. He occasionally tipped a little bit but not completely on his side. And now it's still the same. I have been a little behind in his salt dips so I need to give him one tomorrow.

[Narny105 1,992]

Thanks for adding your experiences Narny! That video of him is tough to watch, you must have been so worried at the time.

I was freaked

[Ms.Jenny 555]

I just 3% salt dipped both my girls on Friday, and am doing it again on Wednesday. Stoney did good, but started bobbing a lot after three minutes so I took her out. She never actually fainted, but this was my first salt dip (and theirs) so I wanted to play it safe. Once added to her fresh water holding tank, she was totally normal in a matter of minutes. Munchkin, on the other hand, did terrible! She almost immediately fainted, and would only try to right herself if I nudged her. I ended up helping her stay upright, which helped a lot actually, and took her out after two minutes when she stopped trying to swim away from me. When she was added to the fresh water tank, she returned to normal even quicker than Stoney and acted like nothing at all happened, total drama-queen! I am interested to see how they do on Wednesday, and will be sure to post it here.