"Salt Shock" - What do you think of this mini-quarantine method?

[Julles]

On the pond tour yesterday, I was talking to one of the big koi guys about my theory that my beautiful blue koi died 2 1/2 weeks after I brought him home due to he just didn't have the immunity to be able to live with the existing bacterial colony in my pond.

He scratched his head at that one, and suggested this method to "zap quarantine" a fish - useful for those of us who don't have room or equipment for a quarantine tank where a fish could survive 3-4 weeks.

He said you put a koi (a new purchase or an ailing fish from your stock) in REALLY salty water.  Watch it until it starts to "not be able to swim right any more" and then quickly put it back into the pond.  He said that technique would "jump start" the slime coating on the fish, and he would then build up immunity to any thing that may be in the pond.

Thoughts??

[Cedric]

Well salt is a mild antiseptic. In high doses what it does in fact is strip the slime covering off a fish. Not entirely a good idea if you are going to then suddenly drop it into a strange pond. I think if you can't safely keep the fish in quarantine for whatever reason, space, cost etc  then you are buying fish that are too big for you to properly cope with.

With small fish in quarantine all you need is a large plastic container and an air-stone. Use your pond water for frequent changes and feed sparingly. They all grow eventually if properly cared for.

I always used to add salt to my goldfish water, not huge amounts, certainly not so much that it strips the slime coating off a fish but enough for a general mild water disinfectant. I notice they do that here at the fish market too, they have very high fish densities per tank. It also helps with any external parasites. A few days after I have dosed with salt I do a partial water change otherwise the salt will build up to a dangerous level and hair algae will flourish. Salt is surprisingly perhaps to some also a fertiliser.

[Sunbeam56]

My opinion - naw. No reason to stress the fish like that.
Slime coat is not the prime factor in resistance to disease. So stressing the koi to produce a slime coat isn't really justified.

If you have something really awful - which happens - the salt dip won't cure it.

[karen J]

All of the above. Plus: if you don't have the facilities to properly quarantine a fish, perhaps you should skip the desire to have that fish.
And that was a "Big Koi Guy"? Kinda disappointing advice from someone who should know better. 

[Bonnie]

Thoughts????????????

This big koi guy evidentally does NOT have a clue...
Proper QT is needed for alot of things and this is rediculous nonsense !


It does not take much time, effort and money to set up a QT.  I made my past one from scrap lumber with a piece of liner.....

[Cedric]

"Mucus (slime coat) is a physical barrier which inhibits entry of disease organisms from the environment into the fish. It is also a chemical barrier because it contains enzymes (lysozymes) and antibodies (immunoglobulins) which can kill invading organisms. Mucus also lubricates the fish which aids movement through the water, and it is also important for osmoregulation."

So the mucus coat is in fact the fishes very first line of defence, packed with antibodies and enzymes to fight off infection. If you strip it away, you must certainly maintain an extremely hygienic sterile environment, until it has been re-secreted. This would preclude dropping it into a new pond straight away as it could take a few days for the mucous coat to return to normal.

Also if the fish has internal bacterial or viral infections this wont help it at all. Quarantine is the only way.

Here is a very good pointer from the university of Florida on stress in fish. To me it sounds like that's what yours might have had. Lowered immunity due to stress. The fish can appear very normal for a week or so then will suddenly die.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/FA005

[crazyfishlady]

I don't buy large fish (mainly because they cost too much) but where I get mine the guy always puts a "stress" tab in the water.
I have no idea what it is. He says it reduces the trauma of transport??

[Cedric]

I don't buy large fish (mainly because they cost too much) but where I get mine the guy always puts a "stress" tab in the water.
I have no idea what it is. He says it reduces the trauma of transport??

Learning how to choose a young fish for potential and watching it grow are a big part of the fun, instant gratification is seldom ever as rewarding or as long lived. Young fish also adapt far better and can be transported with less stress.

I bought some remarkable platy's yesterday metallic blue with orange fins, first I have ever seen them. Anyway they don't need quarantine as I keep each colour in separate ponds or fish pots in the garden otherwise they loose their colours from cross breeding. But I will never buy fish on a first visit. Usually takes three or four before I am convinced of their health and the sellers conditions. Introducing fish diseases is a all too easy.

[Julles]

Wow, thank you everyone, and especially Cedric, for that link.  I had a feeling that guy was way wrong.  He, himself, had a nice, permanent, 5' deep and very long tank just for quarantine.  He has some very expensive fish. 

Glad I didn't follow his suggestion.