Post by goldenpuon on Apr 11, 2009 14:28:18 GMT -5
My own trouble with performing Methylene Blue baths as well as people such as Kagome, Carl, and many others inspired me to write this. I thought I would share it. Feel free to give me any suggestions on how to improve this article I wrote if needed and if you wish, post ti on your own websites to help others.
Enjoy!
How to Perform a Methylene Blue Bath without Stains
By Renee Wise
Materials:
1. Eyedropper
2. 1 quart plastic container and top
3. Two or more large towels
4. Net
5. Methylene Blue bottle
6. Two or more empty milk jugs
7. Disposable plastic cup
8. Timer
9. Rags
10. One spare container: approximately 1 quart or larger
11. Access to a toilet to or a place outside to dump Methylene blue bath water
12. Hose
Introduction: When you perform a Methylene Blue bath for your fish, it is important that you have precautions you can follow to reduce the risk of Methylene Blue staining anything in your house. Methylene Blue (MB) acts much like a dye and will stain almost any surface it touches including carpet, tile, and wood. The MB may be cleaned off with hard scrubbing or fade in time but a near fool-proof plan is recommended.
Here are some steps you can follow to avoid a mess and make these baths for your fish a more pleasurable experience.
The Process: First, lay out your materials (as listed above) in a quiet, calm setting. Once you have the materials ready, clear some space near your aquarium on a dresser or a surface you know won’t be disturbed. Set one towel down there. Make sure there the room temperature in this area isn’t much different than in your aquarium to prevent temperature shock to the fish you will be giving the bath. Carefully remove the top on your aquarium. Take your quart plastic container and fill it ¾ of the way with your aquarium water. Unfold it and put in on the place you cleared off earlier. Then, carefully, spooking the fish as little as possible, net the fish you wish to bathe and gently place it in your quart container. Make your MB bottle and unscrew the lid, placing it lid face down so any residue on the bottle cap will not get on any surfaces. Make sure a towel is under your MB bottle and any object with MB on it at ALL times. Now take your eyedropper and fill it partially with MB or however much you desire. Squirt as much as you wish to use into the bath. Squirt any excess back into the bottle. Immediately put the bottle cap back on. Next, carefully suck up water from the bath into the eyedropper and squirt it back in to dilute the MB in the eyedropper. Set your eyedropper in your other container and put the top on the container with the fish to prevent it from jumping out. Set your timer to 30 minutes or however long you want to bathe the fish. Make sure the room is not disturbed and keep an eye on your fish is not showing any signs of distress. You may busy yourself with something else in the room while the bath is going but don’t disturb the area where any of your materials or the fish are or leave the room completely. When the timer dings, carefully remove the top and net the fish. Release your fish back into your aquarium and put your net in the spare container with the eyedropper. Carefully dump your bathwater into the toilet and flush two or more times until there is no Methylene Blue residue in the toilet.
Now grab a rag and head outside and your bath container and your container with the eyedropper and net in it. Turn on the hose and thoroughly rinse out your 2 containers, the net, and the eyedropper. Make sure you place your rag in an area where it won’t get wet. After there is no sign of MB on any of your materials, turn off the hose. Gently dry your eyedropper, two containers and net. When you come back in, turn on the tap and sterilize them with hot water, vinegar, bleach, or whatever method you want to sterilize your materials. Dry them off with your rag and return them to their respective places.
Note: If it is too cold outside to run a hose, use 2 empty milk jugs and fill them with water to rinse your equipment. Be aware that you may have to go back in to refill them several times.
Take any towels or rags with MB on them and put them in your washing machine separately to wash them separately. Note that you may have to wipe MB off your washing machine afterwards. Also note that the stains on your towels may be permanent but they should not stain anything they touch next time you use the. Next, search for any stains in your house there may be and if there is on hard surfaces such as tile, grab a rag, put a dot of soap on it and use a lot of elbow grease to get it off. Rinse to get the soap off when you are done. Afterwards, put the rag in the washing machine to wash it separately. Note that if you get any Methylene Blue on any fabric or carpeting, the blue stain may be permanent or require professional cleaning to get out.
Conclusion: With practice, bathing fish this way can be a trouble-free experience. It is a great way to distress fish, kill unwanted pathogens, and increase the oxygen in your fish’s blood or reduce the severity of ammonia poisoning. You may have a few problems at first but if you keep at it and follow these directions, in time you are likely to be able to perform a bath without ever getting a stain. Reread this as often as you want, whatever you need to perform a MB bath for your fish successfully.
Enjoy!
How to Perform a Methylene Blue Bath without Stains
By Renee Wise
Materials:
1. Eyedropper
2. 1 quart plastic container and top
3. Two or more large towels
4. Net
5. Methylene Blue bottle
6. Two or more empty milk jugs
7. Disposable plastic cup
8. Timer
9. Rags
10. One spare container: approximately 1 quart or larger
11. Access to a toilet to or a place outside to dump Methylene blue bath water
12. Hose
Introduction: When you perform a Methylene Blue bath for your fish, it is important that you have precautions you can follow to reduce the risk of Methylene Blue staining anything in your house. Methylene Blue (MB) acts much like a dye and will stain almost any surface it touches including carpet, tile, and wood. The MB may be cleaned off with hard scrubbing or fade in time but a near fool-proof plan is recommended.
Here are some steps you can follow to avoid a mess and make these baths for your fish a more pleasurable experience.
The Process: First, lay out your materials (as listed above) in a quiet, calm setting. Once you have the materials ready, clear some space near your aquarium on a dresser or a surface you know won’t be disturbed. Set one towel down there. Make sure there the room temperature in this area isn’t much different than in your aquarium to prevent temperature shock to the fish you will be giving the bath. Carefully remove the top on your aquarium. Take your quart plastic container and fill it ¾ of the way with your aquarium water. Unfold it and put in on the place you cleared off earlier. Then, carefully, spooking the fish as little as possible, net the fish you wish to bathe and gently place it in your quart container. Make your MB bottle and unscrew the lid, placing it lid face down so any residue on the bottle cap will not get on any surfaces. Make sure a towel is under your MB bottle and any object with MB on it at ALL times. Now take your eyedropper and fill it partially with MB or however much you desire. Squirt as much as you wish to use into the bath. Squirt any excess back into the bottle. Immediately put the bottle cap back on. Next, carefully suck up water from the bath into the eyedropper and squirt it back in to dilute the MB in the eyedropper. Set your eyedropper in your other container and put the top on the container with the fish to prevent it from jumping out. Set your timer to 30 minutes or however long you want to bathe the fish. Make sure the room is not disturbed and keep an eye on your fish is not showing any signs of distress. You may busy yourself with something else in the room while the bath is going but don’t disturb the area where any of your materials or the fish are or leave the room completely. When the timer dings, carefully remove the top and net the fish. Release your fish back into your aquarium and put your net in the spare container with the eyedropper. Carefully dump your bathwater into the toilet and flush two or more times until there is no Methylene Blue residue in the toilet.
Now grab a rag and head outside and your bath container and your container with the eyedropper and net in it. Turn on the hose and thoroughly rinse out your 2 containers, the net, and the eyedropper. Make sure you place your rag in an area where it won’t get wet. After there is no sign of MB on any of your materials, turn off the hose. Gently dry your eyedropper, two containers and net. When you come back in, turn on the tap and sterilize them with hot water, vinegar, bleach, or whatever method you want to sterilize your materials. Dry them off with your rag and return them to their respective places.
Note: If it is too cold outside to run a hose, use 2 empty milk jugs and fill them with water to rinse your equipment. Be aware that you may have to go back in to refill them several times.
Take any towels or rags with MB on them and put them in your washing machine separately to wash them separately. Note that you may have to wipe MB off your washing machine afterwards. Also note that the stains on your towels may be permanent but they should not stain anything they touch next time you use the. Next, search for any stains in your house there may be and if there is on hard surfaces such as tile, grab a rag, put a dot of soap on it and use a lot of elbow grease to get it off. Rinse to get the soap off when you are done. Afterwards, put the rag in the washing machine to wash it separately. Note that if you get any Methylene Blue on any fabric or carpeting, the blue stain may be permanent or require professional cleaning to get out.
Conclusion: With practice, bathing fish this way can be a trouble-free experience. It is a great way to distress fish, kill unwanted pathogens, and increase the oxygen in your fish’s blood or reduce the severity of ammonia poisoning. You may have a few problems at first but if you keep at it and follow these directions, in time you are likely to be able to perform a bath without ever getting a stain. Reread this as often as you want, whatever you need to perform a MB bath for your fish successfully.
