Help with Ich - hypo not cutting it

[paulamrein]

No, not saying I'm piggy backing off of you, just saying everyone on here owes it to themselves and the next person with the problem to not just do blanket gunshot treatments. That's really why this forum is here isn't it? We have a lot of smart people on this forum all the time. Marine biologist, authors, people who have been doing it long before a lot of us are even born. How would you like it, if you ask how to cure something and they said, "Well I tried hypo for a couple of weeks than switched to dips than finished it off with copper and garlic and in between all that, switched them out between 3 different tanks every three days, oh and a few other things that I can't exactly remember off hand."
Well, one of those things obviously worked but which one was it right? So I'm not saying everyone needs to put on their lab coats and jot down everything they do, just don't mix treatments (unless called for) or switch equipment (unless sub-par or malfunctioning)
there shouldn't be ich on a fish after 4 weeks of hypo, so, is it treatment? diagnosis? or the equipment that needs to be altered? This is what needs to be done one at a time with the easiest variable changed first. If it's not the refractometer than research more on what the parasite is, if it is in fact ich and hypo won't do it than switch treatments and tell us which one worked. I realize there is a time constraint here and no one wants to loose a fish. But I feel you will have better long term success with finding out what works.

 

[dynamixone]

I have had my fish in hypo for a 2 weeks after a big loss in my DT. I am noticing more ich now in my QT.

I just cailbrated my refract and its .09.

I have started a dose of quickcure to see if that will help bring it down.

what a pain. I thought this woudl get it.

 

[pescadero]

As it turns out I have a hypo QT tank that has been running at 1.010 for over 4 weeks, and the fish are now manifesting an ich outbreak. Hypo isn't all its cracked up to be.

 

[pescadero]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12226738#post12226738 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by JHemdal
Yes, I would rather see the S.G. at 1.020 in terms of carbonate buffering, but like I said, there is a risk in taking too long to go to 1.020, so I was thinking 1.016 would work o.k.

Jay, I've got a question for you about carbonate buffering:

When instituting a copper treatment, how much of the protective role of normosalinity is played by carbonate buffering?

The reason that I ask is because I maintain a normal level of total alkalinity when I am running a hypo system. I do this by supplementing the hypo salt mix with a titrated amount of sodium carbonate that keeps the alkalinity level in the tank at about 12-13 dKH at all times.

I was thinking that if the re-establishment of carbonate buffering is the underlying criterion that you're looking to restore by taking the specific gravity up to 1.016 before starting copper treatment, then perhaps maintaining a normal level of carbonate hardness while preforming hypo would allow the copper treatment to be started earlier.

 

[dynamixone]

I did a large water change and added additional airstones and another dose of quickcure. the fish have perked up and 90% of white spots are gone.

hopefully whatever ich is in the tank will not survive the hypo conditions and the meds.

I am learning that hypo means alot fo water changes!