Hypo/loss of appetite

[alwmh4]

I started my tank in hypo on oct 16. I was advised to go eight weeks. Salutary broke 1.009 for a day in nov 9. So I started clock over. In last week my female bellus has lost appetite. Swims slowly and isn't hiding but not eating. My sixline has been more scarce too. Is this from extended hypo? If so what do I do. I wasn't planned on elevating salinity till Jan 1. Not sure she's gonna make it 3 weeks w no good.

And my qt tank has a tang in it right now and is at 1.0025 so there's no way I can put her in there even within a day of acclimation. And advice is welcome. Thank you

 

[ThRoewer]

1. any treatment in the DT is risky and likely to cause losses.

2. Hyposalinity is safe for 2 to 4 weeks, maybe even longer for many fish. But at some point some fish may develop kidney issues. This is due to the fact that in hypo fish need to drink considerably less to maintain their internal salinity and the resulting low amount of liquid their kidneys have to flush waste products out.

3. no lengthy acclimatization is needed when getting fish into hyposalinity. A simple 30 minute drip acclimatization will be sufficient.
Bringing fish out of hyposalinity needs to be done slowly (1"° per day) until you reach 1.018. From there you can bring the fish up quickly wit a 1 hour drip acclimatization.

 

[alwmh4]

My point in saying my qt was occupied and at 1.0025 was to address anyone who suggested I remove the fish and put in qt as the fish would be going from HYPO TO HYPER and thus is not an option.

I just to know what to expect, why, etc

But it makes sense that the kidneys would be effected. Guess there are only two options... 1. Hope for best 2. Discontinue treatment

 

[Deinonych]

My point in saying my qt was occupied and at 1.0025 was to address anyone who suggested I remove the fish and put in qt as the fish would be going from HYPO TO HYPER and thus is not an option.

I just to know what to expect, why, etc

But it makes sense that the kidneys would be effected. Guess there are only two options... 1. Hope for best 2. Discontinue treatment

I'm assuming you mean 1.025 (normal seawater SG) and not 1.0025 (nearly pure freshwater)? I can't imagine a marine fish would survive long at the former.

 

[alwmh4]

Correct. Oops

 

[ThRoewer]

If you started hypo in a clean tank all ich should be gone after 2 weeks as most ich strains can't encyst in hypo.

If you have done it in the DT I would recommend getting another QT and move the fish in there to slowly raise the salinity while the DT continues the 72 days.

In general it is advisable to have more than just one QT - there should always be a reserve as things hardly ever go as planned.

 

[alwmh4]

Hardly as planned for sure.

While reason dt is in hypo is bc of bad planning and I have other little fish that are impossible to catch so having fallow tank is impossible.

So... Do you think the ick in my tank would be gone after technically 32 days consistently below 1.009 but above 1.008? I'm inclined to say not but guess I'm hoping for positive insight at the point. If not, it is what it is and I'll try to problem solve.
I've read I believe in this forum that four weeks is treatment. Other places say 8 weeks

 

[ThRoewer]

When you call the quits is really up to you in the end.

If you started Oct 16th and have been consistently below 1.010 g/l you should be on day 55 now.

 

[alwmh4]

I think when my salinity did spike it was a little over 1.009. I suppose I'll bring up salinity and see what happens. How long after above 1.010 would it take to see ick if it were still present in my tank? 2 days? 2 months?

 

[ThRoewer]

Depends when it happened, night morning afternoon,...
The parasites leave the fish after nightfall and then have about 8 hours to encyst.
The excystment (hatching) of the new parasites also happens after nightfall and the new parasites then have about 24 hours to find a fish to infect.

After 2 weeks in hypo the fish should not have any parasites left to leave them so the only concern would be that a preexisting cyst popped right when the salinity spiked. Though if you corrected that quickly enough and at least 2 weeks have passed, even if the fish got another wave of infection, it should not matter much as the parasites wouldn't be able to encyst after leaving the fish.

 

[alwmh4]

Thank you. I have not seen any spots since about oct 18. Spike came from water change done one evening then was corrected the next day. I had mixed salt for hours and calibrated a checked refractometer etc and it was bang on. Only thing I can guess is that the water temp of new water was off and it wasn't as bang on as I thought.

 

[alwmh4]

Related question... How much is a safe amount to increase salinity per day? I changed ato to 1.025. I usually get 2-3 ga of evap per day in a system w approx 170 ga

 

[ThRoewer]

I would start slow and then ramp it up exponential. When I did hypo the last time I did in less than a week and none of the fish had any problems with it.
I used a dosing pump to add a concentrated salt solution little by little.

 

[alwmh4]

What's highest salinity you can mix without causing a precipitate? Maybe 1.035?

 

[ThRoewer]

What's highest salinity you can mix without causing a precipitate? Maybe 1.035?

Double the normal salinity should still be fine for this.