Hypo treatment Help.

[rnscross]

I'm still fairly new to marine, and as such never QT'd when starting out. (there's alot I didnt do when starting out). This came back to bite my in the butt a big way. I got marine ich in my new DT tank due to alot of various factors, one was a crashing holding tank between moves. So I've decided to hypo the DT with fish in there (its 180 and catching them after all the other stresses I've given them recently didnt seem like a good idea.) As I wanted to not only rid the fish of ich but the tank as well (yes I could've left it fallow for 8 weeks but I wanted to be sure that I've killed it all.)

I removed all my corals to a holding tank and slowly dropped the salinity down to 1.010 or 14% by refractometer. The line in the refractometer is sitting ever so slightly above the 1.010 mark, I know I have a range of 1.009 and 1.010 to kill the ich without killing the fish. I've seen a decrease in the infestation(it covers a few fish completely) but it is still there. I've been watching pH and its been at 8.1 (digital pH pen) the whole time, with only a little buffering needed to raise it from 8.0 to 8.1 early on. So my main q's are;

I'm concerned as to how low my salinity will get before adversely effecting the fish. ie what salinity is going to kill my fish?

I've been at 1.010 for 24hrs now and I'm wondering how long before I should see a marked reduction in tromonts?

And should i drop the salinity down to 1.009?

Oh and I've been using this as a guide http://www.atj.net.au/marineaquaria/hyposalinity.html and as I had cured rock I've been dosing prodibio biodigest to help increase bacteria for the die off of the few inverts I had left in the rock (it was pretty clean and could be considered "cured" but not truly 'alive' with anything outside of bacteria.)

 

[SNAKEMANVET]

I am like you,I am doing hypo in display,I have the salinity down to 1.009.I have seen a decrease of visiable ich,fish are eating and acting normal.I did raise my water level so my skimmer can still skim the water.

 

[sandwi54]

Please read the sticky if you haven't.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1992196
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1991470

The standard salinity for hypo is 1.008 - 1.009. I've used always used 1.008 with success. 1.010 is a bit high.

Keep in mind that trophonts can stay on fish's body for 3-7 days and then fall off to reproduce. So while you don't see spots on the fish anymore, that doesn't mean ich is gone. It is considered gone if you don't see any single spot 4 weeks after the last spot is seen.

Make sure you monitor ammonia and nitrite and do water change if necessary.

 

[rnscross]

thank you for that, I have read those and more. I was asking as i know my salinity is too high but was wondering just how careful i need to be in lowering it to 1.009, such that in the event of lowering it to 1.008 would i harm my fish as 1.009-1.010 seemed to be the standard salinity cited as this is close to the internal concentrations of ions in the fish (or at least that has been what I've read).

So I will proceed to drop it down to 1.009, and then I will hold it there for 5 weeks from the last ich spot seen as there are alot of fish and they hide so to be certain that I dont need to do this again I will extend the hypo out one week. Then i bring the salinity up slowly over 7-10 days. And observe for 2 weeks to ensure that it hasnt returned. (i am aware that the full observation period should be the lifecycle of 4 weeks or 28 days) but after two weeks I will move my corals back in the tank.

I've raised my skimmer to try and pull out as much as i can. THats why i'm dosing the biodigest to help repopulate the bacteria as it can be used in salt and fresh water the strains must be able to survive lower salinity that wild salt water strains might not. And I've also got a bottle of prime in case I need to quickly nullify ammonia/nitrite as water changes should be conducted carefully to makle sure salinity is matched perfectly.

Thank you for your help.

 

[cougaran]

I have drawn a line on the side of my tank(or use tape) at the waterline when salinity is at 1.009 and then have added a few more gallons of water after that. I have tested it when I do that and this way the salinity only fluctuates between 1.007 to 1.009 by doing it this way. The fish have not suffered any ill effects. I also like to use a seachem badge for ammonia, these give you a quick reference for any sudden changes in ammonia. I would also keep some amquel or some other ammonia remover product handy. Just remeber not touse the ammonia remover with any type of copper type ich cure as it can have disaterous results..Hypo you will be fine.

 

[rnscross]

Prime is the seachem ammonia remover, and I have an auto top up set up to maintain stable salinity.

If yours is dropping down to 1.007 then that gives me some releif as I'm doubtful that I'll go that low as its still winter here and cold so there isnt much evaporation.

Thank you to everyone for their imput this has helped to put my mind at ease, and to reaffirm that I'm on the right track. Fingers crossed It'll all go well and I wont loose any fish.

 

[sandwi54]

I have read that there were cases where 1.009 did not completely cure ich and people claim there are new strains of ich that could handle 1.009. After that, I've always used 1.008 just to be safe since that is regarded as the lowest safe operating point. Since you have an ATO, you won't have to worry about salinity increase from too much evaporation. So just keep going with it and ich should be gone in no time!