Hyposalinity process update

[CZ08]

Well I started of with the following fish below 2months ago :

2 1/2" Porc puffer
2x 3.5" Green spotted puffer
3" Majestic Angelfish
2" Coral Beauty
2" red stripe dwarf angel
1 1/2" Clownfish marroon orange/gold
2x Lawnmower Blenny 3 "
1x 2" Dragonet madarin red+green
3" Starry Blenny
pink/green blenny do not know the name

I now only have the Porc, 2 gsps, majestic and 1 starry blenny.

Most of the losses if not all were due to stress of going to QT after just being bought from store to DT then to QT. Some did not eat, clownfish had finrot but recovered on its own.

Unfortunately I woke up to half eaten clownfish today in DT after being transfered from QT. The starry blenny was also transfered last night together but hes fine, no odd breathing/movements.

DT chemistry nitrite 0 amm 0 nitrates 5 Did several water changes last week or 2 total of 70% on DT.

Iam curious what I should check on before adding the rest of fish in the QT to the DT?

 

[MrTuskfish]

Most of the losses if not all were due to stress of going to QT after just being bought from store to DT then to QT. Some did not eat, clownfish had finrot but recovered on its own.

I think this highly unlikely. Any reasonably healthy fish won't die from being moved. How did you reach this conclusion?

I assume the hypo was to teat ich. Was the DT fishless for at least 9 weeks?

 

[CZ08]

Most of the losses if not all were due to stress of going to QT after just being bought from store to DT then to QT. Some did not eat, clownfish had finrot but recovered on its own.

I think this highly unlikely. Any reasonably healthy fish won't die from being moved. How did you reach this conclusion?

I assume the hypo was to teat ich. Was the DT fishless for at least 9 weeks?

Just over 8 weeks. 4 weeks in QT hyposalinity and just over 4 weeks normal saltwater QT after last ich spot appear.

Lee Becca from the other fish forum came to this conclusion since I was doing everything to a tee yet fish were dying left and right. He said it could be some unknown disease but I would have to take it to some vet/university to have them tested.

Iam taking out the big hermit incase he managed to eat the clownfish and then will introduce one of the gsps to the DT in 6days time. Lee recommended nice n slow pace 1 fish per week. At first I thought this was bit slow but after waking up to half eaten clownfish I think slow pace is ideal.

 

[MrTuskfish]

A fish per week is a good guideline. IMO & IME; hypo is a very "iffy" treatment for ich. It seems to fail much more than it used to and I'm not sure why. There is a lot of room for error with hypo; a perfectly calibtrated refractometer is a must and top-offs must be frequent. Just a few minutes of the SG going above 1.009 can de-rail the whole process. Its also possible that a strain of ich has developed resistance to the lowest SG that fish can tolerate. I think you've done what you can and are ready to put the fish back into the DT. I do prefer to keep the DT fishless for 9+ weeks. Unfortunately, there just isn't a 100% sure-thing with ich. In some cases; some ich cysts are able to remain alive even after 8 weeks in a fishless DT. Here's some research from Snorvich that explains the problem. http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2041951

 

[h2so4hurts]

10+ weeks is probably safer. If you've waited 8, what's another 2?

 

[CZ08]

Thanks for your responses.

The starry blenny is still doing great in DT so have no clue what killed of the clownfish. Doubt was the water as its the same source that was going into DT & QT. Possibly the big hermit got him in his sleep.

Iam going to keep the QT for future purchases, Ive lost quite a few fish last 2months but fingers crossed the rest of the fish will do great back in the DT.

For any new fish, is 4 weeks enough for hyposalinity before introducing into the DT or is 6 weeks hypo really a must in your experiences? I was thinking of using that copper brand treatment if its safer for the new fish most likely going with some angelfish, replace the lawnmover blenny & clownfish with a pair and Iam good .... for now

 

[SNAKEMANVET]

When I did the hypo treatment,my fish were kept at 1.009 for 12 weeks,and brought back up to regular salinity over a one week period.

 

[MrTuskfish]

Thanks for your responses.

The starry blenny is still doing great in DT so have no clue what killed of the clownfish. Doubt was the water as its the same source that was going into DT & QT. Possibly the big hermit got him in his sleep.

Iam going to keep the QT for future purchases, Ive lost quite a few fish last 2months but fingers crossed the rest of the fish will do great back in the DT.

For any new fish, is 4 weeks enough for hyposalinity before introducing into the DT or is 6 weeks hypo really a must in your experiences? I was thinking of using that copper brand treatment if its safer for the new fish most likely going with some angelfish, replace the lawnmover blenny & clownfish with a pair and Iam good .... for now

Prophylacticly treating new fish is a never-ending debate. I've used copper on all new fish for many years; but don't really suggest it unless you've used copper. (IMO, it isn't rocket science.) Hypo only kills ich and I worry more about velvet & other diseases/parasites. Formalin is used by some folks too. I think tank-transfer treatment of any possible ich is a great compromise. Its foolproof and easy; check the sticky at the top of this forum.

Whatever you do, your decision to use a QT with all new fish is a good one, it may even keep you in the hobby. I don't know of any single issue that has driven more folks from our hobby (directly or indirectly) than failure to use a QT.

 

[CZ08]

Well the fish have been back in DT for a week now. All eating ok apart from Porcupine, he seems to only eat mussles and only if the lights are of.

His personality went from chasing my finger, spitting water at me to hiding alot and seems to have cloudy eye. I had already treated it with M2,prizipro in qt before moving it over to the DT. Iam now trying melafix, im based in the Uk so hard to find anything else. How long does it usually take for cloudy eyes to dissapear and for her old vibrant personality to come bac?

 

[CZ08]

Bad news, woke up to porcupine on the bottom not moving barely breathing.

Just passed away. Very odd as for last 2 weeks was eating a hell of alot, following my finger, very personable even last night. Although I did notice some white circle marks couple days ago and noticed couple whitespot yesterday.
Still shouldnt have passed so quickly but what can I do, very sad

 

[CZ08]

Iam thinking of turning DT to mantis shrimp only tank as just disheartened with all fish dying especially our favourite the porcupine. Are peacock mantis's immune to ick?

 

[MrTuskfish]

Ich only feeds on fish, shrimp are safe.