hyposalinity questions

[grussell]

Hi,

So I am battling Ick for the first time. Fortunately it isn't in my display tank. It is in two new fish that are in my 20 gallon, cycled quarantine tank. I've read some of the stickies, and I think I am going to go with hyposalinity for tx. What I want to know is how exact do you have to be on it? It has to be under 1.010, so 1.008-1009 is okay. If I get home on a given day and find that it has creeped up to 1.010 do I have to start over, or can I just lower it and continue the 30 days? The process is 30 days from disappearance of the last spot of it, and then another 30 (at normal salinity) days observation? At that point are both the fish AND the QT "cured" of ick? Even if I then move the fish to my DT do I have to completely clean out the QT and throw out my filters(a sponge and a small aquaclear with just a mechanical filter and some biofilter material) or am I good to go with my next acquisitions?
How paranoid do I have to be with say, the cups and buckets I use for removing water for the changes? If I dry them off well are they safe to use in the DT too? Sorry so many questions, but I've never had a disease in my DT and I want to keep it that way.

 

[MrTuskfish]

Your questions point to the difficulty and precision needed with hypo. There also seem to be strains of ich that are resistant to any SG that can still keep the fish comfortable. Many folks, me included, no longer consider hypo a choice; I'd read the sticky on tank transfer for ich. Copper or CP would be my 2nd choices. TT only cures ich, Cu or CP will also eliminate velvet. However, velvet will show up during the normal QT time and can be treated if needed. Ich can stay hidden for a long time, thus the proactive treatment with TT.

 

[grussell]

Does using copper destroy my bio filter? And if I use copper how to I then "remove it" at 30 days as the sticky says?

 

[HumbleFish]

Does using copper destroy my bio filter? And if I use copper how to I then "remove it" at 30 days as the sticky says?

Copper kills some bacteria, but not to the point where it will completely decimate your bio-filter. Just be sure there's no rock, sand or anything else in the QT that will absorb copper. You can remove it by running carbon or with a poly filter.

 

[MrTuskfish]

^^^^I agree^ Here's the poop on Cupramine, a brand of copper. The Q&A are vital: http://www.seachem.com/Products/product_pages/Cupramine.html Also; if you decide to use copper rather than CP or TT: I'd post here. There are several little hints with copper that help a lot.