hyposalinity to cure ick

[Sully_z]

Will lowering the salinity level down to cure ick have any bad affects on the hard and soft corals in a reef tank ?

 

[kraze3]

not 100 % sure on the corals but it will kill your LR and LS as well as herlits snails etc. Ill see if i can find any info on vorals and get back to you. honestly i wouldnt try it.

 

[McCrary]

It will kill your corals before it kills your live sand and live rock. I have never seen corals wrapped in wet newspaper for transport like LR is shipped. If you don't have a QT then hyposalinity is a good trick. You may also want to try dipping the fish in freshwater for 5-8 minutes.

 

[Sully_z]

I skipped a step and didn't set up a QT tank. Shame on me. I would love to catch them and do the freshwater dip but there in my 240 gallon and that is just about impossible. Not sure whats up but most of the spots are gone today. I know it's wishful thinking but I ran out last night and bought a cleaner shrimp.
Thanks for the help. Doug

 

[Billybeau1]

A fresh water dip will not cure ich. And yes hypo will kill your corals and inverts. QT is the only way to go hypo in your case.

If the spots seem to be gone for now, start soaking your fishes food in garlic. Has worked for some.

 

[Sully_z]

I can't remember right now what brand but the flake food I buy has garlic in it. Thanks

 

[Psionicdragon]

garlic hasn't proven to cure ick but is believed to improve the immune system.

hypo will kill your corals and inverts as stated by others.
Either move al the corals to another holding tank and hypo the tank with ich or kill it all and hypo everything. ( I prefer the first option¡@ )

 

[McCrary]

Won't fresh water dip destroy the ich through osmosis?

 

[LargeAngels]

FW dip is only affective at causing the velvet cysts (only the ones that have been attached for 24 hours or longer) to fall off. FW dips are not affective at removing the ich cysts. Also Hypo is only affective against ich and not velvet. Copper kills them both. Cleaner shrimps or cleaner wrasses are not affective at eradicating an outbreak of ich or velvet.

 

[McCrary]

Thanks for the info.