Hyposalinity treatment in FOWLR?

[ACBlinky]

One of my dwarf angels has developed ich. All the other fish look fine so far, but the affected fish has stopped eating. I feel that trying to remove him would really stress him, and since the ich is already in the tank I'm wondering if I can use a hyposalinity treatment on the entire tank before any of the other fish become infected.

The tank is essentially a FOWLR - there are a few corals and about 20 hermits and snails that I could remove to a Rubbermaid tote during treatment. There's a canister filter on the tank with sponges and bio media, and I know that pods wouldn't survive the treatment but I have a feeling the neon dottyback has reduced the population to nearly zero anyway.

Would it be a bad idea to remove the inverts and treat the fish in the tank, leaving the LR in? I don't have another large tank or container (we live in an apartment) and really don't want to try catching and housing my fish in multiple rubbermaids for 6 weeks, so this seems the easiest option. I would follow the instructions given in the hypo article at the top of this forum, taking the SG down to 1.009 over a period of days, keeping it there for six weeks and then bringing it gradually back up to 1.026.

I'd appreciate any thoughts or suggestions

 

[White Tiger]

Do not lower your salinity!!!!!!!!!!!! Eventhough your fish can handle it, you invertabrate can't.

 

[ACBlinky]

Re: Hyposalinity treatment in FOWLR?

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6821338#post6821338 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ACBlinky
there are a few corals and about 20 hermits and snails that I could remove to a Rubbermaid tote during treatment.

I know inverts can't go through hypo, that's why I said this ^^^. The article I referred to indicates that LR will survive the process, though any critters will not. There are few visible creatures in/on my rock other than teeny snails, because my hawk and dottyback tend to eat things like pods and worms.

I realize it may not work, which is why I thought I'd post and ask for opinions

 

[White Tiger]

Try also adding a copper-based ich mediction in your tank.

 

[BTTRFLYGRL]

If you have to treat your main, remove the rock also as hypo will kill the 'live' in the live rock. I treated one of my displays with hypo but I knew it was coming down soon after.
DO NOT put copper in your tank..this will be absorbed by the sand [if you have any] and you will get improper copper readings on your test. It will also remain in the substrate , you would not be able to put your inverts back in your tank
Good luck

PS..Copper is not a good to use will treating w/ hypo

 

[White Tiger]

I'm sorry ACBlinky. I didn't know that you had sand in your tank.

 

[ACBlinky]

I definitely wouldn't try copper in this tank because of the rock/sand, but I'm still considering taking out most of the rock, the few corals and all the snails and crabs plus any of the tiny hitchhiking snails I can find and trying the hypo treatment.
For now, the angel's spots are gone and none of the other fish are showing signs - none are flashing/scratching, including the one that had spots yesterday, but I will keep a close eye on them as I know sometimes they overcome ich, and sometimes it returns with a vengence after a week or so.

 

[White Tiger]

Ich sometimes is present even when it does not display any of its symptoms.