Hyposalinity

Capt. Nemo

Active member
I am gearing up to hypo my Harlequin Tusk that has been in my QT for the last week. He appears to be in excellent health so this will be a precautionary measure to eradicate any ich parasites that may not be presently visible. I'm a little nervous since there is some risk involved and I could end up doing harm to what may very well be a very healthy, hardy and expensive fish. I'm also doing this out of consideration for my adorable porcupine puffer who already resides in the display tank since I would not want to expose him to any ich that the tusk could be carrying. Now to the questions about hypo:

The following is an article I read and I wanted to know if this is the best and most widely used practice of hypo.

Your starting point should be between 1.025 and 1.027. Replace about one fifth of the volume with RO, RO/DI or aged freshwater that has been well aerated. Repeat this 12, 24 and 36 hours later, monitoring the specific gravity along the way. After the fourth water change the specific gravity should be 1.010 or pretty close. Wait a few hours to make the final adjustment to get down to 1.009. Note that you can estimate the resulting specific gravity. If you are changing one fifth of the water and the current specific gravity is 1.025 the result will be:

((1.025*4)+1.000)/5 = 1.020 approx.
Then, after 12 hours:
((1.020*4)+1.000)/5 = 1.016 approx.
After 24 hours:
((1.016*4)+1.000)/5 = 1.013 approx.
After the 4th change:
((1.013*4)+1.000)/5 = 1.010 approx.

The only problem I have is that I dont know if I can follow this time table since I may not be able to do this every 12 hours. Every 18 or 24 hours may work better with my busy schedule? Would this be okay?

According to this article I should be measuring my salinity and not my specific gravity because of the influence of water temps on the sg. However, my refractometer has an auto temp adjustment feature for this. What do you guys measure when doing hypo?

Thanks!
Gary
 
These are the directions I used when I did hypo, worked perfectly.
If your refractometor has auto temp correction, then ignore that part.
 
I read and followed that article for all my hypo treatments - worked fine. There is no risk AFAIK in lowering salinity more gradually - just don't take weeks since extended periods @ hypo can cause kidney failure I think.

I have lowered salinity in 18 hours when I had an emergency once and the fish was fine. The sensitive one is raising salinity - never raise it by more than .003-.004 per 18 hours - I found that if you do then it stresses the fish badly.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9280617#post9280617 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Mr31415
I read and followed that article for all my hypo treatments - worked fine. There is no risk AFAIK in lowering salinity more gradually - just don't take weeks since extended periods @ hypo can cause kidney failure I think...

Do you have the source for the kidney failure information? I read hypo can go from 4 weeks to 8 weeks, in fact in that article it says if during anytime of hypo ich reoccurs, the hypo clock should be reset to start the 4 to 6 weeks all over again.

Does not sound to me of any kidney concern.

Anyhow due to my schedule, I reached sg of 1.009 in two weeks, my tank is in the second week of the hypo count down after all signs of ich were gone. Fish are all happy, eating well and showing best of the colors.

However if kidney failure is a real issue I will not extend my hypo beyond the 4-week time.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9280770#post9280770 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jacmyoung
Do you have the source for the kidney failure information? I read hypo can go from 4 weeks to 8 weeks, in fact in that article it says if during anytime of hypo ich reoccurs, the hypo clock should be reset to start the 4 to 6 weeks all over again.

Does not sound to me of any kidney concern.

Anyhow due to my schedule, I reached sg of 1.009 in two weeks, my tank is in the second week of the hypo count down after all signs of ich were gone. Fish are all happy, eating well and showing best of the colors.

However if kidney failure is a real issue I will not extend my hypo beyond the 4-week time.

If you're not goign to extend past 4 weeks, you're wasting your time.


That being said, kidney and liver failure are real risks. Thats why I dont believe in hypo'ing fish unless absolutely needed.
 
kidney failure is a real issue, but it happens after the 6-8 week treatment. As Rich said, 4 weeks is a waste of time. 6-8 is needed to be succesfull.

If you let the salinity creep back above 1.009 then you would need to restart the treatment. Just dont let that happen and you are all good.
 
That is worth emphasizing. When I did it, I put an ATO on it to make sure it didn't ever get above 1.009. A QT tank where you are doing hypo is probably pretty small, and even a little evaporation can cause the salinity to get too high.
 
It would seem near impossible for me to maintain a 1.09 salinity due to evaporation and not having an ATO. I would have to stay home to continually monitor the salinity level and to make any necessary adjustments. I tend to agree with Rich that hypo should only be done when its absolutely necessary. Its a calculated risk since even though my fish "appears" to be healthy, there is the possiblity that it could still have ich without manifesting itself at this time. I dont really know what else I can do. Thanks.
 
An auto top off can be had for under 20 bucks.

Float valve, and container of water above the float valve. That is the best way to keep salinity in check.
 
FWIW, unless you've QT'ed (for atleast 14w) every single piece of coral, LR, and anythign else thats wet, your display isnt ich free.
 
Rich - why 14 weeks? The Ich parasite's life cycle is something like 10 days. Usually that is why 4-6 weeks are recommended - to ensure two complete cycles have finished before raising salinity back up.

But yes I agree - Ich parasites may be lying dormant on a piece of coral etc. and unless you QT it, you can never be 100% sure.
 
There have been a couple of studies where ich tomonts lasted as long as 10-12 weeks in certain conditions without fish present.


So if you're not quarantining every coral/piece of rock for 12+ weeks, theres a good chance you're bringing in Ick on them.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9281105#post9281105 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Capt. Nemo
It would seem near impossible for me to maintain a 1.09 salinity due to evaporation and not having an ATO. I would have to stay home to continually monitor the salinity level and to make any necessary adjustments. I tend to agree with Rich that hypo should only be done when its absolutely necessary. Its a calculated risk since even though my fish "appears" to be healthy, there is the possiblity that it could still have ich without manifesting itself at this time. I dont really know what else I can do. Thanks.

Just cover the tank with a glass top, use air stone or a skimmer to provide aeration by drawing air from outside of the tank, you can keep a very constant sg.
 
Rich, what studies are you referring to that claim that ich tomonts can survive 10-12 weeks in a fishless environment? What are the "certain conditions" that can sustain the parasites for this duration? In all my research of ich and the hypsoalinity treatment, the consensus has been to hypo for 4-6 weeks. If what you say in these studies is true than the practice of hypo'ing fish is a rather futile and useless practice. I dont know how many people will be willing to hypo their fish for 10, 12 or up to 14 weeks as you are suggesting and I am sure this would lead to kidney or liver failure and death.
 
I'm running hypo on some fish right now. I'd like hear more about this 10-12 week cycle too. I've never heard anyone claim more than 6-7 weeks was necessary.
 
Back
Top