Hyposalinity

[yukonblizzard]

Any one here have experience with Hyposalinity treatment? Around June 2nd my Hippo Tang had what seemed to be Popeye in one eye and many spots of ich. Also my Yellow Tang seemed to have Black Ich. However they both acted normal and ate well and no signs on any other fish. The next day the popeye was gone, but the ich got worse. So I decided to try hyposalinity. Over a 4 day span i dropped the specific gravityfrom 1.021 to 1.014. Still no other fish showed signs of ich. About a week of hyposalinity the Yellow Tang showed no signs of Black Ich. But still about 3 weeks of hyposalinity the Hippo seems to have a little bit of ich on his front fins but still acts and eats normal.

Do you think I should lower the specific gravity even more to about 1.011? I just find it strange that there is still ich surviving. Or could it possibly not be ich.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[yukonblizzard]

Forgot to add that my Foxface developed ich about a week ago too, but now is gone today. Will it just come back worse?

 

[StayPuft]

For hyposalinity to work, the specific gravity must be 1.009, Any higher and the ich will survive.

btw, are you doing this in a separate QT? You shouldn't do hypo in your main tank where there is live rock, live sand and inverts.

 

[yukonblizzard]

THats what i figured but was not sure. It is in my main tank however i moved all invertabrates because there would be no way to get the Hippo out with out moving all the live rock and I figured it would just worsten the ich from stress. So if i do lower to the right level will it kill all the coraline on my rock or will it survive for a few weeks or so. Also is there any other way to treat ich that is SAFE for invertabrates?

THanks for the reply

 

[nureefer2008]

I have successfully used hypo and copper at the same time. specific gravity is 1.010 and then treat the water with copper. It does wonders for me.
Good luck

 

[StayPuft]

Lowering the SG to 1.009 will kill the living organisms in your live rock and sand, which will probably result in an ammonia spike, depending on how much rock you have in your tank. I personally wouldn't do it. I'd take out the fish in a QT and then treat them there with either copper or hypo.

Some people have had good results with Kick Ich which is reef safe. Never used it myself though.

 

[yukonblizzard]

Thanks

I think i will give the Kick Ich a shot.

Just thought this was interesting that my SG is at 1.014 and some of the crabs and snails that i had missed are still alive and all the little creatrues on my rock are all alive still. Seems pretty interesting or is this not odd?

Thanks for the suggestions.

 

[Freed]

Kick ich has been known to cause problems in reef tanks and has also been known to NOT kill any ich even though it is "reef safe". Snake oil. I wouldn't do it. Hypo(EXTREMELY EASY TO DO) or copper(MORE DIFFICULT THAN HYPO BUT STILL JUST AS GOOD) in a QT is your best bet.

 

[yukonblizzard]

Yeah i am not sure what to do since it seems like there is always mixed reviews over ich medications and i am always a little nervous when adding medications. And with using a QT it will take a very long time to get the infected fish out due to the amount of rock which i think will just make the case worse possibly killing the fish in QT . Will ich ever go away with out being treated or will it always be there?

 

[Freed]

The only PROVEN methods to kill ich are hypo, copper and tank transfer method. There has been no documented proof, studies or evidence to suggest that the numerous "reef safe" meds are effective in killing ich., though there have been numerous reports that the "kick ich" meds have destroyed corals, inverts, etc and still not kill the ich.

Have you considered draining the water out of your tank into large containers and letting the fish collect into the shallow pools that will be left at the bottom of the tank and then pumping the water back into the tank after you have caught the fish?

 

[yukonblizzard]

No i have not thought of that, but maybe thats my only option. Or if I did do hypo in the main tank and let it kill the rock would it eventualy come back or do you think it would not be worth it. Knowing that it would cause alot waste I would do many water changes. Do you think thats a good option?

 

[Freed]

Hypo with live rock isn't a good option. What size tank do you have and how much live rock? Hypo will kill inverts, coral, and is possible will kill bacteria in the live rock/sand as well which may put your fish and life in the live rock at more of a risk than you may want to take.

 

[yukonblizzard]

The tank is a 180 with about 175 pounds of live rock. I guess doing that option would just worsten the problem too by killing the rock. Is there any other ways of catching the fish without draining the tank? Thanks

And what about adding an UV filter or will that not kill the ich?

 

[Freed]

More than just bacteria would be killed obviously. You can try fish traps, hook and fishing line(use at your own risk), two liter bottle with top cut off and inverted into the body of the bottle with bait inside, etc.

 

[yukonblizzard]

What about moving the live rock to a sepperate tank like a stock tank and have some lighting and filtration and then treat the tank with hyposalinity or would that cause problems with no hidding places. I could add large pvc pieces for hidding possibly?

 

[Freed]

That would work if you want to do it that way. Snails, inverts, corals, etc would have to go as well. Hypo is 1.009SG

 

[StayPuft]

I have read that with time, fish can build an immunity to ich. So one option is to leave it the way it is, feed your fish a good diet and with time they will build up their immunity. Maybe some will die, maybe they won't. Only problem with this is that any new fish you add to the tank, will again get ich even though your existing fish may be immune to it.

But this is just something I read, not sure how true it is.

As for your question, you CAN remove all the rock and put it in a container with salt water, a heater and a powerhead, then hypo the main display tank. Throw in some PVC pipes for the fish the hide. But doing this will likely give you an ammonia spike because you're suddenly removing all your rock which is mostly what was converting your ammonia into nintrites, then into nitrates. Still, this is a better choice than doing hypo with all the rock in the tank. You can use something like Amequil+ to control the ammonia spike.

 

[yukonblizzard]

Thanks

I think I am going to remove the rock. I read that you do hypo for 6 weeks does that sound right?

Thanks for the help

 

[Freed]

No less than 4-6 weeks AFTER the last spots of ich are seen.

 

[yukonblizzard]

Also are there any side affects of prolonged Hypo??