Ich - hypo plan, ideas advice input welcomed.

[m1k3]

Ok, I have a 125, it began life as a 40B that finished cycle shortly before Christmas last year. Wife pushed me to get fish in before the grandkids and family showed up for the holidays. I gave in. Anyways, I got ich along the way. Have tried to get the healthiest fish possible, but knowing ich was already present in the system I have not bothered to QT.

First mistake was giving into the pressure from wife. Second mistake was when upgrading, I should have used all new rock and just TTM'ed the fish a couple at a time into the new tank.

So my plan is to hypo the tank. I think. First, I have to remove coral and inverts. Any issues with using a plastic tub as a temporary frag tank? I have a spare China light that should keep them alive and hopefully growing. The light, heater, couple small powerheads anything else?

Keeping on the coral topic, what are the precautions bringing them back in to the DT? Will a coral RX dip ensure no cysts hitchhike back in? I have a few pieces that can not come off of their rocks. Or should I leave the coral out for the 72 day fallow period to ensure no hitchhikers make their way back in?

On to the DT. I know this is controversial some say slow some say fast. I would like to drop the salinity fast to 1.009. If my calculations are correct it will take about 75 gal of RODI to get there. Planning on using my RODI storage container 15 gal, mixing container 15 gal, a 30 gal brute and make up the rest with buckets. Drain 75 gallons from the system and start pumping temp matched RODI checking the SG every so often, more frequent as it gets closer. Stop filling when full or when 1.009 is reached. If more water is needed I will mix up a batch at 1.009 to complete the fill.

Any issues with the fast route, how fast is too fast, I think it would take my little xfer pump about 4 hrs to do it.

Calibration. Should I recalibrate with RODI or make a custom Cal fluid with my 35ppt fluid and RODI mixed?

Hypo duration is 21 days correct? Then a slow return to normal.

What am I missing? What can I do better?

 

[snorvich]

Hypo is not 21 days. Use tank transfer and a reasonable fallow period.

 

[m1k3]

Unfortunately I don't have another tank I feel comfortable keeping eight fish in. Are you dead set against hypo? Is it because you believe it to be harmful or ineffective or some other reason?

 

[ThRoewer]

Hypo can be effective and can be done in 2 weeks if done the right way in a HT (which will include at a minimum 2 transfers to eliminate eventually preexisting cysts) and you don't have one of the hyposaline Cryptocaryon strains. The last part is where the real risk is.

TTM can also fail as there is a small possibility of Cryptocaryon encysting on the fish. Another failure point for TTM is improper sterilization when only using 2 sets of equipment. IMO TTM is only a certain way if done with 4 well sterilized sets of equipment.

In my eyes the biggest plus for TTM is that you can incorporate formalin baths between tanks to rid your fish also of possible occult Brooklynella, Amyloodinium and uronema infections. In general TTM is the better choice for prophylactic treatment while Hyposalinity may be better to treat an active Cryptocaryon outbreak.

In essence, both, hyposalinity and TTM can work or fail, depending on the situation and experience of the aquarist.

I feel it is important to educate yourself about these options and the risks and limitations before even going out to buy a fish.

Any kind of treatment in the display tank should never even be considered as an option!

 

[m1k3]

Ok so for a minimum of 72 days, what size tank would I need need for the following: male and female fairy wrasse, 2 bangai cardinals, flame hawk, gold head goby, powder brown and yellow tang?

 

[ThRoewer]

Banggai cardinals and flame hawk would be fine in a 10 gallon.
Wrasses and gobies should be fine in a 20 gallon even if together with the above fish.
TTM with all the above may even work in a 10 gallon depending on their sizes.

The issue are the tangs (and likely also the cause of the persistent ich)

What I would do is this:
Do TTM with the wrasses, banggais, gobies and hawk.
Treat the tangs in the 40B (if you still have it) with Chloroquine Phosphate (wrasses can't handle this)!.
Leave the display fallow for a minimum of 3 months before returning the fish (ideally not all at once).

 

[m1k3]

Going this route. Got the 40B set up in another room. Thankfully it's warm here today as it needed a good rinse and some plumbing adjustments. It was drilled for a BA. Not planning on using a sump. But will be using a canister filter I had lying around from my FW days. I hooked the lines from it to the drilled return line and the primary BA drain. Capped the other two. Will be interesting to see if this works like I envision. I will have to put the ATO float switch in the overflow box. Should be easy enough. I do need to get another ATO pump on order though. Enough about the equipment.

So only one fish is currently presenting symptoms, the powder brown tang. And it's pretty advanced. I got nls ick shield on order but it won't arrive till Sunday (did you know USPS delivers amazon prime on sunday?). Any tips to help keep this guy going till then? I do have cupramine on hand but not a fan of copper. Should I start with that?

In preparation for the move, I caught him this morning just as the lights were coming on and put him in the fuge where he will be easier to catch when the QT is ready. My RODI storage is only 12 gallons. But should have all water made and mixed by the end of the day.

Right now keeping him alive is my primary goal, then I will move the YT in with him and start the TTM on the rest. This is going to be a long and painful process, but I know it will be worth it in the long run.

What I would do is this:
Do TTM with the wrasses, banggais, gobies and hawk.
Treat the tangs in the 40B (if you still have it) with Chloroquine Phosphate (wrasses can't handle this)!.
Leave the display fallow for a minimum of 3 months before returning the fish (ideally not all at once).

 

[ThRoewer]

If you have a 10 gallon tank and enough clean water for it I would put him in there to prevent him being infected with the next wave.

Also, unless your tap water is a toxic soup (unfortunately that is actually a possibility in the US) you could use it for mixing the treatment tank water. The primary reason for using RO are corals and nuisance algae - both of no concern for fish treatment tanks. Addition of some Prime will bind heavy metals, chlorine and ammonia.

A very important point regarding CP: do not use any bacterial starter products or even old tank water if you ever before used such a product. These bacteria are suspected to break CP down to an ineffective form.
Best is to rather feed the fish very little to keep ammonia in check - unless he is very skinny it won't hurt him anytime soon.

If not showing symptoms your other fish are likely immune by now, partially or fully. Especially banggais need to be very weakened to have ectoparasites. Wrasses also have mechanisms that usually keep them clean.
TTM will clear them all up for sure.

The biggest insecurity will be the fallow period of the display tank - I simply don't trust that 72 days is really a hard cap. It's more likely just the longest encystment that was observed in the lab without excluding longer periods in the wild or in a reef tank.
You may be in the clear after only 6 weeks or still have some cysts holding out after 3 months. The longer you go the better the odds that you got it out.
There have also been some findings that indicate changes in oxygen saturation (like after a storm or a heat wave) may trigger excystment. So if you feel comfortable with it you might want try to simulate a storm by turning flow pumps down to a minimum and the skimmer off for a day and then crank the flow up to an extreme the following few days.

 

[m1k3]

Thanks for the input. Did not get a chance to see this as I have been busy getting everything setup and ready. I considered tap water but didn't want to chance it. Between what I had on hand, what I made today and 15 gal from lfs I got it filled. Picked up the the regular IO salt as well as a seachem ammonia badge. Temp is at 71 and rising. What's the consensus on optimal temp during CP treatment? I think I read 75 somewhere for the ability of the water to hold oxygen.

And for anyone that ever needs to do it, plumbing the canister filter into the BA primary drain and drilled return worked like a charm.

 

[ThRoewer]

I don't think CP is affected by temperature.