Melafix with Hyposalinity for Ich

[tanked37]

A young yellow pyramid butterfly fish that I bought about a month ago broke out with Ich after about 3-4 days in QT. He was in QT so it was not a DT issue. I went with Hypo and he's been in 1.008 salinity for just over 2 weeks. He had a bad case.

Anyway, his Ich is looking good but he has what looks like early stages of fin rot. It is currently not on his tail, just on back fins. Slight white appearance and then minor fin errosion. I do water changes every other day (most I can keep up with).

Can I use Melafix in Hypo. Looking for ppl with experience not someone making a good guess. I can already do that. Also, is there something better to treat with. Thanks!

 

[MrTuskfish]

With the conditions you've outlined: looking for people who have used Melafix with any real success, you may have a long wait. I have never heard of this stuff curing anything. Products that claim to cure about anything seldom do anything. Unless the fin rot is really bad, I'd get the ich taken care of first. Mixing meds/treatments should be done only in emergencies. Sorry if my reply didn't meet your conditions did the best I could. Probably no reason for all the WCs, it makes the precise SG necessary for hypo very difficult.

 

[tanked37]

Thanks for the insight. I thought the very regular WC's were required to maintain good water quality during hypo due to lessened bacterial activity. Anyway, but yeah, lots of mixed reviews on Melafix and Pimafix. Seems like it would be safe, but effectiveness is questionable. Idk what to do though. He has what looks like a infection on his face and is showing signs of fin rot. Idk if he will make it in hypo for 3 more weeks, plus 1 week to raise salinity without some treatment.

 

[noy]

+1 on the Melafix is useless. I have it and it has never done a thing.

I had the exact issue you had - I was using hypo and had a small sailfin tang develop a bacterial infection. The ich weakens your fish's immunity system and they are liable to catch secondary bacteria infections. I never use hypo now for ich for that reason.

I agree with MrTuskfish on focusing on the ich. The lowered salinity tends to amplify the effects of meds on the fish so I don't really know any meds that work in conjunction with hypo.

My suggestion is to don't do WC's - unless you get an ammonia/nitrite spike. Its hard enough to maintain the low salinity levels for effective hypo you should just make sure you top-off regularly. If you have a uv - run that if you are worried about bacteria (I wouldn't go out and get one though).

 

[MrTuskfish]

+1 on the Melafix is useless. I have it and it has never done a thing.

I had the exact issue you had - I was using hypo and had a small sailfin tang develop a bacterial infection. The ich weakens your fish's immunity system and they are liable to catch secondary bacteria infections. I never use hypo now for ich for that reason.

I agree with MrTuskfish on focusing on the ich. The lowered salinity tends to amplify the effects of meds on the fish so I don't really know any meds that work in conjunction with hypo.

My suggestion is to don't do WC's - unless you get an ammonia/nitrite spike. Its hard enough to maintain the low salinity levels for effective hypo you should just make sure you top-off regularly. If you have a uv - run that if you are worried about bacteria (I wouldn't go out and get one though).

+1

All you need for hypo to fail is a short time with the SG above 1.008. An ATO really helps here, or mark the spot on the tank where the hypo SG is perfect and top-off. If you do need to do a WC, getting the new water at the proper SG is easier if done outside the QT. Adding new pure water is fine, the little drop in SG is harmless. But getting the QT to the exact SG without going too high, even momentarily, can ruin your whole regimen Many antibiotics have a separate dosage for FW & SW. How they would react at hypo salinity is anyone's guess. Many drugs are also made specifically for SW, Its just a guess how they would work with hypo conditions. Many infections clear up by themselves as well. .

 

[tanked37]

Ok, thanks for the replies. Good to hear some feedback. I'll keep an eye on him and hopefully he improves. If anyone else has experience with bacterial infections during hypo please let I know.

As for water changes I don't find it hard to match salinity. The QT is 1.008. I mix up new water to 1.008. Take it out of QT and put in new. After I test, it's still at 1.008. Basically the same process as WC on main display for 1.026. I'm not sure where the difficulty comes in for others here. I do mark the water level and top off w/ ro/di.

 

[sleepydoc]

If you're using a refractometer, Calibrate it with RO/DI. the calibration curve for many of them isn't perfect and RO/DI (1.000) is closer to 1.008 than the standard Calibration solution (35 ppm/1.026)