Question Re: The use of Hyposalinity to treat ich

[jayke]

Bought a Pajama cardinal last week that appeared very healthy and has been eating very well. Although it is not really stressed and the tank parameters are fine, I noticed a few tiny white spots on its fin, eye and body. I am assuming its ich and will be setting up a 10 gallon QT/Hospital tank tomorrow.

I wanted to first verify that the hyposalinity level is 1.009-1.010. Is that correct?

Second, how do I acclimate the fish from my display tank of 1.025 down to the hospital tank of 1.010? Thats a relatively large drop. Should I acclimate or just get him in there ASAP (ie. just toss him in there and hope for the best)?

How long do you normally treat in Hyposalinity? I have heard roughly 14 days.

 

[bertoni]

1.009 is fine, and I'd drop the salinity over a day or so. You'll see a lot of opinions on how quickly to drop the salinity. Some study recommended a few hours for the drop. I'd continue the hypo for 8 weeks.

The small dots might be lymphocystis. I'd watch them for a bit.

 

[CarmieJo]

Is it the only fish in your tank? If it is ich the only surefire way to make sure it is gone is to remove all fish from the display and let it lie fallow for 4-6 weeks while treating the fish with copper.

 

[jayke]

here are a few pictures. There appears to be a white spec on the eye, and a few on the tail, possibly a few on the body (along the black stripe):

 

[bertoni]

Okay, I'd probably start treatment for marine ich.

 

[Shagsbeard]

Don't trust "ich". It will come and go, each time getting worse until it crashes your tank. You might try some miricle cure and it will look like it did wonders. Then the ich comes back and stronger this time.

Get all the fish out... you can leave inverts in the tank. Give the tank 4-6 weeks without fish... longer the better. You'll see wonderful growth in your live rock and invert population. Your fish can spend that time in hypo, or being treated with copper based medication. If you go copper be sure to accuratly check it's levels... don't trust the recommended dosage. If you go hypo, test it with an accurate refractometer.

It's not the end of the world, but it's a pain in the butt to cure your tank.

Now... don't put fish in your tank without quarentining them first. It's less stressful for the fish and easier in the long run.

 

[CDD]

Use Garlic extreme soaked in the spectrum thera+A to feed your fish. I Had a real problem with it in my sons tank and this really worked. I fed 3 X a day small amounts if your fish will eat this he should be fine. Took about 3 weeks with lots of small water changes. I only lost one fish and almost all 6 were infected.
After it clears up give it at least 6 weeks before adding any more fish.
.

 

[Shooter7]

A good place to go for info on a sick fish is in the Fish Disease forum here on RC. Here's one of the stickied threads from that forum regarding ich and hypo info:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=282934

 

[jayke]

Whats the best way to set up a QT tank. If time is important at this stage, can I just used Tap water (I have a well that has had good test results). I have an old 20 gallon fresh water tank that I was going to use, with an HOB filter, heater and a powerhead. It will take at least 12 to 16 hours to stabilize though in terms of salinity and temperature, but I guess its better than nothing.

Any tips on setting up the QT will be greatly appreciated.

 

[Shooter7]

I have been told by some "in the know" people on here that using treated tapwater in a QT can be ok. Read the article on hypo treatment in that thread I linked you to. Since the tank is not cycled, be prepared to test frequently for ammo and pH, and also be prepared to do numerous water changes to a.) lower your salinity level gradually, and b.) help keep ammonia levels lower. For whatever fish you are putting in there, it is a good idea to look up info to see if they are one that is particularly sensitive to even trace ammonia levels. You will need an accurate refractometer to carefully monitor your salinity levels.

 

[bertoni]

Tapwater sometimes is okay, sometimes isn't, and its quality can vary from day to day. For quarantine, the odds are good that it'd be fine, but I always use RO-DI.