Salinity for Hospital Tank? HELP!

[mickeyclown]

I have a snowflake clown whose mouth is stuck open and isn't really eating. I set up a QT tank to keep a better eye on him and medicate him if it is a possible parasite. My issue is salinity. The salinity in the display is about 1.018-1.019 while the salinity in my QT tank is about 1.026. He does not have ich, and I know lower salinity will help kill ich, but he just needs to be quarantined. What should I do? Should I raise my display tank to 1.026? Or should I lower the QT tank over time? And to what salinity should it be at? Also, do I even need to put him in the QT tank or just wait it off? He's been more active since I just added an airstone in the display tank, but mouth is still open. All advice and tips are helpful!

 

[thegrun]

Why do you keep the salinity so low in your display tank? If the fish is not in the quarantine tank yet I would match the salinity to your display tank's salinity to lessen the shock when you do transfer it. If you already made the transfer the damage is done and all you can do is hope the difference does not kill it. Fish can handle a drop in salinity much better than a sudden rise in salinity. Over time I would raise the salinity in your display tank to 1.025 by topping off with saltwater instead of fresh water. That will give you a nice gradual increase in salinity.

 

[mickeyclown]

Why do you keep the salinity so low in your display tank? If the fish is not in the quarantine tank yet I would match the salinity to your display tank's salinity to lessen the shock when you do transfer it. If you already made the transfer the damage is done and all you can do is hope the difference does not kill it. Fish can handle a drop in salinity much better than a sudden rise in salinity. Over time I would raise the salinity in your display tank to 1.025 by topping off with saltwater instead of fresh water. That will give you a nice gradual increase in salinity.

I wasn't as educated when i first began (I know, I know) and I just didn't add enough salt to my water when first starting it. Over time, I've been trying to raise the salinity by adding saltwater, but it seems to stay the same. I'm thinking the crappy hydrometer I have is part of the reason, but I will try to invest in a better hydrometer to check salinity better that way.

I ordered Rid Ich Plus (LFS recommendation) but that won't be coming in the mail in until about a week and I feel like that's too long. None of my stores close to me sell that, that's why I had to order it. I do have MelaFix, so that's something. I dosed the display tank with it, just for time being, and I heard that may help with some diseases, and it will help the other fish if they caught something, but the others seem perfectly fine. He also isn't eating, it doesn't seem like, so I'm going to get some mysis shrimp tomorrow to see if he'll take that. I'm just hoping I'm doing everything right, because I don't want to lose my clownfish.

 

[thegrun]

If you are adding salt and the salinity reading did not go up you need a new measurement device, do yourself a favor and invest in a good refractometer and calibration fluid.

 

[scooter31707]

If you are not during hypo-salinity, then it should match your DT.

 

[Sk8r]

A fish can safely go into a LOWER salinity, but putting him into a higher salinity without acclimation can kill him.

 

[Rybren]

Forget the Rid Ich Plus. It won't do much of anything to help with Ich. Read the stickies up above, especially the one on TTM (Tank Transfer Method). Feed your fish with healthy foods to help them battle the parasite.