Hyposalinity to treat Ich

[Kevotron]

Finally Ich has rear its ugly head on me...
research shows the most effective way in treating such SOB parasite is to go Hyposalinity
heres my question...
What is the best/easiest way in setting this QT up ?

[BlueWorldAquatic]

clean tank w/10% bleach

1. Fill QT with water from the display tank or make up fresh saltwater.
2. Start bio-filter (add sponge from display tank to QT and run it).
3. Tests: ammonia, nitrite, pH, specific gravity, and temperature of the QT water.
4. Make adjustments as needed.
5. The QT is ready for use

If its only one fish, freshwater dip does wonders too

remeber to increase temperature if using hyposalinity

[Flash]

is the ich really bad?? nothing a few cleaner shrimp/garlic can't handle?? then yes qt as Ken said... but if it's just 1.. fresh water dips do help greatly!!!

[BlueWorldAquatic]

here is a good link for ich treatment

http://atj.net.au/marineaquaria/marineich.html

[Kevotron]

Is not too bad...started with 1 tang now another has it so is spreading
im already on garlic/selcon diets
and my cleaner shrimp is garbage... doesn't do anything at all eventho my fish literally parks itself right infront of him...
i figure the QT is the only way to cure it 100%
how big of a tank should i need ?

[daniella3d]

I usually put some cured liverock into my hyposalinity tank so that keep ammonia at bay and I use a small HOT magnum filter with a micron filter to help filter out any parasites that could be free floating.

That way I never have any ammonia, the fish are happy because they have liverock to hide in, so everything goes smooth.

I don't put any sand, just liverock. Usually there is no cycle if the liverock is cured, but you can keep some Prime in case there would be some. I test for ammonia each day.

the size of the tank is dependant on the size of your fish. Be reasonable about this. If the fish is 10" then you will probably need a 30 gallons or more. If you have 10 large fish, then you will need more, maybe 50 gallons.



Finally Ich has rear its ugly head on me...
research shows the most effective way in treating such SOB parasite is to go Hyposalinity
heres my question...
What is the best/easiest way in setting this QT up ?

[Flash]

tangs always get ich, and yes some cleaners are crappy.. i remember once at the store i had to stick 6 of them into a tank to get one of them to clean the tang and the tang was begging! lol! weird creatures!!

[George]

Basic components for a QT: a tank (a 20G or 29 G is good for a couple fish up to 6"), a filter like aquaclear 30 or 50, a heater, some PVC pipes for fish to hide, and an ammonia indicator badge. Optional components are powerhead and airpumnp. If you do hypo, a good, calibrated refractometer is a must.
If you don't have a sponge for the filter seeded with bactieria aleady, you need to do more frequent WC for the QT.
QT all your fish and leave your tank fallow for 8+ weeks.
Cleaner shrimp doesn't work for ich because ich hides behind fish skin and inside fish gill.
Good luck.

[syncro]

I found live rock did much better than a large sponge filter (4 x 4 x 5 inch). With live rock I could go 5 days before ammonia built requiring a water change. With the seeded sponge filter (and an ammonia binder) I could only go 2 days.

Also +1 on the seachem ammonia badge. Really convenient.

[daniella3d]

I would never put liverock and treat with copper but for hyposalinity it is good if the liverock does not have any coral on it, like the type of liverock that we leave in a sump is good. It will kill all things in that liverock, like bristle worms, bristle stars, pods etc..but otherwise the bacterias and the biofilter survive very well and does the job at filtering the aquarium.

then once the hyposalinity treatement is over the liverock can be returned to the sump, very convenient way to set up a QT fast. I always keep some liverock available for this.


I found live rock did much better than a large sponge filter (4 x 4 x 5 inch). With live rock I could go 5 days before ammonia built requiring a water change. With the seeded sponge filter (and an ammonia binder) I could only go 2 days.

Also +1 on the seachem ammonia badge. Really convenient.

[Reef Pilot]

I keep a canister filter with a sponge running all the time in my QT tank, so it is always ready when I need it. I have done the hypo treatment twice now, and never had any ammonia problems. I tried some of the other "cures" in the past, and they definitely did not work.

I am amazed when I read these threads how some people still strongly advocate some of the myths about ich treatment. Using cleaner fish or shrimp is just one example.

What fools a lot of people is that the ich seems to subside after a few days, and they think that whatever magic reef safe remedy they are trying is working. But that is just the natural cycle of the parasite, and subsequent iterations are usually worse when they return in a few days. And long term healthy residents often survive, but again, not because they were "cured".

The other mistake people make is not QTing long enough. Remember, to be safe, you need at least 6 weeks from the last sign of the parasite on the fish. My hypo process took a full 3 months in each case, and was 100% successful. The other benefit with the hypo treatment, is that you can get your fish eating well and they will be strong and healthy before being added to your display tank. And the fish seem to like the lower salinity, and easier to get finicky fish to start eating.