Kole Tang in hypo - how long should I treat?

[Albertan22]

So I bought a Kole Tang, put him in strait into QT (he never went into the DT at all), then 3 days later I noticed his one side was covered in white, salt like specs. So I did some research, found out that Kole Tangs don't take copper well, and decided to use a hypo-salinity treatment. I brought the salinity down, and the next day the spots were gone. He's been in hypo about 3 weeks now.

So my question to those who use hypo is, how long do you leave them in? I read in Reefkeeping Magazine to keep them in for 14 days. They had scientific references in their article and everything. That same article stated that the lifecycle of ick is 28 days though, so only 14 days of treatment doesn't make sense to me. Another thread on Canreef referenced another forum with detailed hypo instructions that call for 8 weeks, this seems excessive to me. I was planning to treat for 4 weeks then bring the salinity back to normal over the course of a week and keep the fish in QT for another 4 weeks to observe. Does this sound appropriate?

He only really had the spots for 2 days, and on that second day there were only 2 spots where the first day there were dozens. I kind of suspect that he was just lying on his side at the botom of the QT and picked up some detrius. He's a tang though, so I don't want to take any chances.

[daniella3d]

it's at least 4 weeks after the last spots is gone, then you raise the salinity not more than 0.002 per day as a raise in salinity is very hard on the fish kidney and they need time to adjust or they will be dehydrated.

In your case, since the fish lost the dots after 3 days in hypo, I would do another week and half at least, best another 2 weeks, then slowly rise it over another week, so 3 more weeks before going in the tank.

Man that's anoying but I am doing it with a hippo tang now. I just started to raise the salinity today. Lots of work to do quarantine, monitor ammonia, water parameters and PH, do water change etc... but it's worth it for a ich free tank.

Obviously 14 days it far from enough since the live cycle of ich is 28 days and it can be longer. extreme is 70 days but I would 4 weeks and I think it's enough in most case. In any case, if you raise the salinity after 4 weeks and the ich does not return, I would consider it done.

Originally Posted by Albertan22

So I bought a Kole Tang, put him in strait into QT (he never went into the DT at all), then 3 days later I noticed his one side was covered in white, salt like specs. So I did some research, found out that Kole Tangs don't take copper well, and decided to use a hypo-salinity treatment. I brought the salinity down, and the next day the spots were gone. He's been in hypo about 3 weeks now.

So my question to those who use hypo is, how long do you leave them in? I read in Reefkeeping Magazine to keep them in for 14 days. They had scientific references in their article and everything. That same article stated that the lifecycle of ick is 28 days though, so only 14 days of treatment doesn't make sense to me. Another thread on Canreef referenced another forum with detailed hypo instructions that call for 8 weeks, this seems excessive to me. I was planning to treat for 4 weeks then bring the salinity back to normal over the course of a week and keep the fish in QT for another 4 weeks to observe. Does this sound appropriate?

He only really had the spots for 2 days, and on that second day there were only 2 spots where the first day there were dozens. I kind of suspect that he was just lying on his side at the botom of the QT and picked up some detrius. He's a tang though, so I don't want to take any chances.