Hyposalinity in Main System for Ich?
 

Hey guys,

So I have a small outbreak of Ich on two Barlett Anthias in my main display tank.

Right now, my tank inhabitants are as follows:

1) Two Ocellaris Clownfish - No Ich
2) One Orange Goby - No Ich
3) Four Bartlett Anthias - Two with some Ich

Now removing the Anthias will be next to impossible in my display tank. Its far too large and they are far too quick. Would it be possible to perform hyposalinity to my main display tank and system? I have no inverts right now and no corals. Just the 7 fish and some chaeto in the fuge.

I plan to add several tangs in the future and would like to either introduce them during this hypo, or after (assuming they are Ich free) because I know they are super sensitive to getting it.

Any thoughts or advise would be awesome.

The fish not showing signs of ich currently still have it even though you don't see the outward signs of it. Hypo in the DT works providing you remove all inverts, which sounds like you don't have any. i would suggest hypo with Chloroquine Phosphate for treating ich

Thanks for the reply; you are correct I do not have any inverts right now.

How slowly should I bring down the salinity and what is the exact salinity I am aiming for?

As for Chloroquine Phosphate, is it reef safe? I currently do not have any corals however I plan to have SPS and don't want anything leaching into my liverock would would kill corals.

I personally would only use one method and Ido t like cp in a DT because there's no way to measure it you can only assume it's all gone with wc's and adding carbon. As for hypo it's doable in a DT you will want to slowly drop the SG over a 48 hr period to 1.009 SG once you hit this mark the clock starts and it must remain at 1.009 for 30 days you will have to top off the tank several times daily and measure SG with your Refractometer several times daily. Here is a link to help you calculate SG when adding or replacing water. https://www.hamzasreef.com/Contents/...ngSalinity.php

CP and anthias are not recommended.

Thank for this. I will do my best to monitor, I won't be able to while at work, but before and after I can.

I don't plan to use chloroquine phosphate so not to worry.

Good to know, I don't keep fish that aren't recommended with chloroquine phosphate like wrasse for that reason.

I love my wrasses haha. Hippo tangs are another. I have read a few instances of people treating with CP where velvet strains were resistant to copper.

Never have been a wrasse guy... I'm a angel lover, tangs are a close second. Anthias require too much work as far as feedings go, but they are beautiful fish. I prefer fish with personality like angels have. The only fish I currently have is a HiFin snapper and he constantly greets me when I come up to the tank. It's more of a trained response because he knows I'm the food source but it's still enjoyable. Angels on the other hand are very inquisitive fish and I really enjoy a fish like that.

That’s how my flame wrasse is. She will come up and practically eat out of your hand. My regal used to blow bubbles though. Thought that was neat and different.

Ok so starting tomorrow over the next 48 hours I am going to bring the salinity down to 1.009 in my main system.

I have no inverts at all, will I have to watch or worry about a spike in nirtaes? And will the bacteria and LR die off as well due to the drop?

Thanks guys.

There's a possibility you may have a small ammonia spike if you have a lot of critters on your live rock. I just mention it so you can have prime on hand to control it while your bio filter takes care of it. But I'm guessing it won't be a problem

Isn’t prime used mainly to get rid of chlorine in emergency situations? What would it do for an amonia spike?

Prime binds ammonia. Yes it is a water conditioner and removes chlorine and heavy metals also. But during a ammonia spike it will bind it so it won't hurt your fish

I’ll make sure I pick some up tomorrow thanks for the help. After the 30-days at 1.009 salinity, will I need to reseed the tank with LR or will my beneficial bacteria be alright during the lower salinity?

I've never heard of hyposalinity causing any problems with your beneficial bacteria

Ok thanks for all the help. I’ll keep the progress posted.

Ok so I got my salinity down to 1.010 and the temperature is around 79-80 degrees.

The one Anthias still has some Ich on it, how long usually until it drops off? From what I have been readying, the clock starts for 6 weeks once all the fish are free from visual signs of Ich. Should I raise temp?

Hypo is technically 1.009. I wouldn't raise the temp from where it is at. Clock starts when visual signs disappear. Hardest part about hypo is making sure the salinity stays at 1.009, if it goes up to 1.010 then you start over at day 1 again

The parasites on the fish have some protection from the hypo because there imbedded in the the fishes tissue but they will run there normal life cycle and should fall of the fish within 7 days then the hypo will kill them. Once you have reached the hypo level maintain it for 30 days then transfer the fish to a sterile qt and observe for a few weeks. The clock I think your referring to is the time the DT remains fallow and it's not 6 weeks it's 76 days

There is no possible way to catch the fish in my dt without me tearing up the LR and actually getting into the tank which I don’t see happeneing; the Anthias alone are insanely quick and hide extremely well in the LR when spooked or chased. I am going to run hypo in the main DT for the entire process. I don’t have any inverts or corals right now anyways in there so there is no chance of inverts/corals dying.

I have read that 1.009 to 1.010 is low enough for hypo to work can someone confirm this? I am stable at 1.010 right now but could lower it .001 if needed to get to 1.009.

Also, should the temperature be increased to speed up the Ich cycle? I am at 79-80 decgrees consistently right now, should increase to 81-82?

Thanks for all the help guys.

Ok hypo in the DT. Generally the temp increase is around 85f degrees with this in mind I would not raise the temp with the fish in there. 1.009 is the correct SG you are shooting for. I would try to hit that SG and maintain it, if you do not have an Ato on the tank just top it off several times a day maybe every 8 hrs

Also while running hypo in the DT you could try 45 days instead of 76 there is obviously a risk to running less time but with the DT being at 1.009 SG I personally don't think I would go the full 76 days

I appreciate the reply. I’ll bring the salinity down to 1.009 today. I have a large system and with the current water loss at approx 7-10 gallons a day I can top off in the morning and then again at night.

Really need an auto top off when doing hypo. It will save you so much worrying about staying at the right level. Definitely well worth the small investment