How to start Hyposalinity?

[dabears26]

Iwas thinking of trying hyposalinity for my ich problem.But exactly how to go about doing it my salinty is at 1.026 how quickly can it be dropped with out stressing out all my fish .And rite now only my Hippo tang has it .IF i use the drain method to catch the fish will the rest of my fish still get it.I seen it on my fish a week ago today and have been treating with garlic since but the hippo still has it .It still has been eating every time i feed.

 

[wrightme43]

You have to have seperate tank. It will kill your corals the same as it will kill your ick.
Set up a tank, or tub, or whatever that will hold water and a filter. If you have a friend with a functioning bio filter that will help.
make the water in quar, 1 ppt lower than your tank, every couple of hours take some saltwater out, and replace it with rodi, buffered to 8.3 ph. Keep lowering it to 12-14 ppt. check your ph frequently. Thats how I do it, I am sure there are other ways.

 

[mojoreef]

Yep you need a seperate tank to treat the fish. Low salinity will kill inverts and other critters. Garlic is an old trick we used to use, the active ingredient has the ability to pass through cell walls, so the concept is that the garlic will be taken in when the ich bites in and the ich will release as it doesnt like the taste. This concept is more of a preventative measure then a cure once the fish has it.
Hyposalinity is the best method I know of to get rid of ich. heres the procedure.

Using hyposalinity therapy is a simple matter of lowering the salinity in fish-only systems without live rock. Since invertebrates, live rock, and live sand should not be exposed to such low specific gravity, the fish must be moved to a conditioned hospital tank for treatment. Filling the quarantine tank with water from the display reduces transfer stress. Begin to lower the salinity the day after the move. The salinity should be adjusted downward using four water changes over two days' time. Each water change should lower the salinity about five points. The salinity should be kept consistently at 14ppt for three weeks or more. Bring the salinity back to normal over a period of about a week at two points per day after completion of therapy. It is important to measure the salinity daily with an accurate hydrometer or other refractometer. Allowing the salinity to rise during therapy can result in reinfection. Many glass and plastic hydrometers can be inaccurate.

Mike

 

[dabears26]

Do i have to do this with all my fish or just infected one

 

[Reefreak]

I Would quarantine all of them and let your main system run without fish for at least a month this will cause the parasites do die out and you will be free of them as long as you quarantine in the future

 

[wrightme43]

Yes you have to do it to all of your fish. They will all act as a host wether they have a visable population of parisites or not. I hate ick, I hate ick, I HATE ick. Ick hates proper quarentine procedures. LOL

 

[steve-s]

You can actually drop the salinity quite quickly, much faster than you think. Replace 20% or more of the SW with aerated & buffered RO water every few hours until your reach 14 ppt. It will not adversely affect the fish as long as the pH/temp is maintained properly. Be sure alk/pH, salinity and water quality are tested several times daily.

Cheers
Steve

 

[NaH2O]

dabears26 - check out this thread for another reefer's experience with hyposalinity: Fish Moving Time Please!

 

[btuck]

I am trying to get rid of some of the larger bristleworms in my horse tank. If I took the rock and used this method I understand that the worms will most likely come out of the rock. But it will also kill the bacteria on the rock? Perhaps just placing the rock out of water for a short period of time and picking the worms off individually would be a better process?

 

[btuck]

and if Hypo isn't the way to go would Hyper be any better for the LR. I just am trying to avoid mass dieoff of the rock.

 

[steve-s]

I'm gathering the worms are becoming an issue with the horsies?

Better suggestion would be a low pH dip in SW. Make up a small batch of SW but instead of RO, use seltzer/soda water. The high CO2 will crash the pH and create a huge discomfort for anything in the rock. This is, only if you can remove the rock and it has no encrusting life except coralline. Alot of what's in the rock will soon evacuate PDQ. You can then transfer what to keep into a small tub of proper SW and toss the rest. Rinse the rock again in some regular SW and it should be good to go back in the tank. The whole process shouldn't take longer than about 5 min each piece. You will have very little issues with die off due to it being more of a short bath than prolonged process. Be aware though you'd also be sacrificing a good many "pods" and other micro fauna but probabley much less than a stint in hypo. Just be sure you do not let the soda/SW sit long or the CO2 will blow off allowing the pH to rise back up.

Do you have anything in the tank like nassarius (if compatible) that will compete for food resources? The best means of worm control is limiting the food supply.

Cheers
Steve

 

[btuck]

Well they aren't really becoming an issue. I am just worried that one will snick at a worm and it will become lodged and the horse will die. I don't have anything else in the tank, just three horses. I don't want to sacrifice the pods, but, ya do what you have to i guess.

 

[steve-s]

If you ever set up another horse tank, I would suggest using dry base rock. It will eliminate the problem from the get go

You will also have less a concern with hydroids rearing their ugly heads.

Cheers
Steve

 

[NaH2O]

btuck - I don't think you should be concerned with pods because you have a zillion on the glass, and you can always take some algae from your fuge and shake some pods into the tank to help repopulate....also your horses are eating very well when you feed.

 

[btuck]

This is true and if I do with a massive die off and not enough pods, I can always go buy some more. I'm sure the sacrifice is going to be worth it. Thanks for the help.