Beth: Hypo ?

[bostonpro]

How long should it take for the white spots on the fish to go away after the salinity is at 14 ppt?
I have been lowering the salinity for the past 3 days or so. It is finally at 14 ppt and still my tang is not looking any better. I read in your post in the FAQ thread that you start counting the 3 weeks after the signs of ich is gone. Just wondering how long before it leaves the fish.
Thanks.

 

[beth]

Hyposalinity really does not effect the parasite while the parasite is still on the fish. If you read the post, then you know that ich has 3 stages. Once ich gets to the reproduction stage [off the fish], then hyposalinity will prevent reproduction from happening.
The attached to fish stage is temperature dependent. It is right around 7 days, perhaps a few days more. Note that not every ich runs their life cycle all in sync.

 

[bostonpro]

Do I start counting the 3 weeks once the salinity reaches 1.009 or once the ich is off the fish?

 

[beth]

By the book, as soon as the salinity is down to 14ppt, 1.009. Realistically, I have been moderating this forum now for 5 yrs and have worked with many people on ich issues. The best thing to do is to start the count once you don't see ich any more. If you have some margin for error, that will mostly take care of the varibles.

 

[bostonpro]

Thanks for the help Beth!

 

[bostonpro]

Last night it appeared that my yellow tailed blue damsel was eating the ich off the yellow tang. Do you think that's what he was really doing? Is this normal? Is that a good thing or a bad thing?

 

[bostonpro]

Just wanted to report that the hyposalinity treatment seems to be working. The ich has cleared up on the tang. It's only been a few days, so will continue for the 3 weeks. I'm so relieved, I was really starting to worry about the health of the tang. He is much more active now and eating like a pig.

 

[andrewt]

what is salinity? it is when you lower the salt in the water down?

 

[beth]

Good to hear! Be sure to measure the salinity daily, however, to ensure maintaining the theraputic level.
Salinity is how salty the water is. hypo [meaning deficient] added to salinity means salinity is less than normal for saltwater fish.