Beth, quick question on new fish & hypo..

[eng50]

I am a little confused on reading some of the posts here...are you saying that all new fish should go through a 3 week hypo prior to entry into the main tank? Or is that the only way to avoid ich in the main tank..? Or treat only as needed?
Thank you!

 

[beth]

Actually, Terry is the one who is suggesting to routinely perform hypo on new, incoming fish prior to their intro in to the main tank. I see no reason not to do this.

 

[eng50]

Thank you! 3 weeks the minimum?

 

[hnf2k]

so just put a fish in the qt for 3 weeks and if you see signs of ick then treat him, if not, just dump him in the main tank?

 

[beth]

Terry is suggesting hypoing fish in QT regardless of whether they have ich or not. Just doing it as a preventative. When the fish go into the QT, the specific gravity is within normal perimeters. Over the course of 48 hours, drop the specific gravity to 1.009 gradually. Then leave the fish in the hypo-saline conditions for 3 weeks, after which, over the course of 4 or so days, raise the specific gravity back up to within normal perimeters.
I see no reason not to do this with bony fish as a matter of course.