Beth....

[pontius]

I think there may be ich breaking out in my tank. I have 7 fish and the only type qt I have are 2 10gallon tanks or a 30 gallon tupperware tub.
the only stuff other than fish are 140 pounds of live rock, crabs, snails, and a shrimp.
if I remove the snails, shrimp, and crabs and put them in a qt, can I safely do hyposalinity in the display tank and leave the rock in? the only thing growing on the rock is coralline algae...no corals or anything.
I'm freaking out. I've got...2 perc clownfish, 1 coral beauty, 2 bangaii, 1 clown goby, 1 yellowtail damsel. the only fish showing any white spots are the coral beauty and 1 of the clownfish, and the spots are in the edges of the fins.

 

[beth]

No, LR won't tolerate hyposalinity well. The small inverts such as worms, brittestars, etc., will die off.
Better to use the tuberware to move the fish into, or move the rock into as well as the inverts.
Don't freak out. Its a pain, but it can all be done safely.

 

[pontius]

thanks, if I decide that is what needs to be done, do I do the hyposalinity AND copper treatment simultaneously?
also, what is my timeframe? how quick do I need to take action? I've started some RO water so I can put water from the tank into the qts, but it'll probably be Wednesday before the new water is ready. how long should I have before the ick MUST be treated asap. and how can I be sure it's ich? I changed some water and added one large rock Friday (lots of sand being stirred around). the spots are still only on 1 clownfish and the coral beauty. that doesn't make to much sense because the 2 clowns are up close to each other all the time and the coral beauty pretty much keeps to himself. I've still got my fingers crossed that it's just sand, I don't know.
If I DO have to do hypo and copper, they will have to be qt'd for at least a month, right?

 

[beth]

No, just do the hyposalinity not both treatments. What do you have to measure salinity?
Take a look at the FAQ Thread at the top of the forum and the post there on ich. It will explain why some of your fish don't have spots at the momemnt. The treatment procedure is also there. I would not add copper to display. This will make it impossible to keep Live Rock afterwards.
Good luck!

 

[pontius]

ok thanks. will ich spots disappear and then come back? the spots on the clownfish are completely gone as of right now. still hoping it's just sand.
there are still about 2 spots on the coral beauty, but it actually DOES look like it may be sand. I had 2 fish get ich before and this looks more like sand than what the other two had. (fingers still crossed). on the other two fish (they both died), I first noticed the spots one day, and the next day they were completely covered.
the fins on both clownfish look like they have been nipped at, my guess is the yt damsel, who is a punk. if I DO have to remove all the fish, the damsel will be gone for good.
about how long before ich (if it is ich) becomes full blown?

 

[beth]

Did you read the post in FAQ? Ich does come and go because of the nature of its life cycle.
Can you post a picture of the ich on your fish?

 

[pontius]

Well, it's been 10 days and everything is still the same...the angelfish still has spots, and none of the others do. are this point, I'm hoping it's lymphocystis. don't know. there are spots lining the tip of his tail on one on his cheek, they actually look like white 'warts', but I may just be kidding myself.
I've got the 10gallon qt filled with cycled water, and I'm running more RO water just in case. I've got a 30 gallon freshwater that I'm not thrilled about taking down (and I don't know what I would do with the fish), but that's probably going to be what I would do if the spots get worse or if any of the other fish get spots. what do I have to do to convert a freshwater into a SW QT?
and the angelfish is still eating like a pig, and is not scratching on rocks (that I've noticed). should ich take this long to start having any kind of physical effect? thanks for your help.

 

[beth]

What are you using to test salinity? And what level is your salinity at? Are spots on the angel irregular?

 

[pontius]

I use a hydrometer, the salinity is 33 or 1.024SG. I believe it's pretty accurate, that's what I've tested with the whole time and tap water reads zero. the temp is 80.
the spots literally look like grains of salt. my first two clownfish died of ich (at I assumed it was ich), and these spots look kind of different. the ones on the clowns looked smoother and all about the same size. these actually do look like white warts and are different sizes, but I wouldn't say cotton like lymp. I wish I could post a picture. the fish has had the spots for 10 days and is acting as healthy as ever.

 

[beth]

Glass hydrometer or the plastic sing-arm?
Did you read the FAQ Thread and the post on ICH?

 

[pontius]

it is a swing arm hydrometer.
I read the post. The pictures are not clear enough to know for sure. if he only had the spots on his tail, I would guess lymp, but he's got one on each cheek too and a couple smaller ones further up on his tail. from what I read on the disease thread, ich should take about a week to break out fully, right? or at least by that time it should probably be showing on the other fish, right?

 

[beth]

Pontius, the swingarm is just not going to work at all. They are so inaccurate that you might as well taste the water to see how salty it is as to use a swingarm. They are not even good enough for routine use, let alone hyposalinity.
If you can't get a refractrometer, then see if you can get a good glass hydrometer.

 

[pontius]

lol, I actually DO taste the water to make sure it's getting saltier. The only ones the lfs have is the swingarm and a floating one, and no refractometers.
if it's ich, should it have been noticeable on the other fish by now (11 days later)?

 

[beth]

Look at the spots thru a magnifying glass. If they appear irregular in shape, then you may be right about the lymph.

 

[pontius]

I am now about 85% certain that it is lympocystis (weird to be GLAD it may be this huh?). the angel has developed two growths on the top fins that look like cotton sprouts. I'm hoping that's ALL that it is and not mixed in with something else.
The others are still not showing any signs whatsoever. they angel is still eating a lot. if that's all it is, it will go away on it's on right? it's not contagious?
thanks for your help.

 

[beth]

Well, providing the fish with optimum water quality, a good diet and a stressless enviroment should address the lymph problem.