blue hippo tangs with ick

[luvmytang]

Ill give a little background. I have had my tank running for 4 months now, had one problem when I was setting it up when I overfed, learned about how to feed correctly and had my tank going very well a couple weeks ago . nothing died, anamoe was doing great, things are thriving etc.. then my sister came in and helped my 3 yr old feed my fish she gave them a handful of the pellet food which they didnt know I was no longer using. (I only feed live brine now so I can make sure it all gets eaten) so a few minutes after the overfeeding I went in the room and realized it and cleaned out as much as I could. I cleaned my filters, fanned the water to stir stuff into the filters, cleaned filters again a few times etc.... that was sunday.
monday I did a 10 gallon water change per my fish store , nitrites were very high. tuesday they were much better but they reccomended another 10 gallon water change which I did.
wednesday my water tested great but I noticed a couple fish (my 2 blue hippo tangs )had ich. the store said it was prabably fromt he stress and that I should set up a hospital tank . so I set up a 20 gallon hospital tank, new penguin biowheel filter and fresh ocean salt water. water tested perfect but ph was low so I added buffer. then all was great. added some copper medication the store said to use only half the reccomended dosage on the bottle as to not overdose as it could be deadly.
My tangs dont look like they are getting much better I wondered how long it will take them to recoup?
I also read the FAQ on here and read about teh hyposalinity and copper and that the hypo salinity works better for this disease. can I use the hyposalinity with the copper? as its already in my tank?
I also read about not putting sand in or live rocks, my store told me to put in sand and a few hermit crabs to keep things going (it will be a permanant qt/ht) and also some live rock. so I have a couple very bare base rocks in the tank with some algea plants for the tangs to eat. they do eat off of it so im assuming its a good sign they are still eating even with the ick.Its expensive to feed it to them but I know they like it and want them to get well. they are fairly large blue tangs also and dont like the frozen stuff.
so Ive been getting very conflicting information from differnt stores and all over the web. this is where I have ended up in my search of what to do. I am also in the process of starting a new 44 gallon tank and would eventually like to move my blue tangs into that. so they will be in this Ht for at least 6 weeks for the new tank to cycle.
I also wondered why I can put them in the HT without it having been cycled already but otherwise would have to wait if they wernt sick. Im just trying to save them right now. thats my biggest concern. I searched long and hard for them and finally ave them and now they are sick
thanks!
ruth

 

[beth]

The manner in which you are using copper is totally useless. The LFS was wrong. Copper is a very precise medication and using it requires the hobbyist to maintain theraputic levels using a copper test kit. Obviously you are not doing that.
Yes, hyposalinity is the best way to go to treat the ich problem...especially with the tangs that could well develop another problem after a copper treatment.
At this point you can leave your QT as is, but take out the hermits as they likely will not make it thru copper or hyposalinity. Are you willing to get a refractometer? That is the best instrument for hyposalinity and it costs around $50. It is the most precise instrument for measuring salinity so it is certainly the best thing to have for testing water salinity. If you can not get a refractometer, then you can go with a high grade glass hydrometer. Never use a plastic swing-arm hydrometer. They are so inaccurate, I consider them dangerous.
Also, you have a serious nutritional issue with the food you are offering your fish, but first things first. Tell us how you feel about going the hyposalinity route and what you can do in terms of measuring salinity by using a refractometer or a highgrade glass hydrometer.

 

[luvmytang]

I would like to buy one tomarrow if possible.im in palm beach gardens fl. maybe . please tell me everything I need to get to do the hyposalinity over the weekend. I amagine distilled water right?
you can email me directly at palmbeachdoula@aol.com if youd like too. or if you would like to talk to me, email me your number.
thanks for your help. and please let me know whats wrong with my feeding otherwise I might hurt my other fish

 

[beth]

I don't know of a LFS in your area, except for this site! However, this is an online site. Try calling all the LFS in your area to see if you can get one. If not, you might be able to get it quick through Saltwaterfish.com since you basically live in the neighborhood.
If you can't find one locally, order it from wherever you can get it the quickest. You can begin the process using a good glass hydrometer then, once you get the refractometer, you can test for certainity.
The hyposalinity procedure is detailed in the FAQ Thread located at the top of this forum.
If you want to take a look at what a refractometer looks like, go to the drygoods section of the store on this site, there is one picutred there. Also, there is a detailed post in the FAQ Thread on refractometers which explains its use.
Good Luck!