Catching Hitchhikers

[btldreef]

This was mentioned in another thread. We have no formal thread to help people catch unwanted hitchhikers.
Please add to this list with you methods.
This is mine (I can't take credit for it, I learned it from someone else):
If you want to make sure there are no hitchhikers in your live rock try this:
Fill a bucket with high salinity water. Make it 1.030 or higher. Place an eggcrate on the bottom of the bucket (sometimes it helps to have the eggcrate about an inch or two off the bottom). Place the rock in the bucket. The high salinity will almost always make hitchhikers leave in search of lower salinity. Bear in mind that you'll have bristleworms, etc that will also come off the rock, but at least you'll still have some coralline to help spread to the base rock.

 

[al&burke]

Thant is a good idea, what would that do to ich, say you bought some new live rock from the LFS and you wanted to be sure it was safe.

 

[gemmy]

Hmmm, we may need one on how to catch the impossible to catch fish.

 

[btldreef]

Thant is a good idea, what would that do to ich, say you bought some new live rock from the LFS and you wanted to be sure it was safe.
Hmmm, good question. I'm honestly not sure.

 

[btldreef]

Hmmm, we may need one on how to catch the impossible to catch fish.
Lol! My husband should write up how to catch the impossible fish, he gets them almost every time.

 

[gemmy]

Quote:
Originally Posted by BTLDreef http:///forum/thread/385177/catching-hitchhikers#post_3377075
Lol! My husband should write up how to catch the impossible fish, he gets them almost every time.
He may have some competition. It takes two nets, some food, some Stoli raspberry vodka w/ sprite, and a little patience.

 

[tangs rule]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Al&Burke http:///forum/thread/385177/catching-hitchhikers#post_3377054
Thant is a good idea, what would that do to ich, say you bought some new live rock from the LFS and you wanted to be sure it was safe.
For ich or velvet, hyper salinity (or hypo) will do nothing to any encysted (tomont) stage parasites, as when in this stage - the parasite is closed off to the water, so variations in salinity cannot affect it. Medications do nothing in this stage too, as again - the meds in the water (and the water) do not pass thru the wall of the cyst to the inside - where the parasite is multiplying in this stage. Meds & Hypo only kill the parasites AFTER it hatches and becomes "free swimming" looking for a host fish.
As far as parasites in the free-swimming stage (theront) - they are affected by hypo and hyper salinity, but the problem here is they are already concentrated in your water column and not really on the rock. The lifecycle of both parasites in the tomont "cyst" stage where it would be lodged on some rock is ~ 4 weeks - and leaving your new live rock in hypo OR hyper salinity for 4 weeks is more damaging to it than regular Qtine.

 

[btldreef]

Great info Tangs rule! Thanks
So QT'ing live rock in a fallow tank for 4-8 weeks is the right route.

 

[al&burke]

That is really good information, I personally think that if you do have live rock in your system and you need to add more just put in dry base rock, I think that is what I am going to do from now on since my fight with ich in my 65. When I do the horse tank I think I will order some base rock on line.

 

[tangs rule]

Quote:
Originally Posted by BTLDreef http:///forum/thread/385177/catching-hitchhikers#post_3377291
Great info Tangs rule! Thanks
So QT'ing live rock in a fallow tank for 4-8 weeks is the right route.
Qtine would be the only 100% way to be sure. Here are a couple great reference links for info on ich (a 2 part rescource) and marine velvet. I think they are the most informative and concise articals out there on the subject of ich & velvet.. Each one is footnoted well and discusses EVERYTHING one would wanna know on either parasite. These articles are 8 years old now but 98% of the data is still right on.
Ich discussion:
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-08/sp/index.php (part 1)
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-10/sp/feature/index.php (part 2)
Velvet:
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-07/sp/feature/index.php
Quote:
Originally Posted by Al&Burke http:///forum/thread/385177/catching-hitchhikers#post_3377325
That is really good information, I personally think that if you do have live rock in your system and you need to add more just put in dry base rock, I think that is what I am going to do from now on since my fight with ich in my 65. When I do the horse tank I think I will order some base rock on line.
That's an excellent choice! Not only are you gonna be sure your new dry base rock is free & clear on arrival - it usually only takes 6-12 months to turn it into perfect live rock - if you put it into an established system with some, and is WAY cheeper to purchase.

 

[al&burke]

Tangs Rule - I just read the Part 1 ich, interesting method of treatment with the water changes, I have to tell I really don't want to go through ich again, it was a lot of work to get where I am right now. I went to the LFS today and I didn't buy a thing for the tank. I set up a 20 gallon QT - if they get a dwarf fuzzy in soon I will get one other than that - I am a bit gun shy right now, I would like to get a pair of cleaner shrimp, my big one died in the upgrade. I also would like to get a bunch of snails - saxman had a great suggestion for snails with lionfish.

 

[tangs rule]

I know all to much about fighting ich. It has bitten me many times, and usually NOT by introducing new fish (cause they automatically get Qtine) but live foods, a new coral frag, a new anemone, or even on macro alage. No longer do I trust anything from anyones tank.
These days either the new additions go into a fallow tank OR they go into Qtine. With so many tanks, it's no real big deal to pull the fish out of a ~100g and set them up in a "hotel" 55g or 75g while a big load of new corals/inverts go into their DT and "cure" off for 4-5 weeks. Then the fish go back in and there is very litttle chance of a breakout. For smaller orders of just a few new things - for sure set up a Qtine/isolation tank for them.
The water change method mentioned in the article was kinda driven toward nano tanks and things under 20 gallons....It be hard to do 75%+ waterchanges on a 200g daily. And as the author suggested - varied results with that proceedure.
Shrimps are pretty sensitive - I'd wait till my main was up&going for at least 6 weeks before adding them......I have 3 skunks waiting to go into the 475 now. They been in the fallow 100 for bout 3 weeks now, and by next weekend - they should be 99.9999999% fish parasite free, and the 475 will have been runnin for about 6 weeks.
But if you think ich is bad - try a case of velvet! So sad to see all your fish die within 36-48 hours of the first visible symptoms...... It's SO much easier to Qtine!
Sax always has good ideas