Emporer in Hypo Starting to Lose His Color

hogcr8

hogcr8

Member
It seems that he is getting spots on him. Not ICH but the blue color is starting to fade in small patches on him. I have tested the water
Ammo 0
Nirtires 0
Nitrates 10 maybe 15
Sal/SG 1.009
PH 8.2
Not sure if this just happens because of hypo or not......
He does still have some ICH so I haven't started count the 3 weeks as of yet. Any ideas???????
Thanks
Cory
 
hogcr8

hogcr8

Member
Starting last Saturday evening I had a little ammo and a nitrite reading of .4. I took 3 gallons from my DT and added 2 gallons of RODI and brought the Sal from 1.024 to 1.021. from there I took 1 gallon from the QT and added a gallon of RODI approx every 2 hours the rest of the evening and then started again on Sunday morning. I was able to get to 1.010 (reading 14ppt thinking that was where I needed to be) within 56 hours. After looking at the Refract today I noticed that 14ppt and 1.009 were not at the same level on my refract. I posted a thread and Beth stated that I needed to pay attention to 1.009 instead of 14ppt so over a 3 hour period this evening I lowered the Sal from 1.010 to 1.009. Only took 2 gallons of changes.
Did I screw up something? Do you think he will survive what I have done.
He still has just a little bit of ICH (not much) so the Hypo was working. He is still eating like a pig so I thought things were going ok until I say the color loss.............
Thanks
Cory
 
hogcr8

hogcr8

Member
I had the lights turned off and just turned them back on for a sec to look at him and it doesn't seem to be nearly as bad. He seems to be a little stressed (fins moving quickly, gills moving quickly, but the color is back a little). After all of this I sure hope I didn't do something wrong........
 
sepulatian

sepulatian

Moderator
Originally Posted by HogCr8
Starting last Saturday evening I had a little ammo and a nitrite reading of .4. I took 3 gallons from my DT and added 2 gallons of RODI and brought the Sal from 1.024 to 1.021. from there I took 1 gallon from the QT and added a gallon of RODI approx every 2 hours the rest of the evening and then started again on Sunday morning. I was able to get to 1.010 (reading 14ppt thinking that was where I needed to be) within 56 hours. After looking at the Refract today I noticed that 14ppt and 1.009 were not at the same level on my refract. I posted a thread and Beth stated that I needed to pay attention to 1.009 instead of 14ppt so over a 3 hour period this evening I lowered the Sal from 1.010 to 1.009. Only took 2 gallons of changes.
Did I screw up something? Do you think he will survive what I have done.
He still has just a little bit of ICH (not much) so the Hypo was working. He is still eating like a pig so I thought things were going ok until I say the color loss.............
Thanks
Cory
Well the fact that he is eating is very good. He may not have reacted too well to the lowering of the salinity and the fact that you had ammonia and nitrites, which means this tank as not fully cycled. Have you tested the water today? Hyposalinity is not stressfull to the fish as long as it is performed correctly. If you add the stress of ammonia and nitrite well then the combo can be quite stressfull. This is the SEVERE disadvantage of not keeping a cycled qt tank (I am not trying to preach to you, but it is true). You will need to be completely on top of water testing and water changes.
 
sepulatian

sepulatian

Moderator
Originally Posted by HogCr8
I had the lights turned off and just turned them back on for a sec to look at him and it doesn't seem to be nearly as bad. He seems to be a little stressed (fins moving quickly, gills moving quickly, but the color is back a little). After all of this I sure hope I didn't do something wrong........
Don't pop the lights on him. When it is daytime and the room is already light, then turn the lights on. You don't want to scare the heck out of him.
 
hogcr8

hogcr8

Member
Didn't know about the lights. The tank was cycled when I put him in, it had been running for about 2 months and tested clean. I think the ammo and nitrites can from food that i was feeding the last fish that was in there. After this experience I plan on keeping the QT running 24x7x365. That way when I want new fish or have an issue with my DT I don't have to go the the agony of setting it all back up again and waiting for the cycle.
Tested the water about 6:30 this evening and everything posted above is where it now stands. I will test again in the morning and repost what I find.
Don't worry about preaching to me. You obviosly know a lot more about this than I do and I take everything you say to heart and trust the knowledge and expericence I have recieved from posting on this site.......
Thanks Sep I appreicate your assistance......
Type more tomorrow as soon as I can test everything and get another good look at him without shocking him with the lights.............lol
 
sepulatian

sepulatian

Moderator
Originally Posted by HogCr8
Didn't know about the lights. The tank was cycled when I put him in, it had been running for about 2 months and tested clean. I think the ammo and nitrites can from food that i was feeding the last fish that was in there. After this experience I plan on keeping the QT running 24x7x365. That way when I want new fish or have an issue with my DT I don't have to go the the agony of setting it all back up again and waiting for the cycle.
Tested the water about 6:30 this evening and everything posted above is where it now stands. I will test again in the morning and repost what I find.
Don't worry about preaching to me. You obviosly know a lot more about this than I do and I take everything you say to heart and trust the knowledge and expericence I have recieved from posting on this site.......
Thanks Sep I appreicate your assistance......
Type more tomorrow as soon as I can test everything and get another good look at him without shocking him with the lights.............lol
I am here anytime and we will certainly get to the bottom of this together. I am thinking, as far as the ammo and trites that you realy should have done a large water change after your last fish was in there. As for now. If it is just bacterial then the water needs to be : amm-0, trite-0, trate- 0-10(max). You have to keep the water prestine and feed highly nutritious foods soaked in vitamines and fresh garlic. If the water quality is not optimal then this will not heal. Weekly 10% changes are recomeded while healing.
 
nicetry

nicetry

Active Member
Color fading, although infrequent, can be a reaction to hyposalinity. As Sepulation stated, keep the water in check. You really don't need to light the tank at all. Ambient room lighting is fine, and the subdued environment helps minimize stress. I turn lights on every few days to check progress (see if the symptoms are gone), but other than that leaving the fish in a dim tank is fine. One of the biggest concerns now would be secondary bacterial infections from the parasite, but you may have caught it in time to have prevented this.
 
hogcr8

hogcr8

Member
Water is good excpet for a little trites so I am going to swap out 2 gallons of RODI water mixed to 1.009 here in a bit. Noticed a spot on his back that does not look like ICH so I attached a pic of it. Not sure how it's going to look cause I had to take it with my phone. If another pic needs to be posted I can try and borrow someones camera. Can anyone tell what it is. Up close it looks like a wart but I'm no expert.
Thanks
Cory
BTW: He started eating brine soaked in garlic and Selcon today. The cool part is that he loves the garlic and is eating the little particles that are floating around........ Hopefully I can get him to start eating Mysis soon.....
 
sepulatian

sepulatian

Moderator
That could be Lymph starting, but I cannot tell for sure. What is your nitrite reading? What other foods are you feeding? Brine is ok for a treat, but certainly not for a sick fish that needs all of the nutrition he can get.
 
hogcr8

hogcr8

Member
I have Formula Two Flake by Ocean Nutrition that I soak in Garlic and Selcon. The brine is soaked in Garlic and Selcon as well. He tears up the flake, I put a little Mysis in there last night and he did take some of it in. I have tried to put a little bit of mussel in and he pecked at it but for the most part left it alone. When the sun comes up a little more I will turn on the lights to see if it has gotten any worse.
If it is a Lymph is there anything I can do about it. I have Maracyn for Saltwater but I am sure I can get whatever I need if there is something better you can suggest........
Thanks
 
nicetry

nicetry

Active Member
I'm thinking it isn't lymphocystis, which is usually most evident on the fins. Is the spot you're seeing raised at all (like a pimple) or flush with the body? What color and is there any redness?
If the fish is eating anything, that's fine. It can get a better diet once back in the DT.
 
hogcr8

hogcr8

Member
Well it turns out I had an Ammo spike over night. Not much but enough, just up to .1, trites are at .2. I have a sponge filter that has been in my sump for over a year so I am going to do a 3 gallon water change and swap the sponge.
The dot looks like a pimple, last night it seemed to have a little bit of redness right in the middle. After I get over the stress of the water change I will try to take another look at it and let you know........
Cory
 
nicetry

nicetry

Active Member
Something is not quite right with your QT. There are too many fluctuations in the parameters. Put the other sponge filter in. Do only small water changes to avoid too much of a disruption to the bio filtration. These little set backs are not good for the fish and may be slowing recovery. Keep an eye on the "pimple".
 
hogcr8

hogcr8

Member
When I started this whole process I had 10 pounds of Live Rock in the tank. It has since been placed in a 5 gallon bucket with a small powerhead and a heater. I have been watching the Sal. but have not checked any other peremeters. Do I need to check anything else in this bucket or should the LR be OK?
I have done the water change and swapped out the sponge in the QT. I plan on retesting the water in about an hour and will post the results. Once the room is brihgt enough I will take a look at the (pimple) and post more on that as well.......
To help with the BIO should I be using water from my DT instead of RODI and bring it to 1.009?????
Thanks for all the help........
Cory
 
sepulatian

sepulatian

Moderator
Originally Posted by HogCr8
When I started this whole process I had 10 pounds of Live Rock in the tank. It has since been placed in a 5 gallon bucket with a small powerhead and a heater. I have been watching the Sal. but have not checked any other peremeters. Do I need to check anything else in this bucket or should the LR be OK?
I have done the water change and swapped out the sponge in the QT. I plan on retesting the water in about an hour and will post the results. Once the room is brihgt enough I will take a look at the (pimple) and post more on that as well.......
To help with the BIO should I be using water from my DT instead of RODI and bring it to 1.009?????
Thanks for all the help........
No, you do not want to use your DT water for the water changes. Biological bacteria does not live in the water column and you have the remote possibility of adding ich back into the QT.
You have to test all of your parameters everyday in hypo. If you cycled the qt with the rocks then when you took the rocks out you also removed the biological filtration which explains the spikes. It is ok, you just have to get more biological filtration in there.
 
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