Hypo or Copper ??

[puffrbware]

Stupidly i added 5 fish within 3 weeks ! I just added a Purple tang, PP Puffer, sailfin tang, broomtail wrasse, and a flame angel, I also have a picasso trigger,yellow tang, foxface, and a 20 inch snowflake and 3 stars) all in a 120 and yes im done!!!!
Unfortunately My Purple tang Is showing signs of ich! Hypo sounds like the best but will it be a shorter process if i just remove the stars and treat the whole tank with copper then add them back after treatment and removal????? or should i just go hypo and add the stars when the salinity is back up??? (2 cc stars and 1 red general)

 

[deejeff442]

once you use copper it gets into the silicone and hurts all inverts.hypo is safer than copper if you havnt done either imo.but you need a bare tank .all sand and lr need to be removed because when you lower the salinity it will kill off alot of bacteria and cause an ammonia spike.

 

[puffrbware]

I did it once before removing my lr. This was years ago when i first heard of hypo...... now i think they say the bacteria will survive as long as the salinity doesnt go below .9 ! In this case the Lr can stay and all i would have to remove are the stars ! Is this untrue?

 

[beth]

Hyposalinity is your best, and healthiest option.

 

[deejeff442]

if you do hypo with the lr i would add an ammonia nuetralizer to the water.but a bare tank is best.either copper or hypo takes the same time as ick is an invert and has a life cycle and can only be killed in the multiplying stage .not the free swimming or the stage where you see it.

 

[beth]

You can not hypo a tank with live rock. It will kill off a great deal of the live rock. You'd have to remove the live rock, and any inverts in the tank.