Ich and Hyposalinity

[737mech]

I'm new to the hobby. I have a FO tank. Recently fish came down with ich. I treated the whole tank with Formalin since the 3 fish in it all had ich.
I lost the battle with the ich. Now I have some hermit crabs left and I'm waiting 21 days before adding fish again.
I've read on this site about QT and hyposalinity. What should the s.g. read in a QT. How long should the fish be kept there? Any info on this would be great for next time.
I was afraid that a fresh h20 dip would stress the fish out. Do you also recommend this procedure?

 

[beth]

Formalin isn't effective with ich. You should do a major water change and carbon filtration to get the formalin out of your tank. You said you had FO, but hermit crabs are inverts, so that doesn't really qualify as "FO".
If you check out the thread titled FAQ at the top of this forum, you'll get info on QT.
The procedure for hyposalinity is as follows:
O.S.T. stands for Osmotic Shock Therapy which is commonly referred to in the hobby as hyposalinity [water that is deficient in sea salt]. Essentially, O.S.T. simply places the infectors [Cryptocaryon parasite---ick/ich] in an environment in which they cannot survive while the host, (or infected fish) can. This remedy WILL NOT work in reef systems, invert tanks or FOWLR as it incorporates lowering the specific gravity of the entire system to 1.009 Specific Gravity which is not tolerated by inverts or LR.
To drop the salinity, this is done as you would do a normal water change. However, you are simply replenishing your tank with fresh RO/DI water---not salt water! Monitor the lowering closely so as to not reduce it too fast. Usually over a period of 48 hours is fine. The bacteria colony which is the biological support for your tank will survive, the fish will be perfectly fine, but the ich will not. By lowering the salinity, you will also be lowering the osmotic pressure of the water. Boney fish tolerate this treatment very well, in fact, once the water become hyposaline, you will likely note a significant improvement in your fish health and appetite. There is no reason to fear this treatment. You can do a water-change out, in small increments every half hr or so.
Your goal is to drop the specific gravity to 1.009 [48-hrs] gradually. Once all signs of the parasite are gone, then keep your fish in this hypo-saline water for 3-4 wks. If all is well, then you can gradually [over the course of 4-5 days] bring the specific gravity [salinity] back up to normal levels . If all is well after a week, then return the fish to their main tank.
When the fish are eating, offer them quality and varied food soaked in garlic, zoe/zoecon, vitamin C.

 

[737mech]

Beth, Thanks for the reply! I had a question about your reply. Would you not do the freshwater dip for ich? Or is the term the same as O.S.T.? I thought they were different. Fresh h20 with the same ph and temp as main tank for no longer than 10 min.
Could I then put them in a QT and do O.S.T.?
What about the main tank? What would you do to kill the remaining ich in it?
Like I said before, I'm wanting a better plan for the future. I hope that I don't see this stuff again.
This is what I did to my 38 gal tank that my LFS recommended.
Lowered the sg to 1.019, added formalin,raised temp to 80,and increased water circulation. Also added garlic xtreme with feedings. The fish showed signs of improvement and within two days seemed fine. Unfortunately, I had to go out of town. Within 36 hrs of me leaving, the fish were gone. My wife was home,but....
It took 1 wk from the time that I saw the ich till they were gone.
I'm dreeding the next time. So, I'm looking for a reliable plan. I thank you for your help!

 

[beth]

I had a question about your reply. Would you not do the freshwater dip for ich? Or is the term the same as O.S.T.? I thought they were different. Fresh h20 with the same ph and temp as main tank for no longer than 10 min.
Yes, OST could be considered as applicable to a FW dip as well. I have had little success with doing FW dips and, for the most part, it is extremely stressful for fish. The only situation where I would recommend FW dips is as “a step” in the overall treatment of ich only when the fish is extremely infected and needs immediate relief for the parasites that are attached to the fishes’ tissues. This would be when the fish is stressed enough due to the infestation that not providing immediate relief could result in death. FW dips will only kill off some of the parasites attached to the fish---thus they have limited effectiveness, but, in a live or die situation, it can be effective followed by conventional treatments. It is never the “treatment” in and of itself. NEVER.
As for OST=Osmotic Shock Therapy: this is referred to in hyposalinity because the target specific gravity to kill ich is 1.009. The internal osmotic pressure of ich is above this target, the OP of fish is “at” this target. Thus, the “shock” in hyposalinity is to the ich, not the fish. This lowed salinity prevents ich from emerging from their cysts and thus breaks the life cycle of the parasites, thus prevents re-infection. If the salinity is not low enough, the parasite can still break out and can divide and re-infect. In FW dips, the salinity is much lower….osmotic shock for fish and parasite.
Could I then put them in a QT and do O.S.T.?
What about the main tank? What would you do to kill the remaining ich in it?
As I said putting formalin in your main tank was bad advise from the LFS. Formalin is formaldehyde. Formalin can be very effective for some parasite problems such as black ich, and brooklynella, but it is not really effective for ich and it can be detrimental to your display tank’s biofilter. Formalin is used as a bath and the treatment water is discarded immediately after use. I would suggest a major water change and then carbon filtration in the main tank.
If you are now going to set up a QT to treat your ich infested fish, then your main tank will remain fishless [no fish in tank] for the duration of the procedure. In the absence of fish in the main tank, the ich will die off. The hyposalinity procedure for fish should be at least a month, from beginning to end, including acclimation periods. Alternatively, since you have a FO tank, find a temporary home for your hermits [or any other inverts you have], and then do the hyposalinity right in your main tank with the fish in it. CAUTION: FO mean only fish in the tank. No live rock, no inverts, no corals, no live plants, etc.
Like I said before, I'm wanting a better plan for the future. I hope that I don't see this stuff again.
This is what I did to my 38 gal tank that my LFS recommended.
Lowered the sg to 1.019, added formalin,raised temp to 80,and increased water circulation. Also added garlic xtreme with feedings. The fish showed signs of improvement and within two days seemed fine. Unfortunately, I had to go out of town. Within 36 hrs of me leaving, the fish were gone. My wife was home,but....
It took 1 wk from the time that I saw the ich till they were gone.
I'm dreading the next time. So, I'm looking for a reliable plan. I thank you for your help!
The next time could come sooner rather than later. Formalin may have done the trick but don’t count your fish eggs til their hatched! Get prepared now, just in case. Ich has a 3-stage life cycle, only 1 stage can the parasite be detected by the hobbyist. What I’m saying is, it could still be a problem in your tank, you’re just not seeing it yet.
Good Luck!

 

[737mech]

Beth, Thank you again! You've been so helpful. Another thought that I had .... are you able to see the ich in the free swimming part of the cycle with your eye or is it microscopic?
When you said major h20 change, are you talking 25% or more like 5o%?
george

 

[beth]

You can see anything with a microscope , but you can't see ich in the free-swimming stage.
I'd do a 50% water change. Formalin is very toxic and should be filtered out of the tank as much as possible.