ich in hypo????

roggy23

Member
ok if ive had hypo going for 3 weeks at 1.009SG the whole time 100% sure, is it still possible for the fish to show signs of ich?
 

elfdoctors

Active Member
It is possible. However the chance of a recurrence is ~1%. Most of these failures are due to errors in measurement.
You must be getting close to finishing hypo!:)
 

roggy23

Member
yeah elf, im excited. this wed will be three weeks :)
i guess i still have another 2 weeks after for acclimation.
i have no lighting for my QT except for a lamp that i use.
My puffers front fins and side fins look completely ichless.
Im just having trouble determining if theres ich on the back fin
 

elfdoctors

Active Member
Ich would have a salt-grain appearance across the fish. I am concerned that you may actually have fin and tail rot. This is a bacterial infection and can follow ich. (It is also more likely if your water quality hasn't been great). Sometimes it would have a cottony type look to the frayed edges of the fins.
If you agree that you actually have a second infection, I would recommend using Maracyn 2 for SW prior to putting your fish back into your display.
 

roggy23

Member
maracyn 2 for SW? how does that work and what is it? Now im concerned so what im going to do is use my lighting from my main tank and put it on top of my QT too see whats up.
 

roggy23

Member
ok i just checked and it appears he still has ich. but not many.
i noticed 1 white speck on his left fin and 3 white spots on his side fin. still sounds like ich huh. he was really bad when he was in my main tank so 4 spots is an improvement. so since im trying to cure him from an outbreak maybe it takes longer to cure??? some sites say do hypo for 4-6 weeks. what do you think?
 

elfdoctors

Active Member

Originally posted by roggy23
maracyn 2 for SW? how does that work and what is it?

Maracyn 2 is an antibiotic. It treats primarily gram positive bacterial infections but does not kill the gram negative bacteria that are important for the nitrogen cycle. (It is even used for human infections such as bronchitis, acne, and prostatitis.) Beth seems to recommend it whenever there are open sores or tattered fins. You can use Maracyn2 at the same time with hyposalinity.
Hypo needs to be treated for 3 weeks AFTER the fish seems better. Are you sure your salinity is at 1.009?
 

roggy23

Member
so elf, are you saying if my fish was already sick with ich and i put him in my qt and it took me 3 weeks to get rid of the ich in hypo, i have to have him ichless in my QT for another 3 weeks? did i understand you when you say" Hypo needs to be treated for 3 weeks AFTER the fish seems better."
And yes i am sure im at 1.009. with water changes sometimes it drops to 1.008 but never higher.
 

elfdoctors

Active Member
If you are SURE it is ich (small salt grain appearance) then another 3 weeks would be necessary. The treatment you have done should be ~99% effective. Occasionally the moderators recommend copper at this point.
However, if there is actual fin destruction, I would think that further hyposalinity may not be as useful as an antibiotic. You have been doing to right treatment for ich. However if you are treating the wrong disease, or if there is a second disease present, the fish may not recover.
Perhaps you can get an opinion from the moderators. They haven't been around often recently so I have been trying to help. They have more experience then I.
 
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