Ich in Hypo?

[golgi aparatus]

I have a question about Ich. I have a sixline wrasse that has been in hypo for 3 weeks now. I always put new fish in hypo in my QT prior to the DT with no problems so far.
I have noticed a small white spec that has been on the sixline for about a week now. It looks like it could be an ich parasite. My question os:
1. Can a fish in hypo for 3 weeks, begin to show signs of the parasite 3 weeks into the process? If so, how much longer should he remain in hypo?
I assume that the timing of the lifecycle could have been as such that just as the tank got into hypo the ich was not in proper state to be eliminated. Is this correct to assume?
What should I do??

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by Golgi Aparatus
I have a question about Ich. I have a sixline wrasse that has been in hypo for 3 weeks now. I always put new fish in hypo in my QT prior to the DT with no problems so far.
I have noticed a small white spec that has been on the sixline for about a week now. It looks like it could be an ich parasite. My question os:
1. Can a fish in hypo for 3 weeks, begin to show signs of the parasite 3 weeks into the process? If so, how much longer should he remain in hypo?
I assume that the timing of the lifecycle could have been as such that just as the tank got into hypo the ich was not in proper state to be eliminated. Is this correct to assume?
What should I do??
Have you maintained the sg at 1.009? Can you use a magnifying glass and get a good look at the spot? Where on the body is it?

 

[golgi aparatus]

Yes, I have maintained the Salinity at 14ppt. I'll get out the mag glass and try to get a better look .

 

[mie]

Yes the fish can get ich in hypo, or retain the parasite . Are you useing a hydrometer or refractometer to test your salinity? you may think your salinity is .009 but it may not be the case there for the parasite lives on.

 

[golgi aparatus]

I'm using a refractometer and I just checked this morning and the salinity is 13ppt....

 

[golgi aparatus]

BUMP....
I NEED some help here. I am at a loss as to what I should do now. I continued to keep my fish in hypo another 2 weeks in hopes that the Ich would go away. It has not. What concerns me is that he has had one pretty large spot on him for about 10-14 days. I was under the impression that the parasite does not stay on the host for that long.
The fish now has another spot near the original spot for a total of 2 white spots. I am at a loss here. Obviously hypo was not sucessful on this fish and I'm afraid to keep him in hypo for much longer.
What should I do now? Should I attempt to use copper on him in the QT? I plan on this tank being a fish-only QT forever, for what its worth.
Please help as I'm getting very frustrated here.

 

[m0nk]

I had the same issue my first run at hypo and it turned out that my refractometer needed recalibrating; it was a full 2 points off with the salinity. I think copper is probably ok, since only tangs really have a hard time with it, but someone else might want to chime in about that. I'd only suggest checking your calibration. Also, it could be lymphocysts, if it's forming around the spine or face. I'd just be sure it's ich before moving forward with copper.

 

[al mc]

I agree with Monk that it could be 'lympho'. If under a magnifying glass it looks 'cauliflower-like' it is probably lympho and nit Ich.
If Ich...........
I also had a similar problem with a recent hypo (my thread is in the 'disease'
section and is titled: 'Problematic Ich'. Beth suggested Cupramine (copper)
and it worked well for me.

 

[golgi aparatus]

Thanks for the responses! I'll pour through that thread and see what I can get from it.
Quick question, I have the refractometer from this site. How do I calibrate it correctly? What solution do I use, how do I adjust etc....
Thanks

 

[perfectdark]

Originally Posted by Golgi Aparatus
Thanks for the responses! I'll pour through that thread and see what I can get from it.
Quick question, I have the refractometer from this site. How do I calibrate it correctly? What solution do I use, how do I adjust etc....
Thanks

You didnt get any calibration fluid included with the refrac? When I got mine they gave me a small container of calib. fluid. But I always double checked my RO water against it. I just made sure it was at the same temperature when I tested.

 

[m0nk]

Originally Posted by Golgi Aparatus
Thanks for the responses! I'll pour through that thread and see what I can get from it.
Quick question, I have the refractometer from this site. How do I calibrate it correctly? What solution do I use, how do I adjust etc....
Thanks
If you can't get "purified calibration solution", which is basically just glorified ultra-pure water, try distilled. RO or RO/DI water still has between .1% and 5% dissolved solids which could throw off your calibration.

 

[golgi aparatus]

I do have a Pinpoint Salinity monitor that has calibration solution. Can I use distilled water for the low measurement and then use this stuff for a upper measurement? Does this make any sense?

 

[florida joe]

Use ro water or distilled water just make sure its at the same temp your refractometer was calibrated at the factory you should have a

[hr]
driver slot or a knob on it to adjust

 

[florida joe]

Originally Posted by florida joe
Use ro water or distilled water just make sure its at the same temp your refractometer was calibrated at the factory you should have a

[hr]
driver slot or a knob on it to adjust

guess you cant say screwdriver i hope santa does not read this

 

[oniel21]

Wanted to chime in here. Another possibilty could be the amount of time it took you to decrease the SG to 1.009. I think I saw Sep. mention that if you lower it too slow (> 48 hours), then the ick could aclimate itself to the low levels. Just a thought.

 

[florida joe]

Hypo is about lowering osmotic pressure in our tanks to a point where ick in its tomonts stage cannot transfer fluids throught its membrane by osmotic differental and basicly smothers to death it either can or cant, it cannot acclimate its self to lower salinity by the law of physics if there is no pressure difference there can be no transfer

 

[golgi aparatus]

well guys , I used RO/DI water to calibrate the refractometer and it was already getting a perfect reading. At least I have been reading the salinity correctly. Right now the salinity in the QT is 13ppt.
What is the longest length of time that I can safely keep my fish in hypo? The fish has been in hypo at 13ppt for 5 weeks now.
Suggestions? Cuprimine treatment now? Stay in hypo another week?

 

[florida joe]

I personality would stay with hypo for only one more week then get a little more aggressive and go with the cuprimine also use their test kit, just make sure you test the kit for accuracy with the included test regent there are some bad kits still out there

 

[mie]

Originally Posted by florida joe

guess you cant say screwdriver i hope santa does not read this
That is to funny joe. What about a nut driver?

 

[dogstar]

I feel kind of silly asking, but were are the spots located on the fish ??
You may or not know but many Six-line Wrasse will have a small, naturaly colored white spot on the upper body just ahead of the tail. Some times there can be two, one slighty smaller than the other. Some think this is an indication of gender.