ICH - QT - HYPO - Freshwater Rinse

[medievalfish]

I have a Long-nose Butterfly, Royal gramma, scooter blenny, 2 oc clowns in a tank that now has ich. LFS suggested freshwater dip, but that doesn't sound so good now! How do you hypo a tank and how does that elliminate ich? Please help as I am about to move my fish to the QT and don't want to mess that up.

 

[nicetry]

A FW dip will not eliminate the parasite. Treating them in a quarantine tank with hypoalinity is your best bet. Is your QT fully cycled?
What size QT are you using. How big is your main tank?
The procedure is outlined in the FAQ's at the top of this forum.

 

[medievalfish]

I will check the FAQ's, I had not noticed that one! But, to answer your questions, I have a 55g DT with 80lb LS and about 15lb LR. I also have a SS Star and an Emerald crab and a bubble tip anemone, but don't plan to move them as they are not hosts for the parasite??? I have a 30G breeder tank that I am going to fill with about 15 gallons of DT water and use a sponge filter. I also have a filter media to transfer from the DT to the QT to help cycling issues. See any major problems?

 

[beth]

Sounds like a good plan. Add some a couple of cups of sand from the display, and don't forget to throw in some fake rocks, or pvc for comfort zones for the fish. The info on hyposalinity in the FAQ Thread pretty much covers all you need to do.

 

[nicetry]

Originally Posted by medievalfish
I have a 30G breeder tank that I am going to fill with about 15 gallons of DT water and use a sponge filter. See any major problems?

Are you only planning to have 15 gallons of water in the QT?
Keeping the 30 full or close to full will make for a more stable system. If you don't want to take 30 gallons from your 55, then add 15 gallons of RO salt water to the QT.

 

[medievalfish]

Originally Posted by nicetry
Are you only planning to have 15 gallons of water in the QT?
Keeping the 30 full or close to full will make for a more stable system. If you don't want to take 30 gallons from your 55, then add 15 gallons of RO salt water to the QT.
I used the other 15 gallons of room to slowly add water to get SG down to 1.015, but ran into problems. I dropped the SG just a few thousanths the first night and my butterfly was dead in the morning along with my Gramma. I tested the tank and other than a very low reading of nitrates everything was perfect. I dropped the SG a few more thousanths taht morning. That evening I droped a few more and in the morning of the third day one clown was dead. Readings were the same as before (just a little trates). That evening my other clown was dead. I now have 1 scooter blenny left and it has been 6 days. Readings are
SG 1.013
Ammonia 0.5
Nitrites 0.15
Nitrates 5
pH 8.2
Temp 80 F
Anyone with any ideas as to what went wrong and what I should do from here?
55G DT is left with bubble-tip anemone, sand-sifter Star, and emerald crab, one of each. :help:

 

[medievalfish]

I forgot to mention that I had some PVC pipe fittings in the QT of various sizes so each fish would have a shelter. I also filled a 3" PVC pipe cap with LS from the DT to aid in the cycle.
P.S.

The scooter blenny does spend some time in the cap with the LS

 

[medievalfish]

:help: :notsure:
my fish are dieing
I don't know what happened
I know you guys CAN help
I'm begging for some guidance
I don't know what to do now?!?!

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by medievalfish
I used the other 15 gallons of room to slowly add water to get SG down to 1.015, but ran into problems. I dropped the SG just a few thousanths the first night and my butterfly was dead in the morning along with my Gramma. I tested the tank and other than a very low reading of nitrates everything was perfect. I dropped the SG a few more thousanths taht morning. That evening I droped a few more and in the morning of the third day one clown was dead. Readings were the same as before (just a little trates). That evening my other clown was dead. I now have 1 scooter blenny left and it has been 6 days. Readings are
SG 1.013
Ammonia 0.5
Nitrites 0.15
Nitrates 5
pH 8.2
Temp 80 F
Anyone with any ideas as to what went wrong and what I should do from here?
55G DT is left with bubble-tip anemone, sand-sifter Star, and emerald crab, one of each. :help:
Did you drop the salinity a few thousandths at once or over time? What I mean is did it take several hours to bring it down in increments or did you add, say, 5 gallons of streight fresh water each time? Can you explain a little more clearly how you brought the sg down? Did you test the ph of the water as you were doing this? It can and often does drop which can be very stressful if not fatal to the fish. As for where you stand now, the SG has to be 1.009 for hyposalinity to be effective.

 

[medievalfish]

I dropped the SG by adding about 3-4 Quarts of water every couple hours. The pH did change from 8.3 to 8.2 but I didn't think that would be a problem. The temps remained the same. I am lost! :notsure:

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by medievalfish
I dropped the SG by adding about 3-4 Quarts of water every couple hours. The pH did change from 8.3 to 8.2 but I didn't think that would be a problem. The temps remained the same. I am lost! :notsure:
Ok, you added the 3-4 quarts all at once each time? Did you check the ph each time? It is very strange that your fish died like that. I am trying to figure out why. Please be as graphic as possible on how you lowered it. I have done hyposalinity and have helped many people through the process. I would be able to tell you if something was not right with the procedure. Were the fish absolutely covered in ich when you started?

 

[medievalfish]

I dropped the SG by adding 3-4 quarts of 82 F freshwater through a hose the size of an airline for a freshwater tank, this took around 20-30 minutes each time. Barely more than a quick drip. I arranged the delivery end of the hose so it added the FW right by the sponge filter to encourage rapid dissipation into the QT. When I moved the fish into the tank(15G in a 30G tank w/SG of 1.022) the butterfly was obviously afflicted, had white sandgrain like spots that had been visible for near a week. She also had some hairy( like a 3inch long hair) substance across her tail(up and down). I could not see that the gramma had any affliction and the clowns appeared to be in perfect health, but I knew they would be attacked if I did not pull them out of DT. I did notice the gramma swimming around once in a while with his mouth wide-open, and he frequently would brush sides with the butterfly. The butterfly was swimming (i thought) playfully on her side and near the LR on occasion, but that may have been a sign that this rookie missed???