Ich treatment... hypo not an option... Beth? someome?

[tang_man_montreal]

Hey everyone.
I got to Ocellaris clowns 2 days ago.
acclimated them over 3 hours in the dark into my QT tank.
left lights off for 24 hours afterwards.
This morning I found 1 clown sucked into the powerhead (dead), and the other has very slight signs of ich.. (a few spots here and there)...
I don't have a refractometer, can't get one right now, so hypo is outta the question...
What is the best way to treat him?
PLEASE HELP.

 

[marinerock]

HI TANG........
SCROLL DOWN TO THREAD BY TURBO...EMERGENCY WITH F.A....
THERE IS SOME INFO IN THERE THAT MAY HELP YOU WITH
SOME ALTERNATIVES TO YOUR ICK PROBLEM.....
REGARDS...
MARINEROCK

 

[turbo21]

if it gets bad enough to where you think your going to lose him give him a fresh water dip
just remember the ph and temp have to be the same

 

[tang_man_montreal]

Hi Terry,
Well, since I just got him, the history is VERY brief.
I lost one of the 2 clowns I purchased overnight as he got sucked into a powerhead. As for the other one, I just noticed that he had a sprinkling of white spots on him the next morning, where he hadn't the night before.
tank specs...
SG: 1.024
Temp: 82
Ammo: .1
trites: 0
trates: 5
pH: 8.0
I have since treated the tank (QT) with Ecolibrium this morning... and the spots have all disappeared by tonight...
He's been staying in a corner of the tank facing upwards (which I've heard is "normal" for clowns??)...

 

[beth]

Why did the fish get sucked in to the PH? Don't your PH's have screens?
The only viable alternative to treating ich besides hypo is copper. Use cupramane. You will also need a copper test kit. You can get a good refract for $70 online.

 

[tang_man_montreal]

The screen had fallen off. I had moved the powerhead a couple of weeks before, and I had not seen the screen fall..
In any case, the signs of ich that I had seen have disappeared since I started using Ecolibrium.
I also got Coppersafe, which I havn't used yet since the Ecolibrium seemed to be working.
Does anyone have any experience with Coppersafe?

 

[beth]

Coppersafe will cure ich, but it is not the best choice for treating the disease as well as the potential side effects to fish. Cupramane is the better choice.

 

[tang_man_montreal]

My LFS was nice enough to replace my dead clownfish without asking... Nice huh?
I'm back to 2 clowns now. Although the original clown that I thought had ICH is not eating. Breathing seems to be normal, no scratching behavior at all either.
I fed them both enriched frozen brine this morning, and only the new clown ate. The other one swam around, without eating.
tank params:
SG: 1.024
temp: 82
ammo: .1
trite: 0
trate: 0
I'm going to do a water change tonight, and start lowering the SG gradually to start with Hypo, which I hope will help. I don't have the funds right now for a refractometer, so I'm going to attempt to do it with my swingarm.
Before I start though, I will clean the swingarm out with vinegar for 30 minutes to get the most accurate reading possible. I will also correct for temp/SG variation as most swingarms are calibrated to 60 degrees.
Can you add to anything that I'm forgetting?
Thanks!

 

[beth]

Swing arms don't work!
Go back to the LFS and get a glass hydrometer.
You shouldn't have gotten another fish while you're having problems with disease, not the new fish is exposed.

 

[tang_man_montreal]

Well,
the new "replacement" clown came from the same tank that the original clowns came from. My LFS originally had 4 that came in that day, of which I took 2 originally.
2 were still left when they gave me my replacement.
So, essentially, the fish would already have been exposed in the first place, which is why I didn't see a problem having it replaced. Besides, I wanted to have a pair, and getting clowns young helps in pairing them up, especially if they came from the same tank.
I can't get to my LFS during the week as they are closed by the time I get home.. and Thursday may be too late to start with the hypo. So I have to make do with what I currently have.
Today, the clowns seem ok... They are not showing signs of Ich. I will attempt to feed them in a couple of mins, and we'll see if they both eat. *hoping, fingers crossed*

 

[beth]

I've been testing my glass hydromter against my refractormeter, as I have 5 fish in hypo now, and the reading seem to match up, so I'd say that the glass hydrometer is a relatively safe bet.
I also tested 2 swing arms, and they are way off. Usually reading highter rather than lower. Much higher.

 

[tang_man_montreal]

When you say glass hydrometer, do you mean the floating glass ones?
I heard the opposite regarding the glass floating hydrometers.. whereas they were the bad ones..
I'll take a reading from both tomorrow morning and see how they look.
In the mean time, I let the swing arm sit with vinegar tonight for 30 minutes, then rinsed it.
We'll see what readings I get...

 

[beth]

Yes, the floating glass hydrometer. I've beening testing mine against my refract daily and I'm getting the exact same reading with both at this point. I'm going to add a heater to my QT soon. Perhaps higher water temp will make a difference. Will see.

 

[tang_man_montreal]

Well..
I cleaned my swing arm as I mentioned with vinegar... and the results:
The swingarm is worse off now. Before I was getting similar results with the swingarm vs the glass.
Before:
Swingarm: 1.022
glass: 1.020
After cleaning:
Swingarm: 1.024
glass: 1.020
How can that be???

 

[beth]

I have used swing arms myself, and in my opinion they are the worse way to measure the salt content in your tank....even for regular measurement, let alone hypo.
The glass hydrometer seems to be the best cheaper option. As I've mentioned, I am testing my glass hydromter now against my refract, and I'm getting the same results.

 

[simm]

Glass hydro? Are you talking about the tube like floating ones?