QT new fish, not clear if you have to Hypo to insure no ICH

[viper222]

I have read many posts, and I can't find a clear answer, if it is somewhere, I missed it, you can simply point me there.
I had a case of ICH due to NOT QTing a new fish, learned my lesson, been there, done that. Now that all of my fish have been Hypo'ed and are now back in the main tank.....
For future fish additions, I know to QT for 3-4 weeks, I assume from reading, that this is the life cycle of parasites like ICH, and if they have it, it would show up in this time frame.
SO does this mean that if I QT for 3-4 weeks, and in that time DO NOT SEE any signs of ICH or anything like that, the fish does not have it? Or could it have it, and just be suppressing it by being healthy?
I NEVER EVER want ICH again, but with my work schedule, it was slightly difficult to maintain the right specs in Hypo, so if just watching in QT for 4 weeks (extra week for good measure) and seeing nothing meant no ICH, it would be much easier, BUT if there was a chance it would still have ich, just suppressed, I would do the Hypo.
Thanks for helping.

 

[renogaw]

I've never hypo'ed "just in case" and haven't had any issues. i generally keep the fish in there for 2-3 weeks if nothing wrong, longer if any sickness such as lympho or fin rot.
i honestly think my blenny is super stressed right now because he's in hypo. i've not seen it it's normal color in a long while (always striped in anger), and i honestly do not know if the fish or the gramma that was with it had ich (especially since the gramma died and the damage doesnt look like ich)

 

[mr. limpid]

I'm like you had it don't want it again. So figure if I hypo ever new fish this is the only way to be 100% sure no ick. Have added two new fish adding a new long nose Hawk today from QT to DT and cross my finger nock on wood all is doing fine. As for fish not eat during Hypo you can always raise the salt up to 1.015 (slowly about .02 per day) get it eating a couple of days then lower it again. This will start the three week time all over again. Good luck

 

[datsun79]

Originally Posted by Mr. Limpid
I'm like you had it don't want it again. So figure if I hypo ever new fish this is the only way to be 100% sure no ick. Have added two new fish adding a new long nose Hawk today from QT to DT and cross my finger nock on wood all is doing fine. As for fish not eat during Hypo you can always raise the salt up to 1.015 (slowly about .02 per day) get it eating a couple of days then lower it again. This will start the three week time all over again. Good luck
So what you are saying is that the QT should always be at 1.009?/?

 

[angelman]

I am new to some of the lingo.
Can someone clarify what "hypo" is?

 

[perfectdark]

Hypo means "lower than normal", and saline/salinity "of or containing salt", therefore hyposalinity in the simpliest of terms is a lower amount of salt contained in seawater than normal.
Some people hypo their fish upon buying them some people duplicate their DT water chemistry in their QT and just observe for a couple of weeks.

 

[renogaw]

Originally Posted by Datsun79
So what you are saying is that the QT should always be at 1.009?/?

no. if you put a new fish into that salt level you'd kill it. once the fish is in there then you bring the level down over a 48 hr period

 

[datsun79]

Got it!!!!!

 

[angelman]

Originally Posted by renogaw
no. if you put a new fish into that salt level you'd kill it. once the fish is in there then you bring the level down over a 48 hr period
FYI, I agree that is quite a bit low but studies have been done where they have been successfully maintained as low as 1.012 for quite some time.
I had a bad fluke mess years ago and ran my system at this level for a month.

 

[viper222]

Well, my problem was not being able to babysit it as close as I would like. Sometimes I can't be home for 2 days at a time, so I worry about them, plus with evaporation the Salinity is hard to keep at 1.009, creaps up. I have a AutoTopOff on my DT, but can't really get it to fit on my QT. So that is one issue, the maintaining it so it is useful.
Second issue is, I lost a chromi (I know cheap fish) but he had no issues or signs of ich but as precaution I hypo'd all of my fish once I had the parasite in my DT. thing was, he was fine for 2 weeks, then just got sick and died, all parameters were fine, I think he just couldn't take the lower salinity. ANyway, so back to the original question, Mr. Limpid says he does. That is what I am considering, but is their proof or studies or something that says if they show NO SIGNS for x number of days ie: 3-4 weeks, then they don't have it because it would have been a complete life cycle of the parasite and no signs were seen????

 

[renogaw]

to quote from a website i cannot link:
Many fish collected for marine aquariums will not be carrying "Ich". Incidence of C. irritans in wild fish varies widely and may be geographically related. Some authors have found few infected fish, if any, in the areas they have examined (Puerto Rico: Bunkley-Williams and Williams, 1994; southern California: Wilkie and Gordin, 1969) . Others have found that low levels of infection are not uncommon (e.g. southern Queensland; Diggles and Lester, 1996c). Keeping multiple fish in holding tanks and at aquarium stores increases the chances of a fish carrying "Ich" parasites, but it is still possible to acquire a fish that is not infected with "Ich".
If new fish are quarantined for at least 6 weeks, any parasites on the fish will have gone through a number of life cycles increasing the number of parasites present. In the majority of cases, the increase in parasite numbers will result in full blown infection and fish can be treated to remove the parasites. Hyposalinity has been demonstrated to break the life cycle of "Ich" (Cheung et al. 1979; Colorni, 1985) and fish correctly treated with hyposalinity will be free from "Ich". Any fish that do not show signs of infection after 6 weeks are very unlikely to be carrying any parasites.

 

[al mc]

I hypo all new fish, except mandarins. While experiences vary, I have never had any problems with using hyposalinity, even on 'difficult' fish. I have used it on an Achilles Tang (still have him for over a year) and a blue spotted jaw fish (had alsmost two years), so I am speculating that no long tern adverse effects. I have used the procedure below on about 30 fish to date.
What works for me: All new fish go into normal salinity QT tank for 1 week of observation: make sure they are eating and 'appear' OK. Then two days to get the S.G. to 1.009. Biggest issue, keeping the pH stable during the next three weeks in hypo. Then minimum of 4 days to bring salinity back to normal. I also always have some Amquel plus on hand just in case my QT nitrogen cycle goes haywire. I also have methylene blue on hand if I note
stress.

 

[viper222]

Thank you for your input. After reading Renogaw's quote, I think I would do a 6-7 week QT however, I see a white spot on the new arrival, he hides alot so I can't see with a Magnifying glass, but I think it looks like ich, basically looks like a salt grain on his side. So, I will be proceding with Hyposalinization. Thank you for your insight, I will probably use that in the future.
I love all the help here, it feels nice and homey.

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by viper222
Thank you for your input. After reading Renogaw's quote, I think I would do a 6-7 week QT however, I see a white spot on the new arrival, he hides alot so I can't see with a Magnifying glass, but I think it looks like ich, basically looks like a salt grain on his side. So, I will be proceding with Hyposalinization. Thank you for your insight, I will probably use that in the future.
I love all the help here, it feels nice and homey.
If you were worried about hypo before, are you going to be okay with it now? You will have to monitor the sg at least twice a day, morning and night. You could install an auto top off. Let us know what you need help with and we will be happy to help

 

[viper222]

I assume your saying "I have to watch it now" meaning more so because of the ICH spot?
Is it better to be 1.008-1.009, or 1.009 to 1.010?
I know 1.009, but if it HAD to fluxuate, which way?

 

[al mc]

If I can't get exactly 1.009, I go for 1.008, but no lower. I figure that some water will evaporate over the day and it will creep to 1.009 (+) anyway.
Just my way of thinking.

 

[viper222]

That was my thought too. If I hear from no one else to the negative of this, I am going with this plan, I just wanted a second to my opinion.