Quick Hypo Question

[saltym3]

I need to turn my running QT into a hospital tank. I have two baby clowns that have signs of ich which need to go in. The clowns are now in an established tank so is it better to put them in the hospital first and than lower the salinity through water changes or can i put them in the hospital already at 1.009? I figured either way is going to stress them out. Please advise. thanks.

 

[harlequinnut]

You can't put them in to a hypo tank (1009) from a normal tank (1025). The shock would be too much to handle and the fish may die. Put the fish in the qt now and gradually lower the salinity to 1009.

 

[saltym3]

thats what i figured I had to do. I now have a bigger problem. The QT seems to have about .50 of nitrite. I did a water change earlier and moved some stuff around in the tank there was a bit of debris earlier. Am I better off holding out on putting them in the QT? This tank has been cycled for 2 months and moved different fish out of it earlier today which are very healthy. The fish do not look well.

 

[redhot13]

bump

 

[elfdoctors]

Originally posted by saltym3
The QT seems to have about .50 of nitrite. Am I better off holding out on putting them in the QT? The fish do not look well.
Have you gotten the QT specific gravity up closer to your display tanks?
You may have to pick between the lesser of two evils.
Ich can certainly kill the fish. If they are looking quite sick, this is probably your major concern. As you stated, the tank has been previously cycled and had some debris in it. Considering the two clowns are small and should not contribute a significant bioload, the nitrites should disappear quickly. You may need to do frequent water changes (but these will probably be necessary anyway to lower your salinity). Nitrites are less toxic then ammonia.
Good Luck!