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eric b 125
Guest
so my fish are back in qt, and will remain there thoughout the hypo. the weird thing is that the spots that i thought were ich kinda come and go (this was before starting hypo). is this usual for ich?
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eric b 125
Guest
thanks! i made the mistake of putting the fish back into the DT after 3 day observation in QT only to have to break down the DT to get all the fish back out and into the QT. Patience surely is a virtue, eh?
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eric b 125
Guest
i started lowering the SG in my QT today. i probably replaced 10-15 gals of saltwater with fresh water, but my SG only went down to 1.019. this is a 55 gal QT, and i'm testing w/ a refractometer. does this sound right? i've calibrated the refrac but i just want to make sure everything is cool. i thought 10 gals out of a 55 would be all it took????
slade1274
Member
No sir... you are looking a parts per million; and you are cutting it in less than half; so you would need to dilute it down below 50%... and since you aren't pulling 25 gallons out to add 25 gallons; it will take much more than that with the progressive changes down to hypo. I swear I used like 50 gallons of fresh to get my 30 gallon to hypo in 5 gallon increments; but that's just my gut feeling. It will all depend on how much you take out at a time. Just remember to add back slowly. It won't hurt you to pull large quantities of water out; but add the fresh back in slowly so they can acclimate/adjust to the salinity changes easier. I pulled 5 out and dripped 5 back in over an hour or two.
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eric b 125
Guest
thanks. i was a litttle worried about that. i never owned a refractometer before this whole ich situation arised and now that i have it, i dont know how i went without one. this thing is great. i would always check my SG with my hydrometer, but i always felt like the thing was just guessing the SG. i checked it with my refrac and it was "accurate" but there's no way i would get into this hobby without a refractometer knowing how great they are. probably my favorite piece of equipment.
sepulatian
Moderator
Slade's method works very well and is also how I do it. Also, don't worry if it takes slightly longer than 48 hours to get the SG to 1.009. Once it is at 1.009 be sure to check it regularly. You cannot let it raise above that. I usually check once in the morning and once at night. Top off as needed.
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eric b 125
Guest
thanks sep. i've noticed that two of my fish look sickly when lights go out at night. this has actually been going on, i just want to make sure its normal.
the naso tang has white blotches on him and the yellow tang has a red spot on his side (almost looks like i can see his guts from the outside) both these fish look fine when they are out and about and lights are on. they eat and act fine. is this normal?
the naso tang has white blotches on him and the yellow tang has a red spot on his side (almost looks like i can see his guts from the outside) both these fish look fine when they are out and about and lights are on. they eat and act fine. is this normal?
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eric b 125
Guest
i finally got it down to 1.009. took about 3 days. i am going to find a "place holder" like an extra suction cup and put it in the tank at the water line so i can watch evaporation closely. its bare-bottom, with 2 decent sized pieces of what used to be LR so the fish can hide. i have a skimmer running and a K2 in it for circulation. i plan on doing frequent water changes because of the lack of filtration. i know to keep them in hypo for at least 3 weeks after symptoms go away, however after 3 days of slowly lowering SG the tang is presenting more spots. not a ton of them, maybe 10 total, so enough to know its there. how long until these symptoms start to subside? also, the dude at one of my LFS (great equip, not so great livestock) said it takes 3 months (?) and that i should raise temp? i'm guessing this is for freshwater because all of the sources here say it's usually a 5 week process full circle. thank you all so much for your help!
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eric b 125
Guest
if someone could answer these questions i'd really appreciate it
sepulatian
Moderator
Originally Posted by Eric B 125
http:///forum/post/2978374
i finally got it down to 1.009. took about 3 days. i am going to find a "place holder" like an extra suction cup and put it in the tank at the water line so i can watch evaporation closely. its bare-bottom, with 2 decent sized pieces of what used to be LR so the fish can hide. i have a skimmer running and a K2 in it for circulation. i plan on doing frequent water changes because of the lack of filtration. i know to keep them in hypo for at least 3 weeks after symptoms go away, however after 3 days of slowly lowering SG the tang is presenting more spots. not a ton of them, maybe 10 total, so enough to know its there. how long until these symptoms start to subside? also, the dude at one of my LFS (great equip, not so great livestock) said it takes 3 months (?) and that i should raise temp? i'm guessing this is for freshwater because all of the sources here say it's usually a 5 week process full circle. thank you all so much for your help!
Raising the temp is more for freshwater fish. Leave the temperature where it is. It is normal for ich to become more pronounced right after hypo conditions are achieved. The lowering Specific Gravity tends to trigger an early eruption of the adult parasite, resulting in offspring that needs to host. By the laws of Physics, ich cannot reproduce at an SG of 1.009. Osmosis, which is needed for reproduction, cannot occur with the water at that SG. When the parasites drop off, they will not be able to reproduce and they will die. Start counting the three weeks after the last spot is gone. It will be fine.
http:///forum/post/2978374
i finally got it down to 1.009. took about 3 days. i am going to find a "place holder" like an extra suction cup and put it in the tank at the water line so i can watch evaporation closely. its bare-bottom, with 2 decent sized pieces of what used to be LR so the fish can hide. i have a skimmer running and a K2 in it for circulation. i plan on doing frequent water changes because of the lack of filtration. i know to keep them in hypo for at least 3 weeks after symptoms go away, however after 3 days of slowly lowering SG the tang is presenting more spots. not a ton of them, maybe 10 total, so enough to know its there. how long until these symptoms start to subside? also, the dude at one of my LFS (great equip, not so great livestock) said it takes 3 months (?) and that i should raise temp? i'm guessing this is for freshwater because all of the sources here say it's usually a 5 week process full circle. thank you all so much for your help!
Raising the temp is more for freshwater fish. Leave the temperature where it is. It is normal for ich to become more pronounced right after hypo conditions are achieved. The lowering Specific Gravity tends to trigger an early eruption of the adult parasite, resulting in offspring that needs to host. By the laws of Physics, ich cannot reproduce at an SG of 1.009. Osmosis, which is needed for reproduction, cannot occur with the water at that SG. When the parasites drop off, they will not be able to reproduce and they will die. Start counting the three weeks after the last spot is gone. It will be fine.
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eric b 125
Guest
Last spot disappeared overnight! i am going to see how the weather is at the end of this month, maybe i'll leave the fish in qt for an extra week while i get the dt drilled, painted and sumped.