Why hyposalinity and/or copper treatment?

[bcollie]

There is a very small window of opportunity for either treatment. Using either treatments can do more damage to the fish than to the ich...plus both are labor intensive...why bother? Why put a fish w/ ich, or a newly aquired fish that presents ich, in a qt for 6 wks for the fish to be reinfected again ? :notsure: Since ich damages the fish's system, why submit a fish that survives ich the first time to a 2nd exposure? I think a qt tank is an absolute must. But I think two qts tank are a better idea. Once the little ich boogers mature and drop off the fish, I would move the fish to the new qt where I can be assured the fish will not be infected again. The 1st tank water is dumped along with the ich :cheer: down the drain, & the tank cleaned & dried.
Plus...and this won't be a big hit, I keep lr rubble in the qt in an attempt to keep the qt as fish friendly as possible. If a fish presents ich, the lr rubble gets dumped with the water. LR rubble is cheap or if a good customer, the lfs will let you raid their lr tanks for free. Unadorned plastic & glass ain't exactly homey for fish. I know pvc pipe is recommended, but, I prefer what the fish prefer.
QT can be simple glass tanks or rubbermaid tubs (cheap & all sizes), with filter and heater...and powerhead if the fish likes lots of water movement. A mini water change daily reduces ammonia(sp), nitrites and nitrates (remember you have an ample source of saltwater..the display tank) from the qt tank.
I use an AquaClear power filter leaving the sponge in the dt's sump...its ready when needed.
I'm ready for the critics...

but this is my preferred way. After a ton of reading, this is my plan of choice. Two qts too expensive?...well a flasher at $65 or a black tang at $100+ bucks is more expensive, plus I have a responsibility to the fish. jmho

 

[grubsnaek]

hello i'll through my knowledge at you. even though you may set up 2 QT. this is what im thinking.
if your removing the fish from your DT to a QT because of the dread full ich. that means your DT has ich. also when the fish are in the 1st QT and the ich falls off, you stated you would put them into the 2nd QT. this is pretty much useless because of the fact that ich is not visible only the cyst is. so transferring the fish to the 2nd QT you are verywell transporting the ich. a hypo must be done to the fish to rid it of ich. it will not just fall off and be gone. all the fish really perfer when sick is a hidding spot and a piece of pvc is more than suitable.
i hope that i have helped in anyway and explained everything properly. thank you

 

[bcollie]

plus, a happy fish in a fish friendly qt tank is not a stressed fish. :happyfish Movement from the 1st qt tank to the 2nd fish friendly qt is only a temporary issue for the fish and the fish quickly acclimates to the 2nd qt. And I can relax...

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by bcollie
There is a very small window of opportunity for either treatment. Using either treatments can do more damage to the fish than to the ich...plus both are labor intensive...why bother? Why put a fish w/ ich, or a newly aquired fish that presents ich, in a qt for 6 wks for the fish to be reinfected again ? :notsure: Since ich damages the fish's system, why submit a fish that survives ich the first time to a 2nd exposure? I think a qt tank is an absolute must. But I think two qts tank are a better idea. Once the little ich boogers mature and drop off the fish, I would move the fish to the new qt where I can be assured the fish will not be infected again. The 1st tank water is dumped along with the ich :cheer: down the drain, & the tank cleaned & dried.
Plus...and this won't be a big hit, I keep lr rubble in the qt in an attempt to keep the qt as fish friendly as possible. If a fish presents ich, the lr rubble gets dumped with the water. LR rubble is cheap or if a good customer, the lfs will let you raid their lr tanks for free. Unadorned plastic & glass ain't exactly homey for fish. I know pvc pipe is recommended, but, I prefer what the fish prefer.
QT can be simple glass tanks or rubbermaid tubs (cheap & all sizes), with filter and heater...and powerhead if the fish likes lots of water movement. A mini water change daily reduces ammonia(sp), nitrites and nitrates (remember you have an ample source of saltwater..the display tank) from the qt tank.
I use an AquaClear power filter leaving the sponge in the dt's sump...its ready when needed.
I'm ready for the critics...

but this is my preferred way. After a ton of reading, this is my plan of choice. Two qts too expensive?...well a flasher at $65 or a black tang at $100+ bucks is more expensive, plus I have a responsibility to the fish. jmho
As the second poster said, ich does not just fall off and lie on the bottom untill it is ready to host again. There is a constant cycle of ich attatching to the host then falling off, breeding, then reattatchment. Durring this cycle the ich are at different stages of life. I think you may be under the impression that the ich are all at the same stage of life and would all drop off together. You are correct that copper can stress certain fish and it should only be used when hyposalinity treatment is not an option. Hyposalinity puts little to no stress on the fish and is very effective when done properly. I can somewhat see what you are going for with having some rubble in the qt for your fish to feel comfortable, but it realy is not necessary. That is up to you if thats what you want to use, just remember to throw it out when you are done with it in the QT. Transfering fish from your display to the first qt, then to the second qt is going to stress them out quite a bit, especially if you are netting them each time. All new fish should definately be qt'd to prevent any of this from ever being an issue, but sometimes disease happens. Having a comfortable cycled qt running at all times is your best bet to ensure that they will be happy in there.

 

[grubsnaek]

very true i was honestly looking at the fact that they go from in order
DT to 1st QT.
1QT to 2nd QT.
2nd QT to DT. all when a fish goes though a stress full time.
the rubble rock might not be that bad if you are not using and meds. if using meds the rock will absorb some of it.

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by grubsnaek
very true i was honestly looking at the fact that they go from in order
DT to 1st QT.
1QT to 2nd QT.
2nd QT to DT. all when a fish goes though a stress full time.
the rubble rock might not be that bad if you are not using and meds. if using meds the rock will absorb some of it.
Correct, and durring hyposalinity some of the things living on it will die off.

 

[grubsnaek]

hey sepulatian
funny your helping me on my thread in this forum and u see what i am writing. i think that i am getting this down pretty good. just have to fix the problems that i have with my own. but i am only trying to help some one else out. i thought i was probably crazy that you have read my post and knowingly your helping me with mine.
as for bcollie a QT is not supposed to be to much work, meaning the tank itself is very minimual. the hypo is the hard part. the tank can be set up with old fresh water equipment that you have left over.

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by grubsnaek
hey sepulatian
funny your helping me on my thread in this forum and u see what i am writing. i think that i am getting this down pretty good. just have to fix the problems that i have with my own. but i am only trying to help some one else out. i thought i was probably crazy that you have read my post and knowingly your helping me with mine.
as for bcollie a QT is not supposed to be to much work, meaning the tank itself is very minimual. the hypo is the hard part. the tank can be set up with old fresh water equipment that you have left over.
Yes, you are definately doing very well. We all come across problems at times and need a little help

Yes, a qt should be simple and Hyposalinity treatment is actually not that difficult at all as long as you do it correctly.