37g becomes the QT for ick

kathywithbirds

kathywithbirds

Well-Known Member
Well, I wanted to try garlic and vitamins and such but Moe just looks terrible, and the scopas has spots. So I'm setting the 37 gallon back up to transfer all the critters over for a full ick treatment, no copper though. Going for hypo salination. Going to take a day at least to fill it and salt it and take some water out of the 75 for it. PVC will go in, no substrate, no rock. We have a skilter and a HOB filter and various other stuff to filtrate it, i'm going to have to change filter stuff out alot.

Got a couple questions, how long is safe to lower salinity? I know it's like 1.009 you're going for. And the eel -- is he considered a fish for this purpose? Does he have to come out too? He's going to be the toughest, adn there will be no substrate for him to hide in, I don't know if he's going to be able to go over to the 37 at all.

Interesting note: don't see spots on Spot (domino damsel) but he's hovering in front of the eel's hole and the eel comes out and picks at him kinda cleaner-shrimp-like. They seem to have become buddies. :D
 
Witfull

Witfull

Well-Known Member
Eels are less prone to ich due to their thick slime coating. the damsel treat...scaled fish are susecptible
 
kathywithbirds

kathywithbirds

Well-Known Member
I plan on taking ALL the fish out except possibly the eel. Full 8 weeks, longer depending on how long to get to lower salinity and sit there for a bit and raise it.

Wish me luck catching them. I'm not looking forward to it.
 
lcstorc

lcstorc

Well-Known Member
Sorry to hear you are having to go through this.
Seems like more and more people are having ich problems lately. I wonder if the time of year has anything to do with it.
I had an article about treating with hypo. Let me see if I can find it for you. I know Boomer once said it was less stressful on the fish than copper. Plus Doni just did copper and now it is back. She followed all the rules too. A true mystery and not a good one.
 
panmanmatt

panmanmatt

Well-Known Member
Kathy,

You want me to bring you a few pieces of 2 inch PVC when I meet up with Mike today? I am leaving in about 20 minutes so let me know how long of pieces you need of in 2 inch will be too small.
 
kathywithbirds

kathywithbirds

Well-Known Member
Yeah, actually Matt, that'd be awesome, save me a trip to home depot... pieces like a foot or less would be cool. Thanks!!

I was thinking of putting a few plastic plants in there just for fun, but gotta check if they'll host the ick or not...
 
lcstorc

lcstorc

Well-Known Member
You should be fine with the plastic plants. Since you are treating the qt tank even if it could live on the plastic plants it should be killed by the hypo. I would think the plastic plants would be pretty much the same as the PVC.
 
panmanmatt

panmanmatt

Well-Known Member
Got your PVC. Glad the leather is doing food for you. I'm gonna bring that nepthea that was next to the trumpet for you too. I need to make some room in the tanks.
 
DrHank

DrHank

Well-Known Member
Kathy, you can pretty much forget about the skimmer. It isn't going to work in hyposalinity. Are you sure that your eel isn't giving Spot a taste test for later on!
 
kathywithbirds

kathywithbirds

Well-Known Member
DrHank said:
Kathy, you can pretty much forget about the skimmer. It isn't going to work in hyposalinity. Are you sure that your eel isn't giving Spot a taste test for later on!
Click to expand...

Oh, yeah, I do remember reading that somewhere, thanks for the heads up Doc. I probably would have remembered something about it when the skimmer wasn't going right and I'd have been scratching my head...

I don't think the eel would ever get big enough to take a nip outta Spot but maybe he's developed a taste for damsel scales :lol:
 
kathywithbirds

kathywithbirds

Well-Known Member
Orange skunks down. One is dead, the other on his way out. The pinkbar goby jumped ship last night, she was on the rug this m orning. Not a good day to day.
 
Woodstock

Woodstock

The Wand Geek was here. ;)
RS STAFF
Kathy, sorry to hear that :(

I chose treating with cupramine instead of hyposalinity because, IMO, the copper is faster, easier, and requires much less work/testing which leaves less room for error/disasters. My cupramine treatment worked perfectly and all of my fish were ich free for almost 6 weeks in the QT/hospital tank AFTER the two week copper treatment.
The ICH reoccured only after I placed them back into the main display which had been fallow for 8 weeks. I suggest extending the fallow period to 10 weeks or longer....

(moved to Saltwater Fish forum so Leebca can chime in)
 
kathywithbirds

kathywithbirds

Well-Known Member
Thanks Lynn and Woodstock. The poor clown died this morning BUT his friend may not be a goner just yet. He was gasping at the bottom all day until I got the QT where I wanted it as far as temp and salinity. So he's acclimating SLOWLY now.

It's just a shame they have to be half dead before I can catch them with the nets. Hope the fish trap gets here soon. Moe is spotty.
 
kathywithbirds

kathywithbirds

Well-Known Member
Alright, he's in. Marginally more alert than in the 75, where he was on his side gasping. There's a touch of stress zyme in there and it's a little warmer, and the salinity is a HAIR lower.

The LFS guy said two things I'd like opinions on: raising temp a bit might help get the ick (think I've heard this before) and that there ARE ways to get copper out of the silicone if you use copper. Any comments?
 
panmanmatt

panmanmatt

Well-Known Member
Raising the temp will speed up the ich cycle but it will also lower the oxygen content of the water.

Rumor has it that there are chemicals that will take the copper out, but I have no experience with them.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top