Hyposalinity For Ich

[leebca]

Not knowing the quantity nor frequency of the pH buffer additions, there is a possibility that its use gave the MI parasite some relief from the osmotic stress it was supposed to be under.

I’m not trying to be negative or come across as aloof, but the directions I’ve given for a hyposalinity treatment, when they are followed, without additions, deletions or ‘inventions of deviations,’ does work.

From the post on hyposalinity treatment:
pH control
pH is hard to control in a hyposaline solution because at this dilution, the buffer ability of the diluted saltwater is not good. Be prepared for this.

Make pH adjustments with pure baking soda (e.g., Arm & Hammer) you find in the grocery store, or better yet is sodium carbonate. Sodium carbonate can be made in the home oven. Take a pound of pure baking soda and spread it out evenly on a large cookie sheet. Put into a preheated oven to 350F. Bake it for 30 minutes. Take the sheet out of the oven, let cool to warm and put into an air-tight, clean container for use. Now the baking soda has been turned into sodium carbonate, a more potent pH + additive.
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I’d stay with the 0.3 to 0.4 ppm range of copper for a Cupramine treatment. I would follow the medication instructions – 2 weeks after the water is in the right range.

The Salifert kit jumps from 0.5 to 1.0 and higher, but it shows lower numbers (below 0.5) accurately. For readings between 0.5 and 1.0: If the water is diluted with saltwater that has no medication you can get a confirming result. However the shade of blue you seek is just below (never at or above) the 0.5 color card indication, yet there are still readings on the card below 0.5 ppm.

Hope the above helps!

[Kirblit]

Thank you so much for all of your help, I hope that I will finally kick this! I will keep you posted as to how everything is going.

One other thing that I would like to ask. I plan on getting a Mandarin in the near future. I know that they are resistant to most parasites due to their thicker mucus layer, but I still worry. I know that I cannot really QT them because of their natural food source can't really be provided for them. I also know that they don't do copper. So do I just have to chance it and put them in the DT?

[leebca]

All marine fishes can be accommodated through a quarantine process. Never think you don’t have this option. In the case of the Mandarin, you not only want to quarantine for disease, you want to train the fish to eat prepared foods.

Pod eaters can be kept by those aquarists who are prepared to properly provide their needs. NEVER assume the marine system has ‘enough pods’ to keep one alive. Our marine systems may have numbers of pods, but nowhere near the diversity found in the wild. The pod eaters usually will slowly die of poor nutrition over a much shorter time then they could have lived if fed properly.

I have covered how to train one to eat prepared foods and expanded on the above points in this post: Pod Eaters