Another Ick question...

[steve-s]

Actually I would suggest something a little different. Depending on the configuration of the HOB, place the new sponge infront of the old one. Basically, water in>>old sponge>>new sponge>> water out.

That will seed the new sponge faster. It will slow the filter down a bit for sure but the new sponge will gain the necessary bacteria much faster while not becoming detritus saturated in the process.

Might need a powerhead in there for surface aggitation during the switch.

Cheers
Steve

 

[fishman]

Thats a good idea...I took a reading again tonight and ammonia is less than 10 and so are trites...Im almost there but not quite...
How long would I need to let the new spounge set in there before taking the old one out...3-5 days?

 

[steve-s]

That should be enough time. If there is more than one filtration source, only do one at a time though.

Cheers
Steve

 

[PumaKrieg]

Do not treat all fish.

 

[steve-s]

Do not treat all fish.

Is that so...

Cheers
Steve

 

[fishman]

Steve/Quarry
Well here I am again. I am STILL batteling the ammonia and trites. I have only had it to 0 for 4 days in a month...I am still doing 2 water changes a day. The ammonia is only at 10 or less and so is trites. I have put 2 new HOB filters in behind the old ones and they have been there for 5 days now...assume I will take one of the old filters out tomorrow night and see what happens. I just dont understand why Im still doing 2 water changes a day for a month now. Thats hard to keep up with for sure. Any ideas? PH is stable at 8-8.2. Temp 80...
Thanks

 

[steve-s]

Take one of the old sponges out and see if that helps. If the numbers stay the same or decrease, remove the other old sponge.

Your almost home so to speak. If I'm not mistaken the fish will have been at treatment level for 4 weeks and the end of this week? So if no spots have shown up in that time, you should be able to start increasing the salinity @ .001/day until it's back up to normal. Then just another 10-14 days before they go back in the main. Your more than ½ way there.

Cheers
Steve

 

[fishman]

I took the oldest spounge out and will see what happens. I tested the water tonight before doing so and the ammonia was less than .10 and trites were around 5...so I think this might do the trick.
I have had the fish in QT since 1/27 but didnt get the salinity down to 1.010 until 2/3..also on 2.3 noticed ick spots on the tang...so should I wait 4 weeks from that time?
Also I brought the salinity down to 1.009 on 2/7....tank will be fallow for 6 weeks on 3/10. SO Im going to keep the fish under 1.009 for another 2 weeks at least I guess...and then another week to bring the salinity back up....then another 2 weeks of watching?? Maybe im taking to long on this...Ive made it this far so might as well do it right!! What do you think?

 

[quarryshark]

IMO the longer out of the main the better.

 

[steve-s]

Agreed

Cheers
Steve

 

[fishman]

Well Im happy to report that I have 0 ammonia and 0 trites!!
SO now I can slow down gradually the water changes and amts I am changing. I now have an algea problem in my main that I have to tend to as I havent done a water change in there in 1.5 months...
Steve/Quarry thanks so much for all the help...if you guys get a chance take a look at the ID section of the forum. I have 2 posts in there for what I think is just a red algea...I dont think its cyno as its to think....I even have a pic too...
Thanks again and will keep you posted!!

 

[steve-s]

Well Im happy to report that I have 0 ammonia and 0 trites!!
SO now I can slow down gradually the water changes and amts I am changing. I now have an algea problem in my main that I have to tend to as I havent done a water change in there in 1.5 months...

Just be sure to keep testing, better safe than sorry.

Steve/Quarry thanks so much for all the help...if you guys get a chance take a look at the ID section of the forum. I have 2 posts in there for what I think is just a red algea...I dont think its cyno as its to think....I even have a pic too...
Thanks again and will keep you posted!!

Nothing comes to mind although I do agree it's not cyano. I will keep looking to see what I can find.

Cheers
Steve

 

[fishman]

Oh yes!! I will continue to test the water every night. I think I have found that if I will gently swish the HOB filters in the QT water when I do a water change it keeps the levels in check. Im learning...even though Im half way through the process AND have worn my RO filters out and having to buy new ones!
Oh well...Im getting there!

 

[stusclan]

Fishman, congrats, qt can be quite frustrating. I just finished my six week hypo with help from people on this forum. Keep checking your parameters, and sit back and wait until you can put your healthy fish back into your very healthy main tank. It feels good to conquer ick.

 

[fishman]

Well here we go again. I have now 10 ammonia and less than 10 trites. I only had 0 across the board for 5 days in a row and now the levels have been out of balance for 10 days now. I am feeding so little now I dont know that my fish will survive if I feed any less. I only have about 2 weeks left in QT. In the 5th week now and almost the sixth. Im doing 2 water changes a day of about 5-8 gallons each time x 2. This is so frustrating for sure.

 

[steve-s]

Have you been rinsing the filter sponges?

Not sure what to suggest really except to mabye keep seeding a new pair for swaping out and thoroughly clean the other in a weekly cycle.

Other than that it's really up to the water changes. Might want to increase the % of water changed each time. As far as the feedings, don't cut back so much it affects the fish's health. Better that you do a bit more work (sorry) than hamper the recovery effort.

Cheers
Steve

 

[fishman]

Well STeve it looks like your right. My dottieback isnt eating and upon inspection looks like he has a white fungus around his mouth..what shall I treat with and for how long? Also is it ok to treat with the other fish in there too?
Lastly can you raise the salinity more than 1 PPT per day? Its at 1.011 right now.
my main tank is around 1.023. It will be 6 weeks this coming Monday.

 

[steve-s]

Well STeve it looks like your right. My dottieback isnt eating and upon inspection looks like he has a white fungus around his mouth..what shall I treat with and for how long?

The water parameters are your main challenge here and the cause for the most part. It really should be where to concentrate on. If you use a med to treat a possible infection/fungal issue, it will also destroy the biofilter so you will need to being doing more water changes.

A decent treatment would be Maracyn II at double the dose added daily for seven days. All the fish can be treated at the same time in the hyposaline environment. No need to raise the salinity just for this.

Lastly can you raise the salinity more than 1 PPT per day? Its at 1.011 right now.

0.001 each day would be less stressful on the fish but you can increase it 0.002-0.003/day if needed.

Cheers
Steve

 

[fishman]

Steve
I really feel like Im an changing all of the water I possibly can. I have been doing 2 water changes per day and sometimes as much as 40-50% each time. I will try and do more...also whats weird is the ammonia will rise to around 20 then fall back to 10 or less with NO trites showing at all...sometimes there is just a hint but nothing over 5-10. It seems like I just cant get over the ammonia spike and the level off. Its been 12 days now at ammonia 20 or less....seems very odd.
I will try and keep the salinity at .001 per day. Im very anxious to get them out of there and hope this hypo thing works! I have been very diligent.
Thanks as usual!

 

[steve-s]

Don't get me wrong, I was not implying you where not doing enough. Simpley that water changes are really your only resource it seems. Without a larger water volume and surface areas for the needed bacteria, it's a challenge in such a small tank.

The no nitrite part is easily explained, sort of. The fish excrete ammonia as part of respiration so given the lack of water volume, it becomes concentrated quite quickly. Your tank may have ample bacteria to deal with nitrites but may not have enough to keep up with the ammonia being expelled by the fish.

Cheers
Steve