hospital tank question.

[Jmlorfam]

So my tang and butterfly (new additions) have developed Ich. I have set up a hasty hopsital tank and have them isolated. I am using the hyposalinity method described on this site. This is my first time treating sick saltwater fish and am nervously monitoring the process. 24 hrs later i have observed a noticeable reduction in the white spots on the fish. I was wondering, on average, how quickly does one see an improvement in fish health using this method? Also, I read about tank size vs fish size for hospital tanks and am wondering if a 10 gallon is to small for fish like powder blue tangs and butterflies?

 

[Krypt]

For Tangs you usually want to treat them in nothing smaller than a 30 gal long to give them a little space to swim. You have to treat all your fish in the tank, not just the new ones. If you don't, they will just get reinfected when put back in the DT.

Usually all the spots will be gone in a few days, after they disappear, continue the treatment for 6 weeks to ensure that no larval stage ich survives. Total time in the QT is approx. 7-8 weeks (6 weeks at hyposalinity, then 1-2 weeks to gradually raise the salinity back to normal.), this will also allow any ich left over in the DT to die as well, giving you an ich free system.

 

[Jmlorfam]

OK, thanks. Treat all of the fish? that seems problematic. I have inverts in my DT, so Hypo-salinity for my DT isn't possible (nor are copper treatments)(Correct?). I currently have a 10gal and cant reasonably put everyone in there (I am now finding out why this hobby is so darn expensive!). I will seek out a 30+ gal for the future occurrences. Any tips on addressing this issue? Any advice is welcome.

 

[Krypt]

Unfortunately, ich isn't an individual infection. It's a tank infestation, and since fish remain in the DT, the ich will survive. Then when you introduce the fish that you did treat, they will be in all likely hood, reinfected. The only way to avoid that is by treating all the fish in a QT and leaving your DT fishless for the 7-8 week period to kill it off. That's about all that can be done, all of the "reef safe" ich treatments do not actually kill the parasite, they just build a heavy layer of slime on your fish to help prevent infection and it rarely works.

You are correct about the copper, it can not be used in your DT. Copper should only be used in a separate, bare QT, and should be closely monitored using a copper test kit to ensure you don't accidentally kill the fish and that the copper level remains effective.

 

[Jmlorfam]

OH JOY! I get to spend more money on a larger tank, LOL. thanks for the advice, Craigslist here i come..... Oh yes anyone want to help me catch that lunare wrasse!

 

[Codyheitmiller]

Also Ick spots will increase and decrease in a 12 hour period. Just because they are going away doesn't mean they are dieing, in fact, the Whit "spots" are actually the eggs.