? aboiut treating sw ich

MarineTeng · #1 04/28/2006, 12:17 AM

i'm thinking of doing hypo salinity but before i do that, will a cleaner shrimp help with this or will they not eat this parasite?

stewymaroon · #2 04/28/2006, 12:19 AM

Did you try a fresh water RO dip?

MarineTeng · #3 04/28/2006, 12:22 AM

umm, no haven't heard of that before how do you do it (and does purified tap water work i don't have an RO unit)

MarineTeng · #4 04/28/2006, 12:29 AM

i just read in the disease forum about some ich and doing a fw dip and have a question, how do you match the pH on your fw to your saltwater?

stewymaroon · #5 04/28/2006, 12:29 AM

If it's jst one fish ansd not the whole tank this might work. Basically, all you do is take a gallon of purified fresh water and let your fish swim in the fresh for about a minute or two. Constantly watch it for signs of mmajor stress, but if it's only a minute there shouldn't be a problem. After a minute in the freshwater all of the saltwater parasites will basically suffocate and die, then your cleaner shrimp should pick off the dead parasites from the fish.

psycho_clown · #6 04/28/2006, 12:31 AM

Do a search before creating a thread, this has been answered a million times *******

stewymaroon · #7 04/28/2006, 12:33 AM

You are only dipping the fish for a minute at a time, the ph shouldn't have an adverse affect. You might have to dip him a few days in a rw to get all the ich though

MarineTeng · #8 04/28/2006, 12:34 AM

the cleaner shrimp question, i've never heard it before in my searching, but in my searching they said to dip for 8 mins in a fw dip
o but i was wondering about the cleaner if i should get one, i don't have one yet
what does rw stand for?

stewymaroon · #9 04/28/2006, 12:38 AM

Definitely get a cleaner shrimp.. It will devour any type of parasite in the tank. They are great .. I've seen my cleaner reach into my LionFishes mouth to clean... Make sure you are constantly wathcing him for stress signs if you are doing eight minutes... I just get scared with my fish for that long of a time... Maybe 3 or 4 minutes max for me.

MarineTeng · #10 04/28/2006, 12:59 AM

alright, what are exact signs of stress? rapid breathing/swimming?

stewymaroon · #11 04/28/2006, 11:49 AM

Rapid breathing, Bugging eyes, CertaIN FISH WILL CHANGE COLOR (naSO tANGS, mIDAS bLENNIES) lYING ON THEIR SIDE,

TWallace · #12 04/28/2006, 01:05 PM

I seriously doubt a FW dip will do anything to a fish with ich other than irritate it. When the ich parasite is on the fish, it burrows into its scales where it's not bothered by water quality (even copper). It's the free swimming stage of ich that gets killed by hypo, copper, uv, etc. When you dip the fish, you're not treating the free swimming stage which remains in the tank. That's why hypo and copper treatments take several weeks.

You really should have posted this thread in the fish disease treatment forum, as there are resident experts who post there a lot (like leebca).

MarineTeng · #13 04/29/2006, 12:28 AM

ok thanks, i think i'm going to do the hyposalinity (still need to catch him may do it tonight) I think i'm going to go with the drain method, should i move all my fish to the QT, cause i don't have that much room really, unless the ones in the sump might be fine....

TWallace · #14 04/29/2006, 12:29 PM

Ich usually spreads to all fish in a tank unless they're very resistant to it (eels, mandarins, hawkfish, maybe more). I've read that even those resistant fish will still carry the parasite, but not be affected by it. Ich has to have a fish host in order to live. Knowing that, I think it's best to move all fish to a QT.

If you don't have room in your existing QT, maybe you can buy a cheap small tank from a local pet shop along with a cheap heater and filter. It's a good idea to stick a sponge filter of some type in your 55 gallon tank for a couple of weeks, then when you setup a QT, move that sponge into the QT. That will kickstart the biological filter, and you won't have to worry about ammonia in the QT nearly as much. Once there are no more fish in the 55, you need to wait 4 to 6 weeks before putting fish back in it. During that time, the ich parasite will be eradicated due to lack of fish hosts. At the same time, hopefully your hyposalinity in the QT(s) will cure your existing fish. Watch the pH and ammonia closely in QT. Hypo causes pH to lower. I use Reef Buffer from SeaChem in my water prior to putting it in the QT to keep it at 8.3.

It took me almost a week in hyposalinity before my Coral Beauty's white spots were completely gone. Once all the spots are gone, wait at least 4 (some say 6 or 8) weeks before slowly raising the SG back up to the levels in your 55, and then place the fish back in there.