Hyposalinity Treatment

[leebca]

I've not posted the general instructions for a hyposalinity treatment before now. Mostly it isn't that difficult to perform. However, there are some pitfalls and for some aquarists (especially those that think it will be easy) it isn't easy. Hyposalinity is the nicest (to the fish) and easiest (on the fish) way to treat marine fish of Marine Ich (Cryptocaryon irritans).

Before you treat Marine Ich, please read this: Marine Ich - Myths and Facts

The hyposalinity treatment only treats a very limited number of ciliated parasites. The most notable in this group is Marine Ich (Cryptocaryon irritans). The home aquarist will not be using hyposalinity to treat any other disease or condition. Is this clear? I'll write it again -- hyposalinity cures ONLY Marine Ich.

A hyposalinity treatment will kill: Pods, snails, crabs, invertebrates, corals, live rock, most marine algae, and Marine Ich. This is why it is best performed in a separate, bare bottom, hospital tank. It has been performed successfully in fish only aquariums where there is no live rock and the substrate doesn't have worms and pods in it. But the best treatment tank is a bare bottom hospital tank, set up like a quarantine tank. See here for quarantine information: A Fish Quarantine Process

A hyposalinity treatment will not kill other parasites or conditions. A hyposalinity treatment does not kill Marine Velvet (Amyloodinium ocellatum), bacterial infections, injuries, intestinal parasites, external parasites, and a few hundred other diseases. Let's get to it!


GENERAL

Setup/System
Use a suitably clean tank or a setup/establish quarantine tank. The size should 'fit' the fish to be treated. About 5 gallons per inch of fish works out okay for this treatment, except for large adult Angelfishes, Tangs, and Rabbitfishes. For them, it would be better to use the ratio of 9 gallons per inch.

Lighting on the treatment tank should be dimmed so that you can see the fish, but not bright. Provide the fish with some hiding place(s) (e.g. PVC pipe, fake rock, etc.). Do not put substrate, live sand, live rock or any other kind of living thing in the treatment tank. A simple bare tank with a corner sponge filter is more than adequate. Use one corner filter for every 15 gallons of tank water.

Don't add/use power heads or strong circulating pumps. Set the tank up in a quiet area of the home, where there is minimal human traffic. Use heater or chiller and thermometer to hold temperature steady and constant. A UV may be used if you have one suitable for that size tank. Just don't overcook the water! Do not attach a skimmer -- they don't usually work well with this kind of water. Besides, you should be making water changes to control organics/dissolved proteins.

DO NOT USE AN ELEVATED TEMPERATURE during treatment. DO NOT ADD ANY OTHER MEDICATIONS TO HYPOSALINE SALTWATER without knowing it is approved by the medicine manufacturer for use specifically during a hyposalinity treatment. When fish are in a hyposaline liquid, the effects of medicines and medications changes. Some meds become lethal, like copper. NEVER USE COPPER when doing the hyposalinity treatment.

The only different equipment needed besides the above is a refractometer. They are less than $50 and well worth the investment. A hydrometer is just not accurate enough for controlling the salt content in the treatment tank. Control will be essential to a successful treatment.

First Water and Water Changes
Water is taken from the display tank system or water is made up to match the water the fish is coming from. Match specific gravity, temperature and especially pH to very close to the water the fish is currently in, if water is being prepared from salt. The pH should be within 0.05 pH units -- that's how close I mean by 'close.' Read this post closely: How to Make a Successful Water Change

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.

DO NOT try to control the pH with pH buffer or other off the shelf additives. Use only the two mentioned above or a specific strong pH+ control.

Do not add the baking soda or sodium carbonate directly to the hospital/quarantine tank. Always thoroughly dissolve some powder in RO/DI or distilled water then drip/add that in slowly to move the pH up.

If you mess up and the pH has lowered considerably (more than 0.2 pH units) then raise the pH VERY SLOWLY -- no more than 0.10 pH units per day. A large pH change can seriously harm a fish, especially a sick one.


PROCESS

Lowering Salinity
Over a period of about 36-48 hours (use 48 for most Tangs, Butterflyfishes, Lionfishes, Puffers, and Dwarf Angelfishes) lower the specific through water removal and RO/DI or distilled water additions. Watch pH and temperature of the added water -- match that of the water being replaced. Use only a refractometer to measure the specific gravity. Lower the specific gravity to a reading of 1.008 to 1.009 sp. gr. units. Hold it there throughout the treatment.

Maintenance
This is why I mentioned above this treatment is not easy on the aquarist.
If the treatment tank has an active biological filter, don't assume it's working. When salinity is lowered the bacteria sometimes enter into a state of suspension and hold off in their metabolism of ammonia and nitrites. Controlling water quality and especially pH will be the challenge. Check for ammonia, nitrites, and pH twice each day at the start, until readings are zero for ammonia and nitrites. Don't count on the pH to remain steady. It must be checked no less than twice a day and if needed, adjusted.

Make water changes to control organics, ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, etc. If all is steady, still make water changes of 35% or more every other day. After the first water use, the only water to use to make changes is made up water from salt. DO NOT USE DISPLAY TANK WATER to make water changes in a treatment tank, no matter what disease is being treated.

Nutrition
The fish must be offered and gotten to eat throughout the process. The best foods must be given. Choose the right foods and feed frequently as recommended here: Feeding Marine Fish and Fish Nutrition

I would also seriously recommend the fish foods be fortified/supplemented with immune boosters. For immune boosters, see this: Fish Immune Boosters

Salinity Control
If the tank water salinity is allowed to go up, the Marine Ich parasite will not be killed or stressed into submission. If the tank water salinity goes below the target salinity, the fish are in danger. HOLD THE SPECIFIC GRAVITY very closely within 1.008 to 1.009 sp. gr. units.

Treatment Time
The fish is kept in hyposalinity until the aquarist can no longer see any spots on the fish. After the last spot disappears, the hyposalinity continues for another 4 weeks. If during that 4 weeks, if any spot is seen, the time/clock starts over. There must be a minimum of 4 solid weeks with no spot EVER seen.

Raising Salinity
Now raise the specific gravity slowly. The raising of the specific gravity is very stressful on fish and this part must be done slowly. It should take 6 to 7 days to return the water to its normal salinity. Raise the specific gravity by about 0.003 sp. gr. units or less, per day. Less is okay. No need to be ultra conservative and go beyond 8 days to do this. BUT in no way try to shorten the time to less than 6 days.

When the treatment time is over, there is no need to add back distilled water to compensate for water evaporated. Let that be part of the raising of the salinity. When you go to raise the salinity, add small quantities of high specific gravity mixed and aged salt water.

Continue to monitor all water parameters and chemistries.


PROOF

Verification
After the salinity is returned to normal, hold the fish in the treatment tank for another 4 weeks to verify it is cured. Look for spots every day, very closely. Observe the fish behavior, breathing rate, flashing (scratching) and look for any other Marine Ich symptoms. At the end of this time, the fish is cured/free of Marine Ich IF no other symptoms are seen/observed.


Post any questions you have regarding this procedure!

[vaporize]

Just a thought, isn't it easier to just use copper to treat ich instead of using a 4 week hyposalinity. pH in a hyposalinity environment at 1.008-9 is way too hard to control and without a biological filtration working, monitoring water quality is going to be another high maintainence task too for 4 weeks (as suppose to keep cupramine at 0.3ppm).

[weez1959]

I've done both, and I find hypo is much more gentle on the fish. Copper is harsh and hard to keep at the right levels especially if you can't read the test properly... just my 2 cents!

[vaporize]

well, can't help if you can't read a test kit properly the same goes for your ammonia,nitrite, pH tests when you go for a hypo (remember those parameters are fluctating easily too)

[leebca]

As Louise alludes to, what is best for the fish should come first.

The 'problem' with the hyposalinity treatment in general is the aquarist. More often than not, the aquarist isn't prepared to perform any kind of treatment (copper or hyposaline). This goes from setting up the hospital/QT, establishing biological filtration, to controlling water quality.

Remember the issue of the biological filter is true whether the treatment is copper or hyposalinity, only the amount of time is an issue and if the treatment began with a properly seeded and standing-by biological filter, that issue goes away.

The control of the pH is relatively easy once the aquarist learns what it takes for their type of source water and the salt mix they have chosen. I can't guide them on this since those two parameters vary greatly. For myself, I just need to slowly drip high pH add-back RO/DI water to compensate for evaporation, to hold the pH where I want it.

Cleanliness requirements in the treatment tank is the same for both treatments. If uneaten food and wastes aren't removed routinely, the pH will go down along with water quality. One difference is time, as you rightly point out, vaporize. And that is pitted against the ilk of the aquarist.

If the aquarist isn't going to spend the time and attention it takes to perform a proper hyposalinity treatment, then Cupramine is the treatment of choice. After all, treatment has to at least match the patience, attention, and care the aquarist is willing to provide the fish.

The use of this particular complex of copper is safe for all fishes when administered as directed and concentration is maintained. Even still, there are pitfalls to using copper, including that it hangs around the tanks and isn't ever totally removed without special cleaning. There are these issues too, which I'm sure you've looked over: http://www.reefland.com/forum/marine...n't do. :(

[reggie]

HELP.FW dip andQT'S I'm kinda new at this but I do get the big picture.To late to start over but is there still a way out of this problem? I have 3 tangs,2 percula clowns and 1 angle(cor beauty) Inoticed Ich on 2 tangs so I got them out and FW dipped and Quarantined,only in lower salinity no meds yet.I have seen the post on this and understand what I need to do, but still need some advice. Can I do all the procedures 1 or 2 fish at a time and then release them back into the display tank then proceed with 1 or 2 more fish . If not I need some advice on how I should proceed without having to purchase the same # of QT'S as the # of fish. To give you an idea of my set up...90 gals tanq,35 gals refuge with built in sump,2 MH,2 Actinics,3 TUNZEs witih controler, chiller,skimmer and just about to add calc reactor and kalkwasser.Some hard corals and some softies, crabs and snails,1 sandsifter star ,2 urchins and 1 annemones.Honestly I thinq I went a little reef crazy when I was innitiated to this hobbie,but everything is looking fine other than the ICH and mabe some fine tunning

[leebca]

WELCOME TO REEFLAND!

I'm unsure from your post, but it sounds like you don't quite understand what it takes to overcome Marine Ich (Cryptocaryon irritans). The freshwater dip will not cure the fish.

Please read this post closely to understand better what you're dealing with: Marine Ich - Myths and Facts

To rid the marine system of Marine Ich, all fish have to be removed to hospital treatment tanks. I don't know the answer to, 'Do you need multiple tanks' for treatment, because I don't know the size of the fish. They can be put altogether for this treatment, however that tank has got to be large enough for them to live in for quite some time. If you don't have that size hospital tank, you'll need multiple tanks. If the tank is too small the fish will suffer by being under additional stress.

I'm unsure the kind of Tangs you have, but 3 Tangs in the 90 is 3 Tangs too many. Tangs need a long tank -- at least 6 feet long to 'fit properly.' So their treatment tank needs to be like a 90 if they are over 4" long.

The main system then has to go fishless for 8 weeks, without getting any more Marine Ich into that system through contamination, splashes, equipment, new fish, new additions, water, etc., etc.

[art_of_war]

reggie,

To make it simple. Do this: Get another big tank (pref. 90+ like your existing if not bigger). DON'T ADD ANYTHING! Let the tank go barebottom with the exception of perhaps some PVC tube cuttings. Take ALL your "fish" out (and I do mean all) and place into your new tank at normal salinity.

Over the next 3 to 5 days, begin lowering your salinity while checking your ammonia and nitrites twice a day. Do your water changes accordingly. By the 5th day, your specific gravity should be about 1.009. Use a refractometer to monitor as this is most accurate. Let your main display go FALLOW for the 4 week treatment. This will break the life cycle of the cryptocaryon parasite since they cannot infect inverts and a fish host is a necessity to survive.

Once you are confident that there are no more white spots on the fish and you've had several days of this, you may begin to raise the salinity to normal, and eventually acclimate them to the display tank.

It sounds tedious but it is what it is.

[leebca]

Your recommendations art do not fit what we know about Marine Ich, and good marine fish quarantine processes for the home hobbyist.

8 weeks is the minimum to let a tank go fishless, because the MI cyst phase in the cycle can last up to 6 weeks.

And lastly, a hyposalinity treatment is not for any given length of time. The treatment is, "hypo for 4 weeks AFTER the last sign of Marine Ich is seen by the human eye." Following this, the specific gravity is slowly raised and the fish kept in quarantine another 4 weeks to verify that the fish are free of Marine Ich.

[art_of_war]

Leeb,

I've read those articles and then some. *sigh* nevermind. Reggie, just do what you feel is best.