[art_of_war]

thanks leeb,

Hyposalinity treatment is effective; VERY effective but hard to monitor properly especially in large tanks. But, copper treatment is just as difficult if not harder. Too much of the dosage can kill; too little will not be effective. Hyposalinity is the best method of erraticating ich.

However, I don't think you want to treat fish for ich beyond 4 weeks. I've learned that keeping your fish in salinity sg <1.009 beyond a month could result in physiological disorders.

[leebca]

I'm unsure where you learned this, but there are professional aquariums that maintain marine tanks at 11 ppt for extensive periods of time without any ill effects on fish.

There have been no actual long term studies performed on marine fishes kept at low salinities which show any adverse effects.

Since I've been using this method for the last 25 years, I have had no problems with any noticeable affects on marine fishes.

I'd say for the record that an 'average' marine fish can be kept at low salinity for several months without suffering ill effects.

[art_of_war]

I don't think it's a good practice to do that. I do keep several tanks; mostly for corals and inverts but I do have one large tank that I've had to perform Hypo-treatment on that is FOWLR. In that tank, the treatment was very stressful on ALL the fish. That is why I don't keep the salinity that low. B/c if that were fine, I would saving on salt every month by keeping the sp at 1.009 all the time. But, since I became aware of the dangers of low salinity it's not a good practice. I later learned that having the correct salt level is essential to proper fish growth as well. Also, fish have the tendency to hurt themselves and unfortunately, you can't just put a bandaid on them. That's when it's imperative to maintain a proper salt level for healing.

4 weeks is a long time for any treatment despite being a necessary evil. 8 weeks or more can be detrimental. I don't mean to disagree with you on this topic but the truth is...if you can maintain 2 weeks of hypo, you could break the life cycle of the cryptocaryon protozoan. In my opion, the extra 2 weeks is just to erraticate and sterilize (preventive maintenance).

[leebca]

art_of_war,

I've moved these posts to a new thread. You are entitled to your opinion, but I base my recommendation on facts. I don't know how you performed your hyposalinity so I can't say why it stressed the fish or what went wrong, but it is a fact that hyposalinity for extended periods of times is okay.

The Oklahoma Aquarium published an article on that subject you should read. It is here: Short Take

It is important for me to make sure that new people here are properly informed and the opinion you've expressed doesn't confirm the facts and other's experiences. If you want, we can critique the hyposalinity treatment you performed. You might want to compare what you did to the proper procedure outlined here: Hyposalinity Treatment

[BinaryReefer]

Yes, hypo is my prefered "less stressful" treatment for ich. And I also find it quite easy to monitor, even without a digital probe. A properly calibrated refractometer will work fine.

[art_of_war]

leeb,

I'm not a marine biologist but from sources that are just as credible I can honestly say it's not a good idea to exceed a certain time frame of treatment. I won't cite exactly since those parties are experts who know and work in the field most extensively and are well aware of marine physiology.

It doesn't have to a debate but rather a matter of preference and know-how. I've performed hypotreatment in the past on many fish. I'm all for it; that and freshwater baths (well over copper treatment or methaline blue or tetracycline). Of course, my monitoring is a bit more intensive and 4 weeks is a long time but necessary. 8 weeks is even tougher. Fish lose their colour; they sometimes even become lethargic; and even worse...they hunger strike; not to mention...low salinity doesn't help in healing cuts that can, do and often happen within the confines of an aquarium that have decorative sharp live rock. Marine fish are unique in that their environment is supposed to be very stable (unlike freshwater fish) and the similarity would be like a normal human breathing in 5 percent oxygen for a year and trying to do their normal activities. We can adjust but we don't behave normal in those surroundings. Even humans can lose their colour (turn pale), become catatonic and suffer loss of appetite resulting from environmental anomalies.

[leebca]

Without substantiation, I don't think your observations match any others norm. My fish don't loose color, they don't hunger strike, but they do come out Marine Ich (Cryptocaryon irritans) free. The time needed in hyposalinity to provide a high percentage of success of ridding fish of Marine Ich is based upon Dr. Burgess' findings that the Marine Ich cyst stage can in fact live up to 6 weeks before moving on to the next stage of its cycle.

You mention rocks in the aquarium. Hyposalinity is done in a quarantine tank, where there are no rocks or decorations, just a single piece of pipe to afford protection. A lower salinity is in fact easier on a fish with an injury or open wound.

The inside of the fish is 'freshwater' and the exterior water, being closer to the internal makeup can pull a fish through a severe injury. Lowering salinity for a marine fish seriously wounded is a treatment performed at veterinarian schools.

I appreciate your input art but your information is seriously deficient. If you'd like to improve your technical knowledge about such things, I suggest taking a course (as I have) in ornamental fish husbandry, or study some of the fundamental books on the subjects, such as Dr. Stoskopf's book, Fish Medicine.

The 'trust me because I've heard from other experts' will not suffice in dealing with fish medicine. That is how mis-information is disseminated.

[art_of_war]

To each his own. Experts or not; it'll always be a matter of preference. Don't be offended as I am not a marine biologist but it's not misinformation either.