SICK fish birthday present from my little sister, help??

[dorkfish3]

well My mom warned me that my 10 year old syster was excited to get me a fish for my tank on my birthday today. she spent her own money on it and I thought that was very cute so I showed my mom which ones she could chose from (nano fish on liveaquaria.com) anyway I went over there today and she got me 2 small blue legs hermits, a nessarius snail, and a Fridmani Pseudochromis (which is cool because they sold it to here for the price of a firefish) anyway I noticed when I saw it that it had some small white spots, ick, so I fekt bad and I am determined to get it better so I went out and bought it a 10g Quarentine setup, filter, heater and cut off a piece of PVC for it to hide in.. anyway here is what I am not sure how to do..

I am thinking hyposalinity is the safest and best way to go for the fish. what is the proper steps for me to take to give the fish my best shot on helping him recover?

[sruiz]

You are headed in the right direction, lower the salt level slowly not to quick. HYpO is one of the best proven methods to get rid of ich. go to about.com there you can see a good article abouth the ich lifespan.

[dorkfish3]

cool I will read up. I have been in the hobby for awhile but never really QT'd a fish so I was sure the rate at which I should lower the SG and how many water changes to do. thanks Im on it

[dorkfish3]

ok so I read up.. just to make sure I am doing this right. I basically have to just set up my QT tank with a 1.010-1.013 SG level and leave the fish in there like that for about 3-4weeks until it is better. and obviously introduce it to a little food?

[Sk8r]

Your hermits and snail, with proper acclimation [as if they were fish] can go on into your display, but with the possibility their water might have ich, I'd double-dip them in clean salt water or a couple of separate cups of your good tank water on their way to their new home, to be sure they're not bringing any of their original water with them. Inverts don't get ich, but the water they're traveling in can bring it in. It may be my superstition , but I figure an intermediate 'bath' in clean water won't hurt and might help.

[dorkfish3]

yea I planned on doing that b/c I read that hypo will kill inverts. but my thing is do I go ahead and set up the QT at 1.013 and put the fish in at that salinity and leave him there for 4 weeks or do I need to work down to that slowly?

[meco65]

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2007/6/fish

[mbbuna]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11192981#post11192981 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by dorkfish3
yea I planned on doing that b/c I read that hypo will kill inverts. but my thing is do I go ahead and set up the QT at 1.013 and put the fish in at that salinity and leave him there for 4 weeks or do I need to work down to that slowly?

set up the QT at the SG of the water the fish is in now and drip acclimate the fish just like normal and add it to the QT tank. then slowly lower the SG down for the hypo treatment. when the treatment is over slowly raise the SG to your display SG.

[Macimage]

It may take a few days to lower the salinity and then after the 4-6 week quarantine, another few days to raise it back up.

Joyce

[dorkfish3]

awesome the fish is in QT and I set the salinity at 1.023 and temp at 80..

I am a little worried about the PH dropping with the salinity drop... what is the best way to monitor that in a 10 gallon and what should I use to raise it?

[Sk8r]

Get a ph meter: you're going to need it anyway. They're battery powered, under 30.00. It will probably be ok. Also: be sure you use a thermometer, [digital is best] NOT the reading on the heater thermostate---those always lie.

You're a saint of a brother. This gift is likely going to cost you more than it cost ;) but you're going to learn quite a bit in the process.

[Lotus99]

I used this as a guide for getting the salinity down: http://www.petsforum.com/personal/trevor-jones/hyposalinity.html

It basically gives you a percentage/timetable for doing it. I used it, and didn't have any problems.

[Slice of Ocean]

Good luck with the fish and happy belated birthday!

[meco65]

I was told QT salinity was to be set at 1.009 or it did not work all the time.

[bagelgeek]

my tank mentor told me that I should feed fish heavily if they got ich, or is that a wives tales?

[Lotus99]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11202934#post11202934 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bagelgeek
my tank mentor told me that I should feed fish heavily if they got ich, or is that a wives tales?

Old wive's tale.

Obviously, nutrition is important if a fish is fighting off a disease, but feeding extra certainly won't cure the ich.

[reefergeorge]

[QUOTE]<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11202811#post11202811 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by meco65
I was told QT salinity was to be set at 1.009 or it did not work all the time. [/QUOTE

Hypo is at 1.009.
1.013 will not rid the ich. I would also keep him in Qt 4-6 weeks after the last sign of spots. You can lower you sg to 1.009 in 24 hrs, but raise it very slowly over a couple days. Good Luck.