salinity????

[kimbers]

ok, every 1 got another QS ..fish have ich again !! have a fowler tank how low can i go safely on hyposalinity? in at about .016 right now on a major water change . fish look better , can i permanatly leave the salinity low w/o harm? thanx all !!! also , did a water change with treated tap water hope thats ok too? thanx

[Sisterlimonpot]

to cure ich, you can drop it down to 1.009, I wouldn't keep it there for any longer than 8 weeks. If you have inverts in the tank they won't survive the low salinity. So make sure they are removed from the tank.

Once the ich is gone you don't have to keep a fish only tank at 1.025 you can drop it down to 1.019, and that will help lower their stress level.

[Chris27]

Some fish should never be subjected to hypo simply because they process salt differently, so the general answer is no, you shouldn't maintain a tank long term at depressed salinity levels.

[Palting]

To treat for Ich, you MUST have the salinity at 1.009. You MUST keep it there for a minimum of 4 weeks. Those are the fixed requirements for treatment. Anything else, and you decrease your chances for success.

There are anecdotal reports of liver/kidney problems with prolonged hyposalinity of 1.009. Prolonged as in over 10 weeks. For fish only, there are also anectdotal reports that they do better at SG 1.019. Inverts, thought, won't like it.