Time limit on QT hyposalinity?

[ledford1]

I've read that hyposalinity can have negative effects on health when fish are kept in that environment for an extended amount of time. Is there any limit or suggested limit for hypo?

I have a Blue Hippo Tang and a Moorish Idol in my 30g QT. The BT has had the darndest time kicking the Ich. It's been about a month at 0.009 salinity. I'm checking with a refractometer and have checked it against RO - it's working properly.

Perhaps because of fluctuating water levels (evaporation), or something else, the Ich has remained. It's not heavy, but the BT always has a spot or 2 that seems to appear.

I'm going to lower the salinity another point or two. And once the Ich finally disappears, I'll have another 4-6 weeks with them in hypo, a little over 2 months total. Is this going to be an issue?

[zemuron114]

if you go below 1.009 there will be negative effects. there must be evaporation that is raising the salinity enough in order to keep the ich alive. You could go 3 weeks at 1.009 and then 10 minutes with it at 1.011 and the ich will start over... it has to be a 4-6 weeks straight at hypo. I suggest raising the salinity to 1.017 and adding a little bit of copper. Not a full dose. I do this on my holding systems and all fish seem to handle it very well (including tangs/wrasses/butterflies)

if your set on hypo, monitor it every 6 hours or so to make sure it dind't rise.

[Amphiprion]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8441940#post8441940 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by zemuron114
if you go below 1.009 there will be negative effects. there must be evaporation that is raising the salinity enough in order to keep the ich alive. You could go 3 weeks at 1.009 and then 10 minutes with it at 1.011 and the ich will start over... it has to be a 4-6 weeks straight at hypo. I suggest raising the salinity to 1.017 and adding a little bit of copper. Not a full dose. I do this on my holding systems and all fish seem to handle it very well (including tangs/wrasses/butterflies)

if your set on hypo, monitor it every 6 hours or so to make sure it dind't rise.

A lower dosage with a chelated copper solution is usually tolerated fairly well.

[ledford1]

How long does going below 0.009 start to affect fish? Is it the liver that has problems, or just the body functions as a whole that become impaired?

I'm not exactly set on hypo, but I was hoping to avoid using copper. I do have some Cupramine on hand that I haven't used.

With copper treatment, is it still recommended to go 4-6 weeks? I'll read up a bit on it since I haven't done it before.

[BTTRFLYGRL]

You mean 1.009 S.G I hope;)

Are you checking this 2 times a day? This should have taking care of the ich...[IF its ich]..If you are doing this correctly, then it may not be ich your dealing with.
Two months in Hypo will not harm your fish..6 months would not be wise, but 2 months is fine
If you decide to raise the SG and use copper, you must use the full dose or it will not work.
Good luck!

[ledford1]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8447414#post8447414 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by BTTRFLYGRL
You mean 1.009 S.G I hope
Whoops. You're right, that probably wouldn't be in the best interests of the fish.