More Questions About Ich...

[Brian5000]

OK, I've had my six-line wrasse for about a week and a half. A few days after I got it, I noticed a tiny spot on its tail. It iched against the rock every once in a while, and chases it's tail trying to nip the spot (I think). Yesterday, I noticed two spots. Apart from that it seems very healthy and a voracious feeder. I've also been messing around with the tank in the past few days that probably stressed it out a bit (I'm done now). Now, I've read that a fish's immune system can handle ich on it's own under ideal conditions, and I really don't know how fast this stuff spreads, but it seems slow to me. My question is, if the fish lives comfortably hence forth, can the spots clear on their own? At what point should I intervene? And how best should I do that (considering the infection is so small at this point)?
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[ChrisRD]

I'd watch him closely for the next few days. If things get worse you might want to treat him, but it's definitely possible for healthy fish to kick infections/parasites on their own.

If you do end up needing to treat him, do some searches on the board and read about hyposalinity or copper treatment methods.

 

[Brian5000]

Thanks, I have been reading other messages and I like the idea of hyposalinity since it wouldn't necessarlily require me to spend yet more money on a QT tank (other emergencies have a stretched a bit thin this month). My usual LFS medicates his tanks so I really haven't had a problem until I decided to get this one somewhere else. I do have a cleaner shrimp and a couple mushrooms in there. I understand that the preferred treatment, SG 1.009, might be a bit much for them, but an SG of 1.014 is still effective, and this should last roughly 6 weeks for maximum effect. True?
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[Anonymous]

If you use .009, your inverts will be way more stressed out because their body salinity is the same as the surrounding water. Most likely they will die as a result. If you use .014, it still kills the cycle of ich, and your inverts tend to make it through. I've personally used .014, and all animals made it through.

On a side note, I know someone in the trade who services tanks for a living. He keeps his tanks at .015. Although he may take in cryptocarion when he gets new fish, it does not breed in his tank. Also, in regard to fish, a lower salinity of .015 tends to help fish through the stress period of transportation, because when you have a higher salinity, it's one more task that the fish's body has to do more of--rid it's body of salt. Inverts are different, however.

'Think I went in circles there, but ..well.. there you have it.
~wings~

 

[Brian5000]

So 1.014 does work fine, is relatively safe for inverts and has been used as a long-term preventative measure in the past without observable adverse effects. Got it.

Now that I think about it, that's good because, since this wrasse is a cave hider (and it's hole is right in the middle of the rockwork too), I'm not sure if I could get it to a QT tank if I wanted too.
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[rburn99]

Newbie question about the lowered salinity.

If 1.014-1.015 works and is less stressful than higher values, why is 1.024-1.025 the target value?

Robb

 

[Brian5000]

I think it's mostly for the corals and inverts in a reef system. Long term hyposalinity would be stressful, and they would probably be marked with a "failure to thrive" if not outright die eventually. Fish and other vertebrates (including humans) rely on active transport to control internal sodium concentration (they expend energy to get rid of it). So I guess they simply adapt. 1.023-1.025 is closest to their natural habitat, so I guess it is a little hard for me to believe that wouldn't be the most comfortable, but I don't have any facts to support that.
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[Anonymous]

At this point I would just keep an eye on him. Six lines are very hardy, imo, and if you keep the water in relatively pristine condition, my guess is he will overcome the ich on his own. Good luck!

 

[Anonymous]

Newbie question about the lowered salinity.

If 1.014-1.015 works and is less stressful than higher values, why is 1.024-1.025 the target value?

Robb

Some people like to replicate exactly what the ocean salinity is...some organisms (like cryptocarion ) require a higher level of salt to reproduce, etc. You can get away with lower levels (.019-22), I've done this over extended lengths of time with no ill effects.
~wings~

 

[Brian5000]

At the risk of sounding like a newbie (and I am), my bag of salt says 1.020-1.023 is a good number to shoot for, and I've been keeping my tank between 1.021-1.022. Is that not good? Should my standard SG be higher?
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[Anonymous]

At the risk of sounding like a newbie (and I am), my bag of salt says 1.020-1.023 is a good number to shoot for, and I've been keeping my tank between 1.021-1.022. Is that not good? Should my standard SG be higher?

That's what I keep mine at. Some people like to go higher. Everything in my tank is doing very well, so I try not to mess with this too much.
~wings~

 

[Anonymous]

1.021-1.022 is fine for fish...corals generally like it a little higher...around 1.025.