Hypo salinity treatment for ich, does it work?

[Alice]

Erin,

I used to get frustrated with it too; it never seemed to take the same amount twice to raise it to the same level.

Here's a link that might be a big help: pH and baking soda

[Doug1]

Would the stuff from LFS that you can get to affect pH , it comes in a 7.0/8.2 and maybe a lower one for discus tanks.
ITs a powder I think, should be easy enough to use

[beach bum]

SaltC, your lowered salinity will help those fish that do not have full blown cases stave it off by creating an environment that is more difficult for the parasites to thrive in. But fish with lowered immunity, such as a tang in a 20g who might be stressed, will still have a hard time healing.

Make a point of testing the tanks new Ph as well, not just the dip water.

About the "immediate relief" thing, now it has been a while since I've dealt with it but I beleive the white spots associated with Crypto are damage left on the fish after the parasite has fed and dropped off - not visible parasites themselves... otherwise you would see little white things swimming around the tank if they were that visible. That is why the white spots will not disappear after a simple dip, and take time to go away.

If you don't want to use hypo, you can always try copper. Or if you have a friendly LFS that can help you, ask them.

Since you are upgrading the 20 to a 120, then don't even worry about killing off life on your current rock, or even about getting copper in the tank, since this will not be your display tank anyway. DO NOT try hypo and copper at the same time.

Refractometers are fairly cheap as far as reef supplies go and they are much more reliable yet also simple to use, a very worthy investment IMO.

bb

[salt creepette]

thanks alice

doug, yeah, i have that stuff you are talking about. its called Proper PH. and I really dont think that its for use with freshwater. the directions say to be sure you add the salt first, then adjust the PH. obviously this wont work with a freshwater dip, so I think I am going to have to try the baking soda thing.

beach bum, thanks for all your comments, I really appreciate everyone being so helpful. Yeah I go to pick up my 120 tomorrow, even though I cant set it up just yet, Im still excited. The tang seems happy enough, but he cant talk and I know he would say 'I need to stretch my fins, gimme a bigger tank!' I should have just said to myself, 'this is NOT the last sailfin tang on the planet, just wait,' but you know how that goes...gotta learn my lessons the hard way sometimes!

[salt creepette]

well the hypo and garlic is working, the tang is all but cleared up. thanks everyone for all of your help!

Thursday I took delivery on a 120 tank and stand. I will go pick up the rest of the setup once things settle down in my life and I have moved into a place of my own that I will be at permanently (I just moved back to Austin after being away for three years). I cant wait to get it set up and all the fishies settled into their new home (too)!

[icebear]

Congrats on the 120 *jumps up and down*
Hope the tang continues to improve....