Hyposalinity help w FOWLR tank

[suep]

I need some help and definitely some sympathy and handholding...

I bought a 29 gallon BioCube a month ago. It's got 30 lbs live rock, and about 4" of sand. I removed the bio balls and replaced them with live rock rubble. I found a Coral Beauty and Sea Bass that went into my 10 gallon quarantine tank while the tank cycled.

After about 15 days, the tank parameters were looking really good, and the CB was looking really cramped in the quarantine tank. So I got optimistic and dumped both fish in the BioCube. I sat down to admire them while they happily explored. And, in the better light, I saw several white spots on the CB's head. I about freaked, but... I decided to get advice before I did anything, and I figured tearing the rock apart to catch the fish would just stress them out more.

The spots were gone the next day. A new one was on her side when I walked into the office that morning, but that one was gone also when I looked again in 10 minutes. After talking to the lfs, I dropped the salinity to 1.018 (from 1.022) over the next two days and watched. I bought 2 cleaner shrimp, one lived, one died immediately. :-( About average for me and shrimp. <sigh> Two days later (last Sunday), I dropped the salinity to 1.014, the shrimp stayed active but I never saw him clean anybody. I've been dosing Seachem Reef Builder (carbonate) all along to keep the KH about 7 or 8 drops.

Last Tuesday it looked like the CB might have a couple spots on her forehead. I dropped the salinity to 1.012 immediately. The shrimp stayed OK, and the Ich disappeared. Thursday morning (12:30AM) the Angel had at least 10 spots on her fins and head. I did everything except rip the tank apart, but I couldn't catch the shrimp. I felt rather desperate at this point, and decided that the fish were more important to me. I dropped the salinity to 1.010 before I went to bed and to 1.009 at noon Thursday. (The shrimp died in the meantime, and I feel really bad about that.)

The fish is spot free at the moment. Throughout all of this, she's eaten well and been very active. She has taken Formula One flakes, freeze dried krill, pecked at shrimp pellets, and grazed the algae on the rocks. She has NOT been interested in live brine shrimp or dried algae...? In fact, today is the first day since I've had her she hasn't had a long, firm, solid poop most of the time. I don't know why, and she's active enough, but at this point I'm jumping at shadows and freaking at everything... :-(

[suep]

Everything I've read about Ich online (at Marine Depot and wetwebmedia mostly) say to drop the salinity to 1.009 for a month, use garlic, and wait it out.

I do wish I'd seen this in the quarantine tank, but honestly I don't think the light is good enough over it to show subtle details. I certainly spent enough time watching them while they were in it. (Yes, I need to find room in a better location for quarantine, but in the meantime...) The two fish have never been depressed or flashing. I knew putting them in the big tank could be risky if... But I've planned it as a FOWLR, and while I eventually do want to try GSPs and zoas and stuff fragged from my sps tank, thats not the focus, the Coral Beauty and the other fish will be the focus.

I am assuming (when I'm not desperately depressed and anxious, anyway) that the hypo will work and the fish will be OK. I am assuming that I've slowed down, if not killed my cycle totally and I will probably have to be hyper vigilant about parameters. I am assuming I've totally killed whatever pods and hitchhikers I had from the live rock and that I'll have to reseed it.

Anything I've missed? And/or have I screwed up totally and irretrievably?

[suep]

I bought some garlic today--GVH Fish Food Soak--with phyto, garlic, and HUFAs. I measured out a few flakes of Formula One and sprinkled them with several drops of this stuff. When I went to feed, the liquid really clouded the tank up. So much so that I put some carbon fitler pad on top of the live rock in the middle chamber.

How do you feed garlic without totally wiping out the water quality?

[V]

Dood, i feel your pain but try not to stress, you're almost able to keep brackish fish now..lol


Have a read of this by JJ, No BS approach or sugar coating, just the people i like to hear from actually.

JJ Web

[suep]

Argh!! Thanks for the link, I'm definitely going to keep an eye on that guy's blog. Right now I'm going to try the hyposalinity and see how it goes.

Well, today the Angel's pooping again and both fish look OK. (Of course, I moved the Koralia slightly in the reef tank and my favorite clam is wrinkling a tiny part of his mantle... <huge sigh>)

[CarmieJo]

Hi Sue,

Sorry to hear about this trial. I feed garlic all the time. I put whatever I am feeding in a cup, add a few drops each of garlic and vitamins and let it soak in for a few minutes before feeding. I use Garlic Guard (because the LFS carries it) and have never seen it cloud my tank.

[suep]

Thanks Carmie! Right now I'm cautiously optimistic, esp after reading everything I could get my hands on about hyposalinity and Ich. Both fish look good and happy, and 2 1/2 days into full-blown hyposalinity, I'm sitting here watching a blue-legged hermit climb a rock?! Weird!

The tank cleared up a few hours after I put the carbon in the back, but I haven't had the nerve to try garlic again yet. I wonder if I used too much. I know I dumped everything into the tank, next time I think I'll use something solid enough that I can just add the food and leave the liquid behind.

I'm reading mixed things about how stressful the transition to low salinity is, some people say you can go straight to 1.009 (but you have to be very slow going back to reef conditions, take several days). Does anyone here have an opinion on the transition down? I've got a really cute Geometric Pygmy Hawk in another tank for quarantine. He looks fine, but I'm really considering doing hypo for a month on any fish I buy, and it'd sure be convenient if I could just match the temp and KH and dump him in with the Angel.

[CarmieJo]

IDK for sure but I have always heard to go slow both ways. I have been fortunate and have not had ich since I set my reef up. Back in the old FO days we just coppered everything. However, you can freshwater dip them without any transition... I'd match pH too.

[suep]

Thanks. I talked to a guy at the lfs today that's used hyposalinity to treat Ich in his personal fish. He said he'd drip acclimate for 30-45 minutes going down and then double that going back up at the end. I haven't had the nerve to try it yet. Don't know if I will, actually, but it would be more convenient and at least then I'd know all 3 fish were clean...


To tell the truth, I've been sort of ignoring pH. I can't read the subtle color distinctions on the tests, so I gave up and I've been keeping up on KH and hoping that would cover whatever I need. A friend of mine just got a pH tester and she likes it, but I haven't wanted to spend the $$ so far.

[CarmieJo]

I think that if they have been living in .009 for a month that taking it back up to .025 or so in 60-90 minutes would be stressful on the fish.

[suep]

Yeah, I know what you mean. I'll probably take a day or two going back up.

[CarmieJo]

I would do a series of 10% water changes using the water from my DT. Not only will that raise the SpG you will be acclimating the fish to the DT's water.