Hyposalinity

[Humblefish]

Hyposalinity
(Osmotic Shock Therapy)

What It Treats – Marine Ich (Cryptocaryon irritans) and Flukes (Monogeneans).

How To Treat – Place the fish you wish to treat in a quarantine tank with SG & temperature matching the tank they came from. Over a period of 48 hours, gradually lower the SG down to 1.009. You must use a perfectly calibrated refractometer at all times while doing hypo. Treat for 30 consecutive days, and during that time the SG must always remain at 1.009. If it inches up even slightly, the 30 day clock restarts. For this reason, many people use an auto top off system while performing hyposalinity. Some have even used hypo to successfully rid their display tank of ich, while others have failed. All corals and inverts must be removed beforehand if you wish to try this.

One of the challenges posed by hypo is maintaining a proper pH for the entire duration. While fish aren’t overly sensitive to low pH for short periods of time, anything continuously lower than 7.5 is going to be a problem. So, you will have to constantly test and then buffer the water to raise the pH. This can be accomplished by using supplements (available at most LFS) or you can “bake” your own DIY supplement by using baking soda. Spread baking soda onto a clean baking sheet, and bake at 300F for 1 hour. This process drives off carbon dioxide and water from the baking soda, and the result is an effective pH buffer. You will need to experiment (start with a very small amount) to determine how much is needed to raise your pH to the desired level.

Pros – Chemical free solution to Marine Ich, and is gentle on most fish. Scientific research also showed hyposalinity at 15 ppt (1.011 SG) for 2 days eliminated juvenile and adult flukes. When maintained for 5 days, egg hatching was prevented.

Cons/Side Effects – Difficult to execute properly, and hypo resistant strains of ich have been proven to exist (study done by Yambot in 2003.) In addition, hypo oftentimes will suppress (but not fully eradicate) other parasites such as velvet, brook and uronema. This does not become evident until salinity is raised. So, it is very important to be sure your fish has Marine Ich, and not some other parasitic infestation, before beginning hypo treatment.

 

[Feet4Fish]

2 for 2 today! Thanks!

 

[chicago]

for those interested . here is a post I did reflecting back and making some notes and warnings on my DT HYPO..

ok so let me do a quick post so who ever reads this does not make the same mistake I have..

here is the background.. the Display tank is about 600 gallons was ten years up and running. 40 fish and plently of large 40 lbs pieces of rock.. in other words not really movable. I had a lot of corals sps and problems with bubble and turf algea., more about algea later. ick arrived in the spring as usual. I usually just let it run it course but this time got a little worried. more than usual so I did the hypo treatment. I was aggressive and did it in the DT. here are the rules I found on that. Note I had three types of algea growing in the tank. bubble, turf the hard to remove impossible turf.. and a third that was almost like fluffly . hard to describe but could be brushed off.. had a lot of it and caused problems during the hypo as described below. it covered my rock.

NOTE. I REMOVED ALL CORALS AND INHABITANTS EXCEPT THE FISH AND ROCK AND SAND. CALIBRATE YOUR REFRACTOMETER WITH 35PPT SOLUTION. NOTE RODI

1. You can hypo a DT. but certain cautions must be met.
2. expect ammonia spikes if you do not remove the rock if covered in algea.
3. I had ammonia spikes and found it was the die off of the algea.
4. After ammonia spike I decided to do the heavy lifting and I removed half the rock with the help of fellow reefer. put rock outside and let dry to get rid of turf bubble and fluffy algae. Should have done this in the beginning. Note I had biological bed in my sump to handle the tank.
5. I lost fish because I should have removed the rock first that was coated in fluffy algae. the fluffy algae dies right away. bubble takes a few days.. and turf that is anther story. I think if the rock is not covered in fluffy algae you are ok.. but watch for ammonia spikes
6. you can control ammonia spikes but only for 24 hours with use of prime or similar product.. but
7. Ammonia spikes I controlled with seacheme product called prime and MUST do and did large water changes to control the ammonia spikes.. talking 250 gallons.
8. I think again,, could have avoided the ammonia spikes if I had taken the rock covered in algae out first. NOTE, I have a large sump that has live rock and sand that was NOT covered in algae so that could maintain the biological .
9. The spikes in the ammonia ended when I removed half of the live rock with algae from the tank.
10. the ick cleared up in days of dropping the tank to 1.009. IT did not work at anything above 1.010. Some have said 1.014 is workable to kill ick. that is not correct in my opinion.
11. Bubble algae does not live through hypo, hypo kills bubble algae. Good news there.
12. Turf algae is weakened and Hypo does appear to kill it but it takes much longer. Two weeks in hypo and the turf is still living. But appears to be vanishing.. but then again.. tank is not fully lighted anymore.
13. Finally,, make sure all your refractometers are calibrated properly. Mine was not. I actually had the hypo at 1.006 and lost a fish or two because of it.
My Milwaukee was showing 1.009 dead on. Then I purchased two BRS handheld with calibration solution of 35ppt. Discovered the issue and am correcting it.
14. Display tank at two weeks looks good, actually really good. no bubble algae, and the fish look good. My fox face I never use to see the iris in his eyes due to them being cloudy ..

Just my observations..

 

[chicago]

Little update.. this is my new procedures for how to QT new fish for issues of ick, Flukes and other nasty

I have been doing the following for new fish. recently lost like 20 of 45 fish to ick. I did Hypo to the DT and now have started new QT procedures for new fish..

combination of three things.
hypo, ttm and General Cure from API. I also treat and do a bath with Actriflavin.

I have a bunch of 10 gallon tanks.

1. New fish gets acclimated to 1.009 over two to three hours.
2. Placed in 10 gallon tank with only water, heater and airstone.
3. For period of 15 days every morning I place fish in a new 10 gallon tank
4. New tank every morning has newly made saltwater at 1.009
5. tank used for the prior day is rinsed with hot hot sink water. four times
6. paper towel dry and left under ceiling fan for 24 hours to completely dry
7. so new tank rotated in every 24 hours was scoured hot water and dry completely.
8. I add API General Cure every morning with the new tank water. I dose at
recommended level.. which works well as one package is per 10 gallons. API is used for issue of possible flukes and worms.
9. use colander to remove fish. or actually use hands to remove depending
on the aggressiveness of fish.
10. Over the 15 days I do two baths in actraflavine in the evening in separate container... then place back in the 10 gallon tank.
11. 10 gallons tanks are pretty easy to clean in laundry sink fill like one gallon hot water swosh around... turn tank and pour out. hot scolding water hits all sides and rim of the tank..
12. make sure use refracometer that is calibrated to 35 ppt. NOT RODI.
13. VERY IMPORTANT.. I add in some alk solution to the 10 gallons every morning as the PH can be a little low in newly mixed salt at 1.009.
14. I use ESV salt that is the four part is a little more work but mixes quick and clear and seems to be very gentle.. I have used it almost within an hour of mixing with no bad effects on fish..

I treated my female scribble this way. cured the ick and some type of worm on her.. I can also note that my fish actually eat pellets even immediately after being removed and transferred to new tank in the am.

so I am wondering.. TTM works great.. does using Salinity at 1.009 hypo help when combined with the TTM. Does it add a level of benefit?

 

[chicago]

ok.. so thought I would update.. the DT is doing well. tank is clean and no signs of ick for months. tank as of today is not Technically at Hypo.. but is low.. at 1.013.
I can say that the fish are all doing well. I can post a video. but need to review how to. my observations remain the same. interestingly, the water is now at 1.013 I did a see a wrasse or two do the swim at the bottom side ways against the gravel. not sure .. do not think it is an ick scratch. perhaps some of the micro life is coming back in the tank.. no signs of ick.. meaning no signs visually. All fish eating well and doing well at 1.014. Remember started out back in May hypo DT to 1.010.

 

[Alexpora Corals]

" does using Salinity at 1.009 hypo help when combined with the TTM. Does it add a level of benefit?"

Yes, it does see my article Comprehensive Marine Quarantine - Transfer Method II and Hyposalinity

 

[roberthu526]

Wow you really went to the extreme to fight ich. I just setup 2 QT and keep hypo for 30 days while also performing hypo in my DT. I moved all corals to another tank and kept it fallow for 60+ days. Right now all my fish are still in hypo just to be on the safe side and no signs of ich for 30 days already. I do 40-50% water change every week and that's pretty much it.
Your way is for sure much safer but reading your procedures may scare new hobbies away.

 

[chicago]

I can tell you that hypo is not issue for the fish.. drop them in hours to 1.014 and then next day to 1.010. I am little nervous to go lower than that.. some issues arise.
remember I am changing the water daily. my set up allows for this .. I have a 60 gallon mix vat ... good news I mix salt at half the recommend to 100 gallon bucket gets me 200 gallons. in case of ammonia spike I use prime. again.. I change the water almost daily.. sometimes I miss a change in the morning do to getting out of the house and work.. so change in pm.. which means 36 hours. Watch your ammonia as you lower the DT... that was an issue for me.. I had a lot of algea that died.

 

[chicago]

#humble...

question

"Chemical free solution to ich, gentle on the fish. Scientific research also showed hyposalinity at 15 ppt for 2 days eliminated juvenile and adult flukes. When maintained for 5 days, egg hatching was prevented".

just caught this above.. do the eggs hatch when the water reached above 15ppt after 10 days.. meaning if eggs are at 15 ppt for at least 5 days are the eggs history or suspended to live again when parameters are better?

 

[Humblefish]

just caught this above.. do the eggs hatch when the water reached above 15ppt after 10 days.. meaning if eggs are at 15 ppt for at least 5 days are the eggs history or suspended to live again when parameters are better?

They're gone for good.

 

[roberthu526]

I can tell you that hypo is not issue for the fish.. drop them in hours to 1.014 and then next day to 1.010. I am little nervous to go lower than that.. some issues arise.
remember I am changing the water daily. my set up allows for this .. I have a 60 gallon mix vat ... good news I mix salt at half the recommend to 100 gallon bucket gets me 200 gallons. in case of ammonia spike I use prime. again.. I change the water almost daily.. sometimes I miss a change in the morning do to getting out of the house and work.. so change in pm.. which means 36 hours. Watch your ammonia as you lower the DT... that was an issue for me.. I had a lot of algea that died.

Yeah I have noticed algae die off as well. I had one ammonia spike on the third day due to unremoved cuc due off. It was at 0.25 but it still killed the flame angle. Everything was good after that. The best thing I like about hypo is it doesn't kill all beneficial bacteria.

 

[chicago]

yep.. I had a lot of algea.. and a lot of live rock.. garbage cans of it in the tank.. when I notice the ammonia spike.. I pulled half out and put in the backyard for like two months.. 80 plus sun did the job.. the turf had to be grinded off still another thread for another. day..... But yes those reading this.. if you have algea in the tank and go to do the HYPO on DT... you must remove rock with lots of alegea on it.. it will die at 1.013. Then you will spike ammonia.. you can use prime but remember primie and other ammonia locking product only contain the ammonia for like 24 hours then it falls back into solution as ammonia in the tank.. in other words.. it is an emergency relief product until you can do a water change.

My tank is only back at 1.013. I did notice even after all this time that I had no scratching or anything from my fish...during the DT process... then I hit 1.014 and notice some movements of scratching.. nothing hard or crazy.. so not sure if it is back. some how some way.. I am holding off at 1.013 for a while.. week or so and see how they are doing.. I have been trying to get the salinity back up slowly..

 

[chicago]

ok update.. tank is at 1.015.. but might drop back down again.. seeing signs of ick or flukes.. this hobby is nuts...

 

[roberthu526]

I'd drop it all the way to 2.010 and keep it for 30 days.

 

[melypr1985]

I'd drop it all the way to 2.010 and keep it for 30 days.

True hypo is 1.009. If it rises even a smidge above that they 30 day clock starts over again for it to be a proper QT with hypo

 

[roberthu526]

True hypo is 1.009. If it rises even a smidge above that they 30 day clock starts over again for it to be a proper QT with hypo

REEF2REEF had a video on YouTube saying anything between 1.008 and 1.013 works. I personally have treated fish in 1.008 to 1.010 with good results. The most important thing I found is fish have to be in hypo for no less than 30 days. I had tried a short cut and only treated for 14 days and I saw white spots 6 days after I raise the salinity to 1.025.

 

[melypr1985]

REEF2REEF had a video on YouTube saying anything between 1.008 and 1.013 works. I personally have treated fish in 1.008 to 1.010 with good results. The most important thing I found is fish have to be in hypo for no less than 30 days. I had tried a short cut and only treated for 14 days and I saw white spots 6 days after I raise the salinity to 1.025.

ok

 

[Humblefish]

REEF2REEF had a video on YouTube saying anything between 1.008 and 1.013 works. I personally have treated fish in 1.008 to 1.010 with good results. The most important thing I found is fish have to be in hypo for no less than 30 days. I had tried a short cut and only treated for 14 days and I saw white spots 6 days after I raise the salinity to 1.025.

Studies have found there are different salinity tolerances among strains of ich. For example, Yambot (2003) discovered two strains he was able to successfully propagate in the lab at 1.007.

Bottom line is the higher SG you use to implement osmotic shock, the greater the likelihood of encountering a strain of ich tolerant of that salinity.

 

[roberthu526]

Studies have found there are different salinity tolerances among strains of ich. For example, Yambot (2003) discovered two strains he was able to successfully propagate in the lab at 1.007.

Bottom line is the higher SG you use to implement osmotic shock, the greater the likelihood of encountering a strain of ich tolerant of that salinity.

I have read these studies as well. I totally agree to you said. In this hobby we can only do our best, Mother Nature over rules us all.

 

[chicago]

yambot.. must have been hanging around my fish lab.. ouch.. ICK is back in my DT... dropping back down.. since april I was at 1.009 .. then in july started to raise back up.. was at 1.016 yesterday.. today discovered ick.. drpping back down.. to 1.009