3 replies to this topic

[Losmandy]

Had been using hyposalinity therapy for treatment of Marine Ich so I'll share the treatment here.

This treatment needs to be carried out in a quarantine tank. You can perform it in your main tank but all corals and inverts needs to be removed as they will not survive the treatment.

1. The salinity only needs to be checked once a day while administrating treatment. Chemical filters such as carbon and Poly Filter™ can be used when employing hyposalinity therapy.

2. Alkalinity and pH tend to fall in diluted saltwater. Check these parameters daily and add a buffer as necessary to maintain the pH between 8.1 and 8.3

3. Make two water changes per day for two days, reducing the salinity about 5ppt per water change.

4. Maintaining the salinity at 16ppt or less has proven to be a highly effective treatment for cryptocaryonosis. The salinity (not to be confused with specific gravity) must be maintained consistently at 16ppt or less for the entire duration of treatment. I suggest 14ppt to allow for any fluctuations in the salinity during therapy while providing some margin for error. Salinity is best check using a refractometer which is more accurate.

5. Treatment should continue for a minimum of six weeks (eight weeks recommended) after a therapeutic salinity level has been reached. Unlike most other forms of treatment for cryptocaryonosis, hyposalinity does not target the "free-swimming" or theront stage. Hyposalinity therapy works by interrupting the life cycle at the tomont stage. Tomonts are destroyed by hyposaline conditions, thus preventing re-infection.

The lifecycle of the parasite is interesting and important to understand when evaluating a treatment. The stage where the parasite is attached to a fish is called a trophont. The trophont will spend three to seven days (depending on temperature) feeding on the fish. After that, the trophont leaves the fish and becomes what is called a protomont. This protomont travels to the substrate and begins to crawl around for usually two to eight hours, but it could go for as long as eighteen hours after it leaves it's fish host. Once the protomont attaches to a surface, it begins to encyst and is now called a tomont. Division inside the cyst into hundreds of daughter parasites, called tomites, begins shortly thereafter. This noninfectious stage can last anywhere from three to twenty-eight days. During this extended period, the parasite cyst is lying in wait for a host. After this period, the tomites hatch and begin swimming around, looking for a fish host. At this point, they are called theronts, and they must find a host within twenty-four hours or die. They prefer to seek out the skin and gill tissue, then transform into trophonts, and begin the process all over again.

[mimo]

Had been using hyposalinity therapy for treatment of Marine Ich so I'll share the treatment here.

This treatment needs to be carried out in a quarantine tank. You can perform it in your main tank but all corals and inverts needs to be removed as they will not survive the treatment.

1. The salinity only needs to be checked once a day while administrating treatment. Chemical filters such as carbon and Poly Filter™ can be used when employing hyposalinity therapy.

2. Alkalinity and pH tend to fall in diluted saltwater. Check these parameters daily and add a buffer as necessary to maintain the pH between 8.1 and 8.3

3. Make two water changes per day for two days, reducing the salinity about 5ppt per water change.

4. Maintaining the salinity at 16ppt or less has proven to be a highly effective treatment for cryptocaryonosis. The salinity (not to be confused with specific gravity) must be maintained consistently at 16ppt or less for the entire duration of treatment. I suggest 14ppt to allow for any fluctuations in the salinity during therapy while providing some margin for error. Salinity is best check using a refractometer which is more accurate.

5. Treatment should continue for a minimum of six weeks (eight weeks recommended) after a therapeutic salinity level has been reached. Unlike most other forms of treatment for cryptocaryonosis, hyposalinity does not target the "free-swimming" or theront stage. Hyposalinity therapy works by interrupting the life cycle at the tomont stage. Tomonts are destroyed by hyposaline conditions, thus preventing re-infection.

The lifecycle of the parasite is interesting and important to understand when evaluating a treatment. The stage where the parasite is attached to a fish is called a trophont. The trophont will spend three to seven days (depending on temperature) feeding on the fish. After that, the trophont leaves the fish and becomes what is called a protomont. This protomont travels to the substrate and begins to crawl around for usually two to eight hours, but it could go for as long as eighteen hours after it leaves it's fish host. Once the protomont attaches to a surface, it begins to encyst and is now called a tomont. Division inside the cyst into hundreds of daughter parasites, called tomites, begins shortly thereafter. This noninfectious stage can last anywhere from three to twenty-eight days. During this extended period, the parasite cyst is lying in wait for a host. After this period, the tomites hatch and begin swimming around, looking for a fish host. At this point, they are called theronts, and they must find a host within twenty-four hours or die. They prefer to seek out the skin and gill tissue, then transform into trophonts, and begin the process all over again.

hi Losmandy, i thank you for sharing this with everybody.
my Tank now is currently suffering from this ich thing for a while already.
i read your ich treatment, does it mean that because of this protomont stage, i'll have to quarantine the corals and the live rock without fishes ( or host ) for two months as well?

dose it mean any fish can undergo this hyposalinity therapy ?
looking forward to your reply...

[Losmandy]

Sharks and rays are two fish groups that cannot tolerate hyposalinity treatment.

If the fishes suffers from ich in your main tank then you will need to leave your tank fishless for 8 weeks.

[mimo]

thanks bro

oh no, which means another tedious rescaping to do man!
but for the better i guess