Hippo tang in QT, day 12, scratching

[Biff0rz]

Should I be worried about this behavior? I know these guys are prone to ich but they are also known to scratch rocks so... Idk.. Should I treat with copper? I don't see any white spots. There have been no signs of problems up until today and it's day 12 of tank transfer method. I've been meticulous with the schedule but have not dosed anything.

 

[Pistol Peet]

Don't dose with ttm i would either go threw 1 more round of ttm just incase it wasn't done 100 percent right as I've had 100 percent success rate with ttm and hippo tang included in that. Or if ur not positive or r new to ttm get some coppersafe and do half dose to start then bring up to 2.5 ppm and leave here minimum 14 days. At day 12 of ttm u should be ich free... 4 transfer 72 hours apart should kill ich if not something went wrong cant tell u witch way to go only some info on being successful if the fish does have ich i have had fish for almost 30 days show no signs then all a sudden bam ich... my hippo tang does not scratch on the rocks ever since I rid him of ich. If you need any more help with either process u can message me or the fish disease expert for reef2reef @Jay Hemdal ..

 

[Biff0rz]

Don't dose with ttm i would either go threw 1 more round of ttm just incase it wasn't done 100 percent right as I've had 100 percent success rate with ttm and hippo tang included in that. Or if ur not positive or r new to ttm get some coppersafe and do half dose to start then bring up to 2.5 ppm and leave here minimum 14 days. At day 12 of ttm u should be ich free... 4 transfer 72 hours apart should kill ich if not something went wrong cant tell u witch way to go only some info on being successful if the fish does have ich i have had fish for almost 30 days show no signs then all a sudden bam ich... my hippo tang does not scratch on the rocks ever since I rid him of ich. If you need any more help with either process u can message me or the fish disease expert for reef2reef @Jay Hemdal ..

I'm pretty confident in my ttm skills. I track everything in an excel sheet and am meticulous. That's sort of why I'm also posting, 12 days in, I did not expect to see this. This will be transfer 6, doing the TTM for ich+velvet. The first 4 are 36hrs apart. Tomorrow I'm supposed to transfer before 715am for the final one. I suppose I wouldn't mind doing another 4 71hr rounds to be sure.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

If you aren’t seeing white spots, scratching by itself isn’t a really good symptom for ich.
The TTM does not handle flukes, and those can cause scratching in the absence of any spots. Not a definitive diagnosis, but a possibility.
Jay

 

[Biff0rz]

If you aren’t seeing white spots, scratching by itself isn’t a really good symptom for ich.
The TTM does not handle flukes, and those can cause scratching in the absence of any spots. Not a definitive diagnosis, but a possibility.
Jay

Right, that was my next guess. I could do a ro/di dip for 5mins in a black cup to determine that, right? Treat with prazi if present?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Don’t use ro/di, it has no pH control. I use dechlorinated tap water (unless you live in a rare area that has a low pH).
Jay

 

[Biff0rz]

Don’t use ro/di, it has no pH control. I use dechlorinated tap water (unless you live in a rare area that has a low pH).
Jay

OH, like literally tap water.. OK. Didn't know that. How do I dechlorinate it?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

OH, like literally tap water.. OK. Didn't know that. How do I dechlorinate it?

Just with aquarium dechlor - but I guess with so many people using ro/di, they don't keep dechlorinator around any more. Funny how entrenched this idea of using ro/di for dips has become - totally the wrong move, yet everyone does it. Buy a gallon of spring water (non-carbonated of course!).

The trouble with ro/di is that there is NO buffering. The pH is often around 6. Just not good for using in FW dips.

Jay

 

[LeftyReefer]

Jay, is distilled water OK for dips? Or would treated tap water still be preferable?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Jay, is distilled water OK for dips? Or would treated tap water still be preferable?

No - distilled water has the same drawback as ro/di. You can add buffer to either of those and use them, but that can become complicated.

Jay

 

[vetteguy53081]

If you can, even purchase RODI which many stores sell. . . BUT . . . . . ask them what their TDS is which should be no more than 3
TDS is total dissolved oxygen and higher numbers offer no benefits to use it.
Ultimately- investing in an RODI unit will offe years of convenience and good water. Very easy to make your own water.

 

[Pistol Peet]

Don’t use ro/di, it has no pH control. I use dechlorinated tap water (unless you live in a rare area that has a low pH).
Jay

This is awsome to know I too have just used rodi water thank u for the great info..

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

This is awsome to know I too have just used rodi water thank u for the great info..

I actually just draw off water from my tropical freshwater systems to use as dips, but I understand that folks may not have a FW tank handy, so tap water is the next best choice. The big question is, "will a low pH (below 6) from using ro/di water in a 5 minute dip really harm the fish?" I can't answer that, but I just don't like to press the question.

Jay

 

[Pistol Peet]

I actually just draw off water from my tropical freshwater systems to use as dips, but I understand that folks may not have a FW tank handy, so tap water is the next best choice. The big question is, "will a low pH (below 6) from using ro/di water in a 5 minute dip really harm the fish?" I can't answer that, but I just don't like to press the question.

Jay

Awsome to know so far so good with rodi but thats not saying much as any long-term effects. I will be switching my fresh water dip process.

 

[nereefpat]

On day 13 of TTM, if done correctly, there's no way it's ich.

I would dose with prazi, but I always do that prophylacticly

 

[Saltyanimals]

I actually just draw off water from my tropical freshwater systems to use as dips, but I understand that folks may not have a FW tank handy, so tap water is the next best choice. The big question is, "will a low pH (below 6) from using ro/di water in a 5 minute dip really harm the fish?" I can't answer that, but I just don't like to press the question.

Jay

Can you bubble air stone the rodi water outdoors (to take out the Co2 indoor part out of the equation) to raise pH? There's some pH buffers that I've read folks use, but rather do it as natural as possible.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Can you bubble air stone the rodi water outdoors (to take out the Co2 indoor part out of the equation) to raise pH? There's some pH buffers that I've read folks use, but rather do it as natural as possible.

Trouble is the RO/DI has no buffering capacity, so during the dip, the pH is just going to drop again from the fish's respiration. I've done hundreds (thousands?) of FW dips and always either used dechlorinated tap water, or freshwater system water.

Jay

 

[Saltyanimals]

Trouble is the RO/DI has no buffering capacity, so during the dip, the pH is just going to drop again from the fish's respiration. I've done hundreds (thousands?) of FW dips and always either used dechlorinated tap water, or freshwater system water.

Jay

dechlorinated tap like something out of your refrigerator and it’s carbon filter block filtered system?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

dechlorinated tap like something out of your refrigerator and it’s carbon filter block filtered system?

Sure, just make sure it’s the right temperature (grin). I also aerate the dip, keeps the fish moving so I can better assess how it’s handling the process.
Jay