Need help
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Flippers4pups
Fins up since 1993
Okay, read this:
"pH Control
pH is hard to control in a hyposaline solution because at this dilution, the buffer ability of the diluted saltwater is not good. Be prepared for this.
Make pH adjustments with pure baking soda (e.g., Arm & Hammer) you find in the grocery store, or better yet is sodium carbonate. Sodium carbonate can be made in the home oven. Take a pound of pure baking soda and spread it out evenly on a large cookie sheet. Put into a preheated oven to 350F. Bake it for 30 minutes. Take the sheet out of the oven, let cool to warm and put into an air-tight, clean container for use. Now the baking soda has been turned into sodium carbonate, a more potent pH + additive.
DO NOT try to control the pH with pH buffer or other off the shelf additives. Use only the two mentioned above or a specific strong pH+ control. Those buffers are expecting a full sp gr. They don't adjust the pH. BUFFERS DON'T ADJUST THE pH. Buffers just add chemicals in an attempt to balance magnesium, calcium, and alkalinity in the hopes of strengthening the buffering ability of normal salt water. They don't work in hypo!
Do not add the baking soda or sodium carbonate directly to the hospital/quarantine tank. Always thoroughly dissolve some powder in RO/DI or distilled water then drip/add that in slowly to move the pH up. One of the things about doing this treatment is that there will be some water evaporation. So dripping in a sodium carbonate solution can also help maintain the water level. It's trial and error. Make up the solution the same way each time, using the same amount of sodium carbonate prepared as noted above, and dissolved into the same amount of water. Then practice different drip rates, starting very slowly (1 drop every 5 minutes for a 15 gallon QT) and adjust it faster or slower in small increments until the pH remains the same. NOTE: Sodium carbonate doesn't dissolve well in water. Use distilled water or RO/DI water and add small amounts to it and stir well. Don't add more until what you've added before has dissolved.
If you mess up and the pH has lowered considerably (more than 0.2 pH units) below your target, then raise the pH VERY SLOWLY -- no more than 0.10 pH units per day. A large pH change can seriously harm a fish, especially a sick one."
Were you adding powdered buffer straight to the tank water?
jsker
Reefing is all about the adventure
This is a after thought, but as you bring up the salinity, toss in some vitamin C and b-12 to help with the stress. Ich is usually caused stress from shipping, salinity changes, and other changes. Treating Ich with meds should be done with metroplex bound with seachem focus with the frozen food so that the fish ingest the medicated food along with the vitamins
GHsaltie
Valuable Member
They were in a 20g previously correct? How many fish were in there total? How often were you checking ammonia levels? I'm wondering if their gills have some ammonia burn going on.
That would be for internal parasites, for which it works very well . . .
Ich, which is an external protozoan parasite, will be more susceptible to copper (Ionic or Chelated) or Chloroquine Phosphate ("CP", available only with a Veterinary prescription).
~Bruce
Flippers4pups
Fins up since 1993
Possible ph burn as well.
If they were all in the 20gal, ammonia could have gotten up there. Adding ph buffer directly to the tank would have been hard on them too.
Flippers4pups
Fins up since 1993
Good! Well, raise your SG slowly and try to feed them good frozen food like rods or better yet LRS frozen to get their immune systems up/ reduce stress and watch your ammonia levels.
I was definitely afraid of ammonia being high so I was a stickler for the 2-day change process, with testing. I'm wondering if that wasn't enough as well. This is a huge fear doing QT process, especially for us newbies.
jsker
Reefing is all about the adventure
I have found this to be the most reliable treatment of ich, and works well in most cases
GHsaltie
Valuable Member
At this point in time this is what I would do. If anyone is still alive in the morning start raising SG as recommended and as soon as you are humanly possible get some methylene blue and treat them in a bath. If they do in fact have any burns that will help heal it.
It's not easy - but it does get easier, and more effective, with practice.
~Bruce
~Bruce
jsker
Reefing is all about the adventure
I do not think you did anything wrong, Ich is stress related. Think of ich, is like a cold with humans. when the fishes immune system gets run down they get ich, like humans do when we get a cold. The metroplex is a mild antibiotic and the focus bind the antibiotic to the food so that it is ingested.
GHsaltie
Valuable Member
Have you read the sticky thread on setting up a QT? If you haven't I would highly encourage you to do so, it will help you get a better grasp on things and maybe will help you for next time as well. Here's the link to it https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/how-to-quarantine.189815/
I would also recommend you read through the list of illnesses/parasites to familiarize yourself with what you may come across and the symptoms. https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/fish-disease-index.247600/
This one is a very useful picture guide that can help you if you need to see everything at a glance https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/fish-disease-index-pictorial-guide.285708/
I would also recommend you read through the list of illnesses/parasites to familiarize yourself with what you may come across and the symptoms. https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/fish-disease-index.247600/
This one is a very useful picture guide that can help you if you need to see everything at a glance https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/fish-disease-index-pictorial-guide.285708/
Thank yall for the help I'm definitely at the throw my hands up and give up stages. I will definitely take this as a learning experience. I have a methylene blue bath set up for the morning hopefully I don't do that wrong and can help whoever makes it through the night.
Flippers4pups
Fins up since 1993
