hospital tank

I have a fish in my hospital tank its day 4 of a five day treatment, the ammonia level this morning went to .50. I have not added any biological bacteria to the tank. Would a 50% water change get me through the 2 days of treatment I have left? Other options?

 

Impossible to answer this question without details about water quality. For example, if you have minute quantities of ammonia and nitrites, a 50% water change will do the trick. But if you have a large bioload and lots of ammonia and nitrates, you may need more. You'll just have to test the water after your 50% water change and see if it was enough.

As a side note, what are you treating for that only requires a 5 day treatment? Certainly not crypt or velvet, which require at least 2 weeks. And please be aware that if it is crypt or velvet, your DT needs to remain fish-free for at least 8 weeks or else your fish will just re-catch the parasite when you re-introduce them to the DT. Just my 2 cents.

 

The fish in question has ich. I am treating with instant ocean Lifeguard. It is advertised as a broad based treatment and calls for a 5 day treatment.( I could not find any reviews on the product good or bad) seems to be working.When I started 5 days ago all new water no bacteria added ran a couple of days with carbon. removed carbon and treated the tank and added the fish. Again ammonia this morning .50 and nitrites 0. I have been siphoning out all old food and detritus every morning.

 

In that case, to answer your question, a 50% water change will likely be sufficient for the next 2 days. But, as I said before, if you re-introduce your fish to the DT after 5 days it will simply re-catch the ich. There are lots of threads on this site on ich - for more info you can read up on the options of how to get rid of it for good.

 

The recommended treatment may be only 5 days, but the life cycle of ich makes leaving your main tank fallow for at least 6 weeks necessary. This is the time it takes for the ich to live and die it's lifestyle, and not get back on your fish as soon as you put them back in. A 50% change should get the ammonia down. With no bio-filtration you shouldn't see any nitrite or nitrate in the system.

 

After the treatment the fish will be moved to quarantine tank set up with a cycled tank for 8 weeks while the main tank stays empty of fish.

 

Perfect. Does that tank have anything in it from the main tank?

 

I have inverts in the tank shrimp, bubble anemone crabs coral etc. That was my issue of not treating the tank.