Osmotic
Shock
Therapy (
O.S.T. or hyposalinity) is one of the most effective, non-chemical ways to rid saltwater fish and aquariums of parasitic ich diseases, as well as can be used to eliminate a number of other
pests* that often plague saltwater systems. Unfortunately the downside of using this method to kill bad things you don't want is that it will kill other desirable things as well. This includes, but may not be limited to following animals:
- Aiptaisia Anemones*
- Black Spot Disease* (Black Ich/Tang Disease)
- Brooklynellosis* (Saltwater Ich/Clownfish Disease)
- Corals
- Cryptocaryon*(Saltwater Ich/White Spot Disease)
- Non-Shelled Snails/Nudibranchs/Sea Slugs
- Oodinium* (Saltwater Ich/Velvet, Rust, Coral Fish Disease)
- Sea Anemones
- Sea Cucumbers
- Sea Urchins
- Soft Shelled Crustaceans
- Starfishes
- Tube Worms (Feather Dusters)
As you can see, using O.S.T. in a reef, FOWLR (Fish Only With Live Rock), or other type of system that has
any of these animals present is not wise. Although this type of treatment is primarily intended and safe for Fish-Only (FO) tanks (those with no live rock or sensitive invertebrates present), there are some good and a few bad things that an aquarist's might have in such an aquarium that can tolerate exposure:
So what do you do if you want to treat fish with ich in a tank where delicate animals are present? You can remove the fish from the main tank, and treat them by
O.S.T. in a
quarantine tank or treat the affected fish with a
Parasite Treatment.
