Is Ich deadly?

[Koppriecht]

Hi all. I recently lost 16 fish and then I found ich on my surviving Plecostomus. I started an ich treatment yesterday and today the Plecostomus was dead. I have 3 guppies, 2 platys, 1 Danio, 1 Minnow all hanging in there. I plan on continuing the ich treatment but I wonder if ich could kill all those fish.


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[wildroseofky]

Yes ick is deadly. It can easily wipe out a tank. Are you using meds or heat to kill it? The meds can do a lot of harm to certain fish like scaleless ones. Heat treatment is commonly suggested. Here is a link to a treatment for ich using heat Using Heat to Treat Ich in Freshwater Tropical Fish - Article at The Age of Aquariums - Tropical Fish. Do you quarantine your new fish? I do for at lest two weeks and so far have never had any ich or other problems.

 

[aqua_holic]

Ich is deadly if the fish gets infested and is left untreated. It does not happen overnight - there is plenty of time to treat fish once they start showing spots.

Ich is not always deadly though, and can exist on fish sight unseen for quite a while - a healthy fish can keep the infestation to a minimum. It's when the fishs immune system starts slipping that the parasite gains the upper hand and spots start showing up all over the fish.

Simply leaving the fish in quarantine can help to prevent introducing it to your show tank, but the only way to make sure it's not introduced is to treat the fish while in quarantine whether they show spots or not.

 

[irdajoh]

I would quarantine all infected fish, and salt/blue the quarantine tank for a few days.

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[FWFishTanks]

I would quarantine all infected fish, and salt/blue the quarantine tank for a few days.

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Once one fish is infected, all fish are infected. Quarantining one fish is kind of pointless.

 

[irdajoh]

Once one fish is infected, all fish are infected. Quarantining one fish is kind of pointless.

one fish can brake out because that one fish has a compromised immune system from stress; others may be able to fight ick just fine while others cant. I've had this happen me, of course OP situation is different. I've had a complete die off from ick before it's not so fun.

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[aqua_holic]

Once one fish is infected, all fish are infected. Quarantining one fish is kind of pointless.

Agreed. While a fish may be able to repel the parasite, there's just no way to know if it has or hasn't.

 

[ScotJudd]

In the early days I didn't quarantine new fish. I've learned my lesson. Meds just seemed to make the fish weaker and because of the lengthy Ick cycle I had to medicate for a long time. After my last outbreak I used heat and extra aeration and let nature take its course. I had less losses, quicker recovery of fish and no further outbreak (well not for this last year).
Now I quarantine all new fish for 4-6 weeks. It's proves to me that they are healthy and they are fit for the main tank.


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[44Paps44]

So here is a question.

If QT isn't an option (lack of extra tank, etc) would a suitable alternative be to treat (86 degrees for 10 days) for ich (since it's the problem most seem to be worried about) anytime you add a new fish?

Assumption being you are not adding new fish every weekend so not subjecting community to frequent repeated treatments?

 

[aqua_holic]

If you can't quarantine then I would just cross that bridge when it comes. If the fish aren't showing spots then it's not really a significant concern. The only reason I treat them prophylactically is because I can. Ich is by far the least of your worries from not quarantining.

 

[Rivers2k]

If 1 fish is infected that does not mean all fish are infected but it does mean the whole tank is infected. So quarantining the ill fish will do nothing. The whole tank needs to be treated.

The parasite goes through stages where it is free floating and another where it falls of and lives in the substrate. I recommend reading about the life stages of ich. It actually can't be killed while it is being hosted by the fish but raising the heat causes it to metabolism faster and it will fall off the fish faster when medicine or salt/heat will kill .

I currently have Ich in my tank. I bought some new fish that were stressed they have ich but my fish that were in the tank before do not have it I am treating the whole tank. To kill of any that may not be currently on the fish. I always used the heat salt method before (I recomend reading about heat salt treatment) but I currently have a fish that can't tolerate high heat so I am using API Ich cure. I am not a big fan of meds so we will see how it works.

 

[aqua_holic]

What fish do you have that can't tolerate the heat?

 

[Rivers2k]

What fish do you have that can't tolerate the heat?

I have a green phantom pleco who was really breathing hard. I read highest temp should be 88 for them. It took me 5 years to find this guy so I wasn't going to chance the higher temps any more and decided to try half dosing with meds. He may have done fine with the higher temps I just didn't like what I was seeing.

Frustrating thing is he is shows no signs of ich it is the other fish that have it. My other tank is goldfish so too cold for him and the other tank is too aggressive. So sitting here with fingers crossed.

 

[irdajoh]

If 1 fish is infected that does not mean all fish are infected but it does mean the whole tank is infected. So quarantining the ill fish will do nothing. The whole tank needs to be treated.

The parasite goes through stages where it is free floating and another where it falls of and lives in the substrate. I recommend reading about the life stages of ich. It actually can't be killed while it is being hosted by the fish but raising the heat causes it to metabolism faster and it will fall off the fish faster when medicine or salt/heat will kill .

I currently have Ich in my tank. I bought some new fish that were stressed they have ich but my fish that were in the tank before do not have it I am treating the whole tank. To kill of any that may not be currently on the fish. I always used the heat salt method before (I recomend reading about heat salt treatment) but I currently have a fish that can't tolerate high heat so I am using API Ich cure. I am not a big fan of meds so we will see how it works.

I'm sorry but I believe your mistaken. If there isn't fish in the tank ick can't continue its life cycle where it needs the fish to do so. Also treating your MAIN tank is always a bad idea, ALWAYS. The medications put into the main tank could cause good bacteria to die and cause a cycle crash ; if the cycle crashes you have bad water, bad water means stressed fish, stress fish=fish are susceptible to the parasite. That's where qt tanks amazing.

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[aqua_holic]

The big concern with meds is antibiotics, since they target bacteria. Ich meds don't.


I've administered the heat treatment at 88 to a green phantom pleco. Shame that later on it got stuck in a piece of decor.

 

[Rivers2k]

I'm sorry but I believe your mistaken. If there isn't fish in the tank ick can't continue its life cycle where it needs the fish to do so. Also treating your MAIN tank is always a bad idea, ALWAYS. The medications put into the main tank could cause good bacteria to die and cause a cycle crash ; if the cycle crashes you have bad water, bad water means stressed fish, stress fish=fish are susceptible to the parasite. That's where qt tanks amazing.

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I think you miss read what I was saying. I never said it didn't need fish as a host. But they do go through a life cycle and part of that life cycle is in the substrate and free floating those are the only stages the Ich can be killed. It can not be killed while it is on the fish that is why the main tank must be medicated.

 

[Rivers2k]

The big concern with meds is antibiotics, since they target bacteria. Ich meds don't.


I've administered the heat treatment at 88 to a green phantom pleco. Shame that later on it got stuck in a piece of decor.

That stinks were able to find another? Good info for the future. I was just really nervous with the way he was breathing. The API Ich Cure is actually working really well I only have one fish with it still on it and tonight it will be 48 hours. I am going to do a WC and then one more dose for 48 hours.

 

[aqua_holic]

No, I haven't found another - was a fluke to find that one. Ive since gone with a rhino pleco.

 

[Rivers2k]

No, I haven't found another - was a fluke to find that one. Ive since gone with a rhino pleco.

That's why I was so nervous about mine. Mine was fluke too an expensive fluke.

 

[aqua_holic]

Mine was $40 - pretty standard price for the more "exotic" plecos. I know they can be bought online, and I buy fish online, but I just didn't get a replacement.