Ich question

[George9]

Don't laugh!! I feel like this is a dumb question, but I'm curious

I'm not dealing with ich now, but surfing the treads made me think. I always hear of fish like tangs getting ich when they are introduced. But if you get rid of the ich in the tank on all fish in the tank and, is it possible for the fish to get ich a few months down the road if stressed? I doubt it, since the ich was all killed months ago, just curious.

 

[jwh0818]

Yes they can still get it.

 

[George9]

Yes they can still get it.

That's interesting, even though there is no ich parasite in the tank?

 

[jwh0818]

Yes. If im not mistaken it mainly forms when fish get too stressed. I could be wrong

 

[Tony30gal]

"Ich" is always with the fish. It's just in certain scenarios in which it comes out in the fish.
click here link on "ich"

 

[mr_X]

No. If it's not present in the tank, they can never get it. Ich is a parasite.

 

[jwh0818]

Wow. I could have sworn all fish can get it through stress

 

[Tony30gal]

It is always present in the fish. I disagree with mr_X

 

[mr_X]

They can, but it has to be present in the tank in order for that to happen. Without it present, they may get some other disease or issue, but not ich.

 

[mr_X]

It is always present in the fish. I disagree with mr_X

No it isn't. It's a parasite not unlike any other. treat the fish with hypo or copper and they all die. that's not a temporary cure.

 

[George9]

Thanks. I wasn't sure because I always hear about tangs coming down with it randomly. But I guess if that happens, ich was in the tank.

 

[jwh0818]

Wow. You learn somethin new everyday! Thanks for or the heads up

 

[TheTodd]

Ich is often associated with stress because stress weakens the fish, which allows whatever happens to be lurking the opportunity to pounce. Tangs have a naturally thin slim coat, which is bad for them combating parasites. Stress can not "create" a parasite though, so if you have a tank with no Ich and you put a fish in that is Ich-free, the system remains Ich-free. You can however add a fish that does not appear to have Ich (but that does and is just not showing symptoms) and then the system is contaminated and it can go after other fish.

This is why QTing new fish is important. Taking a fish from your LFS that appears healthy and dropping it into your tank can cause problems. I made that mistake a few months ago with one fish, it ended up with MV and wiped out my tank (except for two Chromis that are currently in QT).

 

[George9]

Ich is often associated with stress because stress weakens the fish, which allows whatever happens to be lurking the opportunity to pounce. Tangs have a naturally thin slim coat, which is bad for them combating parasites. Stress can not "create" a parasite though, so if you have a tank with no Ich and you put a fish in that is Ich-free, the system remains Ich-free. You can however add a fish that does not appear to have Ich (but that does and is just not showing symptoms) and then the system is contaminated and it can go after other fish.

This is why QTing new fish is important. Taking a fish from your LFS that appears healthy and dropping it into your tank can cause problems. I made that mistake a few months ago with one fish, it ended up with MV and wiped out my tank (except for two Chromis that are currently in QT).

I made the same mistake a few months ago too. Ended up two months without fish in my main tank. It's no fun and waiting a few weeks while the fish is in qt is better than waiting 2 months for the ich to die in the system. Ich sucks

 

[TheTodd]

There are so many things that fish can bring in from the LFS. Ich is one of the more common, but it's all bad and almost always requires a couple months with a fallow tank.

 

[melosu58]

They can, but it has to be present in the tank in order for that to happen. Without it present, they may get some other disease or issue, but not ich.

I agree. It`s a parasite. Alot of times the newly added fish brings it in the tank. Here is some info on the parasite.

An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure: A Quarantine Tank for Everything by Steven Pro

Marine Ich/Cryptocaryon irritans - A Discussion of this Parasite and the Treatment Options Available, Part I by Steven Pro

Marine Ich/Cryptocaryon irritans - A Discussion of this Parasite and the Treatment Options Available, Part II by Steven Pro