Reoccurring Ich

[deadbolt]

Hi, I have a question for you guys. I am getting super frustrated with my tank. I had ich, got rid of it. Waited three weeks until I added another fish and he got ich instantly. Is the ich living in my sand? What should I do?

 

[melosu58]

Read these

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

 

[tonedogz]

If you never did anything to rid the tank of ich then it is still living in there.

 

[TheTodd]

It will live in the sand/rock, find a host (fish) and continue on. The only two proven cures are Hyposalinity or copper treatments. Those are done in a QT. You leave your DT fallow for 6-8 weeks to let the Ich in there die off due to not having a host. By then, your QT fish should be cured and will go back into an Ich-free tank. QT your new fish moving forward and you should never have Ich in your DT again.

It really stinks when you almost have your tank stocked and then a new fish is introduced with Ich because you were not QTing. You could lose a lot of fish, or you end up pulling them all out into QT. Doing it right from the start usually saves lots of heart/headaches down the road.