New ich with no new fish??

[mrigg]

I'm a long-time planted tank keeper. I always do a 30% water change weekly, but this week let it go 6 days extra due to busy schedule, etc. It looks like my mature Angel is just getting started with ich...about 11 white spots - no one else has it yet. Can ich spontaneously occur without adding new fish/plants as carriers? I've only treated for ich once, years ago, after adding 5 new Rummies. I am puzzled!

 

[Hucklebuck]

Good luck with it, i have it ,it's getting better but my discuss just died today right after the spots were gone.Hope all goes well.

 

[underdog5004]

I've heard it can happen if the fish get chilled or stressed out, since that lowers their immune system responses, and makes them more vulnerable to parasites and other bad things :/

 

[sqrle]

Most of the time, ich outbreaks are caused form stressful things that lower the fishes immunity. Ich can survive in the tank, without an outbreak, for years. All it takes is one little bit of stress, which will lower the immunity of the fish causing an outbreak. You letting the water change slide could have caused some sort of inbalance in the water, causing a stress in the fish, then causing an outbreak. There is no way for it to just appear without being brought in by something.

 

[mrigg]

OK - thanks folks. The extended water change must have been the culprit. I didn't know ich could survive without being "active" until a stressor triggered, but makes sense. Guess I won't get lazy next time

 

[jessinocala]

I have two parrot fish that I just discovered has ich, I moved them from their home aquarium the 165 gal to a 30 gal. What is a good way to treat both tanks. In my 165 gal I have 2 tiger oscars.

 

[Hucklebuck]

I finally got rid of it with coppersafe and salt.turned temp to 84 degrees and water change with vac every day.now i add coppersafe every water change and some salt.it's been good so far

 

[jessinocala]

okay, once I've added the aquarium salt how long should I wait to do a water change and being the size of my tank how much and at what intervals should they be done?

 

[Hucklebuck]

water change everyday and vac bottom and add coppersafe, i would do 1/4 to a 1/3 of tank

 

[Hucklebuck]

salt i did 1 teaspoon for 30 gallons and also take water samples to test make sure other levels ok

 

[MichaelsLilGray]

Just fyi... ich is never eradicated from a tank.. it is always in the water. the slime coat of a fish, if its healthy, is enough to stop ich from spreading on the fish. When the fish gets stressed.. or his slimecoat is thin, it allows ich to attach the fish. So yeah, im dealing with that right now.. my 14" tiger oscar, was floping on the ground after he jumped out of the 15 gallon lexan i had him in while changing tanks.

 

[Hucklebuck]

Yes but coppersafe helps stop ick and also add slim coat

 

[MichaelsLilGray]

Im aware of this.. i just used some lol

 

[mom2reds]

You just can't use coppersafe with things like shrimp in the tank, you also can't add salt to a planted tank with out damaging the plants , If you have ich in a planted tank raise the temp to around 88 slowly and then leave it there for two weeks after the last sign of Ich is gone. I am going threw this process at this time in my 100 gall planted tank. i am on week two, and still keeping my fingers crossed.