Ich Myth...

[FloridaNewbie]

I have been keeping my water super prestine and everything perfect to avoid stressing my fish, specially my blue hippo tang. I have had the tang for almost 2 full months and the LFS i purchase my RO water from said i can cut back now because the ICH cycle is 6 weeks and as long as i don;t add anything new i will never have the ICH... Well i will do my best to keep up with the weekly water changes and all. But is it true? I been kinda worried about an ICH outbreak since i never QT the tang.

Thanks
Leo

[Innovator]

Crypt will eventually rear its ugly head (unless qt'd and treated) as long as their is a teleost host to feed from. Responsive/healthy immune systems can keep the parasite dormant, but only for so long.

[ryshark]

If the immune system is strong enough to keep the ich off for 8-weeks does this mean that the ich in the tank will die from not finding a host?
I just reread Innovator's response and according to that I guess my answer is: no, it wont die it will definitely find a host eventually. Is that correct?

[melosu58]

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

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

[cmor1701d]

If there is Ich in your tank then you will get an outbreak eventually. If the tang did not bring the parasite with it then you should be ok. Of course the next time you add water from any other tank to yours there is the potential that the parasite has hitched a ride.

[ellisz]

I'll jump in here since I just added a new rabbitfish to the QT system today. I plan on watching the fish for a week or so and see if anything pops up but I wonder if I should go ahead and treat with copper if no signs pop up? Hate to treat something if it is not there. I noticed a few of the fish flashing in the LFS that were in the tanks next door to this one.

QT period will be at least 4 weeks but not sure if I should actively treat with no symptoms?

[Kurt_Nelson]

Think it'll come down to a personal opinion. I know some do here, and some don't. I don't... I assume that if it's going to get sick, then it probably will during the quarantine period. And I watch the fish like a hawk too. If it even looks at me weird, I restart the 4-week time period again!

Then again... the stores my fish came from had pristine tanks, and one of them treats just about all their incoming fish in copper in a QT before they go into their display tanks. So I wasn't really nervous about the health of the fish to start with.

[tamra&steven]

you should be ok keep the water temp from rapid jumps and you will have less of a chance with ich. i use uv lights on my tanks and i never have a problem with ich i dnt qt my fish before i put them in the display tank either. i also get my fish from a clean fish store too.

[ellisz]

Never said the LFS was not clean Unless you LFS is QTing the fish before offering them for sale, you never know. Some LFS here have some copper and dewormer in there FO systems too. I am getting more leary of adding anything to my display without QT anymore. Even corals are introducing pests, via hitchhiking more frequently it seems.

I am not a believer of UV either. I will do what I can to boost the fish's immune system and keep the water in good shape. We will have to wait and see if anything shows up.

Thanks

[cmor1701d]

When I got my blue tang I asked the same question. I thougt about doing a preventative hypo treatment as that is less stressful. After reading the responses here I chose not to. Like Kurt I watched it. When I saw signs of flashing on day 4 thought om here it goes. I started the clock over but nothing developed. A daily pwc with vacuuming the bare bottom might have helped, but I'm not sure. The tang has been in the main tank for several months now.

I tried to QT some corals but they started to wither under just pc lights. Now I temp and SG/pH acclimate, rinse and swish in tank water (in a bucket) then place in the tank.

I used to buy fish from a lfs that treated all FO tanks with copper. Never had a probelm with any fish I got from them them. Too bad they went under.

[ellisz]

I kepy all my acros under PC lights for 3.5 weeks during a red bug treatment. If nothing I would try a reef dip of some sorts. I have had red bugs and zoa eating nudibranchs. It is not fun. There are other pests out there too.