Ich Topics

[redsea]

Hello everyone, this will be a thread for my ich questions and thoughts. Thanks for stopping by!

First Topic: What do UV sterilizers do for tanks with ich in them again? It only gets rid of one stage, correct? If it is the free swimming stage, wouldn't it be ok to buy a coral from a tank with a fish with ich in it?

Second Topic: Do you think ALL pet stores have ich to so degree? From what I have seen in my area, they all seem to have ich in some of their tanks. It is NOT ok to buy a fish from a tank/system with other fish that have ich, correct?

Say the fish you are buying has built up an immune system to the parasite, therefore, when you introduce it to your tank, it won't have ich because it wasn't attached to the fish (because of the fishs' high immune system).

Third Topic: How come ich is frowned upon in the aquarium hobby? Isn't it a natural parasite? Doesn't that mean that any fish that comes from the ocean will bring in ich?

Isn't it impossible to keep ich out of large tanks like in public aquariums and what not? Even if the tanks did get infested with ich, it isn't really practical to remove all of the fish (which could be tens and tens since this is an aquarium we are speaking of).

Fourth Topic: My closest LFS always seems to have some ich in some of their tanks. However, normally it is only a little bit, and it doesn't cover all of the fish. Should I just steer clear of this shop all together?

I am finding it extremely difficult to find an LFS because they all seem to have some ich. How did you guys find LFS with no ich?

Fifth Topic: I know some people on here that have ich in their DTs, and others that don't seem to have any in their displays. My last question is....If you know you have ich in your tank, and you combat it with garlic etc., why do you not bother getting rid of it all together from the system?



Feel free to share anything about ich on this thread.


Sorry that this is long and confusing. If a part of it doesn't make much sense, please let me know so I can clarify.

[Jems]

I'd never knowingly buy a fish from a LFS that had infected fish.

[redsea]

One more question before I go to bed.

Say a fish has built up an immune system to a tank with ich in it. After a weeks, wouldn't the ich in that tank die (since it wouldn't have a host).

Thanks everyone!

[don_chuwish]

About LFS/Petco/etc., one thing I like about my LFS is they don't have all their tanks sharing water. Each tank has it's own bio-filter (under gravel & LR) so if one gets sick it doesn't impact the whole store. So far though I've never seen Ich on any fish there. I don't think they do any significant QT process tho, other than keeping their tanks independent to begin with.
As to the other questions, my favorite two posts:
Marine Ich - Myths and Facts

Curing Fish of Marine Ich

- D

[Jems]

Ich is a parasite NOT bacteria or a virus. Let's say a fish does have a so called immunity to it or is strong enough to host ich without killing it. That doesn't mean ich will die off. Ich parasite needs a host fish to live off of to feed and reproduce. If ich is in the presence of a fish the cycle goes on. The cycle must be broken.

[tonedogz]

topic 1 uv will kill the free swimming parasite and help keep the infestation down some what. topic 3 the fish have a way to get away from the parasite in a large public aquarium or in the ocean, in a contain aquarium the fish have no where to go thus the infestation deadly.

[FTMMWS]

Well, IME/IMO here are my answers to your questions..
T1..UV is simply not an effective tool to rid a tank of ick ,period..
T2..I DO think all LFS tanks have ick,,Its fine to buy fish though,just do your own QT and treatment..Just like Jems said ,the fish can show no "visible" signs of ick and still be hosting it..The cycle must be broken
T3..Like tonedogz said,,fish in the vast ocean/public aquariums have no problems escaping ick.
T4..A QT is your best friend and your fishes
T5..That is the million dollar question,,one i will never understand myself..I think it simply has a lot to do with impatience,and not the fact they didn't know any better..

If its wet QT it,LR,inverts,corals,ect..Ick can hitch a ride on/in anything in the infested tank
I have been shopping a very nice family LFS for years,they closed last year and i now get my fish online ,,its actually been great(getting a new one tomorrow) ...

[redsea]

Originally Posted by FTMMWS

Well, IME/IMO here are my answers to your questions..
T1..UV is simply not an effective tool to rid a tank of ick ,period..
T2..I DO think all LFS tanks have ick,,Its fine to buy fish though,just do your own QT and treatment..Just like Jems said ,the fish can show no "visible" signs of ick and still be hosting it..The cycle must be broken
T3..Like tonedogz said,,fish in the vast ocean/public aquariums have no problems escaping ick.
T4..A QT is your best friend and your fishes
T5..That is the million dollar question,,one i will never understand myself..I think it simply has a lot to do with impatience,and not the fact they didn't know any better..

If its wet QT it,LR,inverts,corals,ect..Ick can hitch a ride on/in anything in the infested tank
I have been shopping a very nice family LFS for years,they closed last year and i now get my fish online ,,its actually been great(getting a new one tomorrow) ...

Thanks!

So you think it is ok to buy from my closest lfs (which I know has ich) because they all do? I would buy the fish and then put it a QT with hypo. Sound good? I am so excited because I can buy fish from My closest lfs again!

Do you think LA even has ich?

Thanks a lot!

[FTMMWS]

I would still buy from your LFS,,you know hypo works and you know how to do it ,so why not..
I do think LA fish probably still have ick and I still QT fish from there and DD...I even QTed my tank bred clowns,you never know,all it takes is one person to accidentally place a fish or rock or coral in the holding tanks at their facilities ..Why risk it..

[redsea]

Cool, I should still steer clear of fish that I can visably see ich on though, right? Most of their SW tanks are run on a central system , but it doesn't matter now since I will automatically QT all arrivals with hypo. So I don't need to worry about avoiding EVERY tank if one has ich, right?

One more question. Is it possible that a fish in an ich infected tank could NOT bring over ich? I am going to QT all of the fish no matter what, just curious. Thanks!

On the WWB article, it said 30-45 days would do to rid the fish of the parasite. Have you found this to be a good estimate?

[don_chuwish]

Trust no one - the ich is out there.

[FTMMWS]

Originally Posted by redsea

Cool, I should still steer clear of fish that I can visably see ich on though, right? Most of their SW tanks are run on a central system , but it doesn't matter now since I will automatically QT all arrivals with hypo. So I don't need to worry about avoiding EVERY tank if one has ich, right?

One more question. Is it possible that a fish in an ich infected tank could NOT bring over ich? I am going to QT all of the fish no matter what, just curious. Thanks!

On the WWB article, it said 30-45 days would do to rid the fish of the parasite. Have you found this to be a good estimate?

Sure its "possible" ,,the fish could have just got done playing host and is in the clear for a few days..No way to ever tell though..
I would ask for a discount on a fish with visible signs of ick..Do they still sell fish full of spots??Do they ever say they treat their tanks?
30-45 days is a good estimate of the life cycle,but is an estimate,thats why they say leaving a tank fallow for 6-8 weeks is best..If your doing hypo on a fish 32 days is what i have always went by

[redsea]

They even told me that they don't QT, but they fix a problem as soon as it arises. Not sure that is very effective though...

[tonedogz]

Its not effective at all. Even if they treat the one that has ich most fish store tanks are piped together so its passed around anyway best preventative is to qt all fish and you won't have any problems

[redsea]

Are Clownfish ok with hypo? I thought I might have read that they are sensitive to it.....

Also, when I set up my QT, is it enough just to take a filter pad(s) out of my 30g? Will the tank be cycled? I ma thinking of using my 20g. I want to get a Snowflake Clown, so I definitely don't want to risk losing it.

Thanks.

[tonedogz]

I've read a few articals where people have hypoed clown fish successfully without incident. You can put the pad in the qt tank but it will take time to cycle. when I did mine I used a few damsels to help along with 2 sponges and filter material

[FTMMWS]

Originally Posted by redsea

Are Clownfish ok with hypo? I thought I might have read that they are sensitive to it.....

Also, when I set up my QT, is it enough just to take a filter pad(s) out of my 30g? Will the tank be cycled? I ma thinking of using my 20g. I want to get a Snowflake Clown, so I definitely don't want to risk losing it.

Thanks.

IMO and IME clowns are one of the more hardier at going through FW dips and hypo,,versus say ,an angel or puffer..I have put 9 clowns through hypo and all did just fine ..
Just use a piece or 2 of LR from the display,a scoop of sand and the sponge from display...Instant QT ,no cycling necessary ,,i have done it this way countless times..

[redsea]

Awesome, thanks!
How big do the pieces of rock have to be? Could Ij ust put in more sand instead of rock?

Thanks!

I hope to get this new guy soon, maybe sometime next week.

[FTMMWS]

Originally Posted by redsea

Awesome, thanks!
How big do the pieces of rock have to be? Could Ij ust put in more sand instead of rock?

Thanks!

I hope to get this new guy soon, maybe sometime next week.

Probably,but another reason i put some rock in is for hiding spots..Not big ,baseball size ones ..

[redsea]

Originally Posted by FTMMWS

Probably,but another reason i put some rock in is for hiding spots..Not big ,baseball size ones ..

Cool thanks.

Can I add the rock/sand/pads/ while the tank is already at hyposalinity conditions?