reefrunner69
Aquarium Advice Addict
It has been my experience that the main cause of ick (generic for two different parasites) is stress. Healthy stressfree fish do not get ick. If a fish get's ick and the stressor is removed (ie...low temp, aggressive tank mate etc...) the ick goes away. I do not agree that elevating the temp above 80 will get rid of ick, unless that is what is stressing the fish. Higher temps will accelerate the life cycle of the parasite, but more than likely it was the low temp that was causing the prob anyway. Ick is in the oceans our fish come from and lives it's life cycle in the same reef temps that our fish do (82-84), therefore it is unlikely that higher temps actually kill the ick, so much as unstress the animal and allows it's immune system to handle the job. If there is other stress in the tank, it is just as likley to have an ick outbreak at 82 as it is at 78.