Ick has no food?

[MattAquaBio]

If a big tank with just one fish has ick and you take the fish out and put it in a different tank and treat the fish for ick and cure it. Would the ick in the original (big) tank clear up on its own since it has no host to feed off of? not in one day, but over say like a week or two?

 

[Jchillin]

No, the problem is similar to other pests...when you see one, there are thousands. In the case of ich, by the time they are visible to us, they have already gone through two of their life stages. The others that are not seen could be in cyst form and can hibernate until conditions are right to start all over again.

Parasites are very adaptable. In order to remove it completely, the entire tank requires treatment.

 

[MattAquaBio]

Ah...wasnt sure if you could just starve it out or not (i didnt want to have to go thru the salting process in that tank unless i had to)
Thanks.

 

[Jchillin]

You can use heat...88F will do the trick.

 

[MattAquaBio]

Yeah but my heater isnt strong enough to get it there, the highest it can get my aquarium is 82. I need to either get my hands on another heater, or upgrade.

 

[RoK]

Actually, ich cannot not live without a fish host. Two weeks without any fish in the tank should make it ich-free. However, it will also need to go through another cycle due to all the beneficial bacteria dying off. It's best to just treat the tank that the fish is in.

 

[MattAquaBio]

Well, i just salted the tank for the first time. Debating whether i should just lower the temperature back to normal since i cant get it above 87 or leave it at 83 like it is so the life cycle is faster and it would kill it faster.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Actually, ich cannot not live without a fish host. Two weeks without any fish in the tank should make it ich-free. However, it will also need to go through another cycle due to all the beneficial bacteria dying off. It's best to just treat the tank that the fish is in.

True... But not immediate. The ick will live in the substrate til they are mature, then when the adult swims looking for the host, and doesn't find one, it will die. But the process is longer than the 2 weeks that the heat treatment is recommended.

http://saltaquarium.about.com/cs/compldiagnodisease/a/aa041701.htm

 

[jsoong]

Life cycle of ih is rather dependent on temp. In ponds, ich can last up to 6 months over winter. However, if you have your tank up to 80's, the ich life cycle is one week or less. So if you have no fish in the tank for 2 weeks at 80 degrees, ich should theoretically be gone.

BTW, if your heater can't heat up the entire tank, just empty out half or more of the water. Having less water to heat will mean a smaller heater can do the job. OTOH, salt will do a good job irradicating ich from the tank too.