the slideshow looks great , Mr Wilson, i would like your opinion on whitespot(cryptocaryon irritans), i am of the opinion that it is often latent in the majority of large Reef aquariums ,waiting for a chance to strike even in spite of quarantine which is essential but not 100% sure proof way of preventing it being introduced given a complicated lifecycle with some stages being resistant to most treatments.
Do you agree or do you think that a reef with large quantities of fish and corals can indeed be totally free of whitespot for the life time of that Aquarium , given that new fish /coral/rock introduced in spite of quarantine may in fact still allow just one parasite to sneak in?And once in it becomes a question of managing water quality and keeping stress out to keep it from becoming a problem.
Of course Uv and ozone would also help keep parasite numbers low as would strong immune systems.
I agree, quarantine is not 100% effective at eradicating many varieties of pathogens, including Cryptocaryon. There are dormant cells that can reappear out of nowhere years later, and there are secondary invertebrate hosts that can also introduce the parasite to the display. Some LFSs keep fish in their coral systems, further increasing the likelihood of disease transmission. We dip our corals in iodine and pine & lemon oil (Revive), and isolate some corals for a few days for closer inspection, but there are always cracks in our system that parasites can slip through (literally).
Our Blue tank gets crypt on and off. Never more than 12 cysts at a time, and this is normal reef behavior. Parasites are part of the reef, and only deserve the name when their population goes unchecked.
It is paramount (IMHO) that you stock the display with a rich variety of parasite pickers. A natural or captive reef simply can't function without them. They will not work miracles, but they will avert many looming disasters. Parasites are not limited to fish hosts. We picked a lot of our wrasse based on their appetite for parasitic snails (pyramid snails that eat clams), and flatworms. We have the following parasite eaters...
200 peppermint shrimp
5 cleaner shrimp
3 fire shrimp
4 coral banded shrimp
2 mandarin goby
numerous wrasse
One problem with parasite eating fish is poor longevity in some species (Labroides sps. specifically). Many wrasse and angelfish are parasite pickers as juveniles, then shift their diet to invertebrates that might include some of your prize specimens.
Good diet is also very important, but I find that many people pat themselves on the back for shoveling in lots of food and ignore the other disciplines. A large tank certainly helps put some distance between parasite and host. Reinfection at the end of the parasites life cycle is less certain, but still an issue. Fish to fish transmission is a problem with overstocked tanks.
You really have to eliminate as many stress factors as possible to help the fish maintain a strong immune system. More important than quantity of food, is quality. Many omnivores don't get the algae they need, and some foods that are weak in nutritional value, such as adult brine shrimp, act more as filler than nutrition. The nutrition topic is too broad to fit into this post, so I will leave it at that.
Temperature swings are another major trigger. It isn't the extremes, but the swing that causes stress and cues reproduction. We are having some temperature stability issues. The ambient room temperature is unstable so the display tank reflects this. Large homes are a lot harder to maintain with multiple furnaces, air conditioning units, floor heaters and
their respective thermostats. Peter's wife Judy likes to open the windows at night so there is a whole other microclimate to work around. The idea is to find where the tank would naturally settle with ambient room temperature, then set up a cost effective system of stabilizing that temperature. It is easier to heat than to cool, but you also have to work at the centre of the safety range and predict the trends if something goes wrong. Will it tend to get too hot or too cold?
There are a few semi-reef-safe treatments such as quinoline and metronidazole, but I would advise against their use in a well stocked reef tank. In some cases it is easier to catch the fish out for treatment, and in others in makes more sense to move the corals out and treat the whole display. A good fish trap like the one from Aqua-medic can help you target certain fish for removal. We strategically added fish that were not prone to ich (wrasse, gobies, blennies, anthias) first, then added tangs and angels 6 months later. These are also aggressive fish that should be added last to give the little guys a chance to get settled in. If the QT is thorough and overall aquarium conditions are good, then crytocaryon will not cause fatalities.
