Deinonych
New member
It's been discussed that 24 hours is recommended to dry equipment without risk to carrying ich. That got me thinking. If you've been handling a tank with fish that have ich (hands in the water, on the fish, cleaning the tank, etc) does a person need to wait 24 hours before putting their hands in the new tank water, or in their DT for that matter?
No. If you wash your hands thoroughly, there is little risk of transferring parasites. The infective theront stage is easily transferred via water droplets, but it's also the most vulnerable to hand washing. The cysts are the more hardy life stage that requires the 24-hour drying period, and it's highly unlikely they would be transferred via water droplets, as they are typically affixed to hard surfaces and/or substrate.