Do I still have ICH?

[mustangmcdee]

About 6 months ago my tank showed all the signs of ich so I tried to remove all of the fish and do the tank transfer method to get rid of the ich. I was able to remove all but 2 fish, a green chromis and a pygmy flame angel. The pygmy flame angel was the first fish to show signs of ich. I haven't been able to catch either of them however neither fish has shown any signs of ich in the last six months. If I did have ich shouldn't the fish have died by now? Should I continue to try to catch them or should I add a new fish and see what happens?

Any advice is much appreciated.

 

[bobbravo2]

IMHO - Your tanks still has Ich. The current fish have a (temporary) immunity to ich. Adding new fish will have them outbreak, unless they also have the immunity.

 

[dinger28]

Agree with Bob. The fish may be immune to the ich, but it is still in there if all fish weren't removed. A fish can live with ich and not be noticeable. Sorry, but I'm afraid you have to remove all fish for the 72 day period and then you can guarantee your tank is free of ich. I've been there, so I know unfortunately the process!

 

[bobbravo2]

I've been there, so I know unfortunately the process!

Me too. Right now as a matter of fact. DT has been fallow (fish free) for over a month now.

 

[mustangmcdee]

Thanks guys. That's what I thought but it is good to have some confirmation.
I have read the stickys and tried most of the different ways to trap the fish besides draining my DT which I'm not sure will work. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to trap these two?

 

[Dmorty217]

Most swear by fish traps. You could section the tank off with egg rate to make capturing them easier. I have a melanarus in my DT still after close to 60 days of having all others out... My fallow period would be near complete by now if I could get the SOB

 

[wooden_reefer]

Ich is likely a matter of chance.

A tank can have light infestation for some time without ich gaining vast increase in population.

Improved immunity could exist to some degree, but when the ich population gains the upperhand, the population can vastly increase from one lifecycle to another, rendering improved immunity useless.

If ich does break out in DT, you have to support ALL fish for 12 weeks while the DT fallows.

You can do TTM but if you don't support all the fish after TTM for 10 weeks, you may not eradicate ich.

All said, six months without ich (without any counter-measure against ich) is also a rather long time and there is some chance that ich has indeed died out.

If you have well-cycled medium standing by to support all fish for 12 weeks, you can try to eradicated ich later if it turns out ich has not died off.

If you plan to stock many more fish, it is better to assume that ich has not died out. One has to be well-prepared to support many fish for 12 weeks.

 

[m0nkie]

a quick question.. sorry a little off topic.

if I didn't QT before, and none of my fish in DT shows sign of ich, is it safe to assume I have no ich? It's been about 2 months now since my last addition.

reason is I just bought a small tang. I decided to QT him due to high risk of ich.. and of course, ICH! finished TTM today. Wondering if my DT is safe..

 

[mustangmcdee]

Dmorty, Thanks. I had used a fish trap to successfully trap all of the other fish but these two won't go near it. 6 months and these suckers wont give up. I'll guess I'll just have to keep after them.

 

[wooden_reefer]

a quick question.. sorry a little off topic.

if I didn't QT before, and none of my fish in DT shows sign of ich, is it safe to assume I have no ich? It's been about 2 months now since my last addition.

reason is I just bought a small tang. I decided to QT him due to high risk of ich.. and of course, ICH! finished TTM today. Wondering if my DT is safe..

Two month is not enough time to tell, but for every month that ich does not happen, the chance that it would will be smaller still.

I'd say that in a tank well-stocked with species of fish that are quite vulenarble to ich, and there is no countermeasures to limit ich, and if there is no sign of ich after six months, then ich very likely has died off.