Fallow periods

[HumbleFish]

I think we all know 72 days is the general consensus for ich.

But what about for:

Black ich?
Brook?
Flukes?
Uronema?
Velvet?

Just thought it might be useful to have all this info documented in one thread. I'll start doing research to answer my own questions as my schedule allows. But if anyone can answer any one of the above, please chime in. :thumbsup:

 

[Dmorty217]

I would be interested to know this too, especially black spot and flukes

 

[Deinonych]

There is no fallow period for Uronema marinum, as it's a free-living parasite that does not require a fish host. I believe Steve has stated that brook requires 8 weeks, and velvet 6 weeks if memory serves.

 

[DasCamel]

I went 6 weeks with Brook w/o incident. I've read 4-8 weeks, longer side to rule out other parasites.

 

[snorvich]

There is no fallow period for Uronema marinum, as it's a free-living parasite that does not require a fish host. I believe Steve has stated that brook requires 8 weeks, and velvet 6 weeks if memory serves.

Six weeks for velvet or brook. Uronema does not have a fallow period (as stated above) since it does not require a fish host.

 

[HumbleFish]

OK, this is what we have so far:

Ich? 72 days
Black ich? ???
Brook? 6 weeks
Flukes? 4 weeks (Newsmyrna80 correct me if I'm wrong)
Uronema? No fallow period, as it does not require a fish host.
Velvet? 6 weeks

 

[Deinonych]

Black ich has a similar life cycle to monogeneans (flukes), so I would assume a similar fallow period. Can't find any citations, though.

 

[snorvich]

Black ich has a similar life cycle to monogeneans (flukes), so I would assume a similar fallow period. Can't find any citations, though.

Yes that is my recollection.

 

[Newsmyrna80]

OK, this is what we have so far:

Quote:
Originally Posted by HumbleFish *
Ich? 72 days
Black ich? ???
Brook? 6 weeks
Flukes? 4 weeks (Newsmyrna80 correct me if I'm wrong)
Uronema? No fallow period, as it does not require a fish host.
Velvet? 6 weeks

You are correct:thumbsup:

 

[inigomontoya]

I have also always heard 72 days for ich but was curious about the time frame. The clock starts when you pull your last fish out and the latest ich stage would be trophonts in the water which last 18 hours so 1 day. Then 3-28 days for tomonts, then 24-48 hours for tomites which then die off. So why wouldn't it be 31 days? Not being difficult just curious what I am missing.

 

[snorvich]

I have also always heard 72 days for ich but was curious about the time frame. The clock starts when you pull your last fish out and the latest ich stage would be trophonts in the water which last 18 hours so 1 day. Then 3-28 days for tomonts, then 24-48 hours for tomites which then die off. So why wouldn't it be 31 days? Not being difficult just curious what I am missing.

Edited from the ich sticky:

Once a trophont leaves the fish, it becomes a protomont. During this phase, it loses its cilia, flattens its surfaces, and moves onto a substrate for about 2–18 hours. After this stage, the organism stops, sticks to the surface, and encysts, whereupon it becomes a tomont. The cyst hardens in about 8–12 hours (Colorni 1985). Before the cyst forms, the protomont may be susceptible to some treatments for a short period of time. However, once the cyst has formed and hardened around the tomont, it has greater protection against common treatments.

Tomonts range in size from 94.5 x 170 µm (~ 1/10 mm x 1/6 mm) to 252 x 441 µm (~1/4 x 1/2 mm). The tomont of one strain of Cryptocaryon was 210 x 763 μm (~1/5 x 3/4 mm). The encysted tomont undergoes many divisions, producing numerous daughter tomites (approximately 100 to 1000, depending upon strain and temperature [Colorni and Burgess 1997]). These tomites are released as theronts, the free-swimming infective stage which is also the stage most susceptible to most salinity or chemical treatments.

The time required for theront development varies. In one study (Colorni and Burgess 1997), theronts emerged from a group of tomonts sometime between 3 and 72 days, with most released from 4 to 8 days after tomont formation. In another study (Diggles and Lester 1996c ), tomite development and theront release occurred, on average, between 5 and 12.1 days after tomont formation, depending upon strain and temperature. There was no correlation between tomont size and theront release.

 

[inigomontoya]

Thanks, I keep seeing 3-28 days as a range on most on theronts emerging from tomonts when it's actually 3-72. That explains it.

 

[HumbleFish]

OK, this looks like the final list unless someone comes up with more accurate info in the future:

Ich - 72 days
Black ich - probably 4 weeks
Brook - 6 weeks
Flukes - 4 weeks
Uronema - No fallow period, as it does not require a fish host.
Velvet - 6 weeks

 

[tassod]

I plan on leaving my DT fallow for 14 weeks to be 100% sure whatever just wiped out 4 of my 15 fish dies. My question is, since i am not certain what my fish are fighting...how do i know after 14 weeks my DT is clean if lets say the problem was Uronema? IF this parasite does not require a host, it would technically always be in the tank?

 

[Deinonych]

Uronema is an opportunistic parasite and is likely part of the normal aquarium fauna. Normally, these organisms feed on bacteria. When a fish's immune system is compromised, they can infect the fish (presumably by feeding on bacteria that infect the fish). Personally, I worry more about the more prevalent protozoans like cryptocaryon (ich), amyloodinium (velvet) and brooklynella. If you prevent those organisms from taking hold, and keep your water quality high, you likely will never have to worry about uronema.

14 weeks is probably overkill (72+ days is needed), but if you're extra-paranoid, that should do it.

 

[tassod]

ok sounds good...i'm hopping all this works out