freshwater dip for Acroporas (to get rid of Ich)

[kj5432]

I have a friend who wants to sell me an acro colony from his display tank which is loaded with Tangs and is currently experiencing an outbreak of Ich. After acclimating the coral I will place it in my tank and is guaranted that some of the "Ich water" will get into my tank. I don't want to get the Ich in my tank. After acclimation with Iodine bath, can I do freshwater RO/DI dip so that I can remove the Ich from the colony? Any suggestions?

 

[fishypets]

I wouldn't you might loose the colony and if you don't you will blow all the color for sure.

 

[comatose]

quarentine it for 6 weeks, ick can't survive without a host.

 

[dymaxiun]

Ich is always present in your system to some effect. It is the health of your fish that depends on if they host to that particular fish.

BTW dont FW dip the coral.. it iwll surely die.

 

[john rochon]

ICH is NOT always present in some form or another.
it's either there or not. tanks can be ICH'less if done right. [follow QT].
I would QT the colony and use INTERCEPTOR for redbugs as they are prevalent in this hobby and hard to notice.
chances are there won't be ich cysts on the colony but if you have the setup then QT'ing would be wise.

 

[E-A-G-L-E-S]

i thought ich only attached to the sand, l.r., and fish? didn't think it could host on a coral? thats why people go fallow, leaving corals in tank when treating fish in QT......

 

[RichConley]

I can't see why ich couldnt be on a frag (or more likely, the plug). Cysts probably end up everywhere in an infected tank, which means if you're not QTing (without fish) every piece of coral/fish/equipment/rock /sand/macro/etc you get from other hobbiests, you have ick in your tank. If itch had to have its cyst stage in sand, then there would never be itch in a BB tank, and we all know thats not true.

I believe its impossible to keep out, and I've seen too many people hypo all their fish on the way in, and then have something happen in the tank (get too cold, etc) and all the tangs get itch.

 

[E-A-G-L-E-S]

so why don't you need to remove say crabs and snails for QT?

 

[thereefgeek]

What on earth are you doing putting someone else's tank water in yours?? You can pull the coral out of the water, give it a shake and pop it in your tank no problem. I'd still quarantine though, unless you're looking to introduce something into your system that's far worse than Ich (redbugs, Acro flatworms, preditory nudibranchs, etc).

 

[E-A-G-L-E-S]

if you QT each incoming coral....wouldn't that require a QT with a halide?(sps) how long is your QT for sps? Do you automatically dip and, or treat?
-i've never QT'd a coral, so i am curious

 

[thereefgeek]

My 20g frag/Q system with a 175w mh and 2-32w pc's under the stand, seperate from the main system:

 

[thereefgeek]

Usually something like a heavy Iodine dip for 15 min., and a few minutes in FWE. Quarantine for 3-4 weeks incase nudi of FW eggs sneak past a dip. As for the redbugs...I got em, so I don't treat for 'em. Looking into that theory about the Dragonface Pipefish though.

 

[kj5432]

I am not dumping someone else's water into my tank. I acclimate my corals in the bag that I by them in from the store. But if I have a bag with a colony in it and the colony came out of a tank with ich then there is ich in the water in the bag. so even if after acclimation I take the coral out of the bag and shake it off and place it in my tank there is still drops of water on the colony therefor ich could possibly be present in the water drops on the colony. And for someone to say that ich is always present is just dead wrong. If there is no host for the ich, be it a fish, then ich can't complete its life cycle and will die. So now having more information regarding my situation, what would you suggest? What if I dipped it in a bucket of salt water and swirled it around then pull it out of the bucket and shake it off?

 

[RichConley]

RIght, no host, the itch will go away, but it takes 6 weeks or so, and chances are, you'll reintroduce it within a couple weeks anyways through a frag or something.

QT it, or you risk bringing ick into your tank. I just dont think its not already in there. Swishing it doesnt do crap.

 

[gregm5]

like dymaxiun said. ich is almost always in every system. if your fish are in good health they will be more than capable of overcoming any introduction from a few drops of possibly ich infested water. i don't think you have anything to worry about, just treat your corals as you would normally do. i can't possibly image that anything from a lfs would be ich free and if that isn't causeing problems, then i'm sure your friend's water won't hurt either.

 

[Freed]

Ich can be stuck to the coral and yes you could introduce it to your tank if it is on the frag. Being on the frag doesn't mean it's "hosting" on the frag it's just stuck on it, possibly, and can fall off in your tank after you put it in and it can then find its way to a fish and start thriving. ICH IS NOT ALWAYS PRESENT IN A TANK. NO FISH FOR AT LEAST 4-6 WEEKS = NO ICH. What is so hard to understand about that? Ich needs a fish to complete its life cycle. Ich can be introduced into a tank on anything if that anything is wet.

 

[AcroSteve]

If you do not want to do a QT, acclimate it, then dip and shake it in a seperate container of fresh tank water for a few minutes. Then put it in your tank.

Do you know about red bugs, flat worms, nudibranchs, and other nasties that will eat your corals?

 

[poknsnok]

wouldnt a heavy iodine bath kill the ick on the coral??... and what do you think of this..

a cocktail of interceptor/tropic marin coral cure for a few hrs and then an egg hunt for nudi eggs before introing new corals??... not everyone can qt corals. myself in that group. to qt corals you would need a separate lighting set up which isnt feasable for me