Getting rid of Ich

[Edge Family]

Hi...

New to the aquarium life and thoroughly enjoying it.

We have recently had a case of ich on a blue tang and have removed it from our tank.

We want to get rid of the disease.
We have read the ""sticky"" on treatment - and all 3 treatments maintain the current fish stock.

We only have 2 clown fish left in the tank.
If we removed them also and waited for the life cycle to complete - would that remove the ich from the tank ?

In the tank we have soft corals, live rock, snails, a hermit crab, star fish (small).

Any assistance appreciated.

 

[atraperegrinus]

Hi...

New to the aquarium life and thoroughly enjoying it.

We have recently had a case of ich on a blue tang and have removed it from our tank.

We want to get rid of the disease.
We have read the ""sticky"" on treatment - and all 3 treatments maintain the current fish stock.

We only have 2 clown fish left in the tank.
If we removed them also and waited for the life cycle to complete - would that remove the ich from the tank ?

In the tank we have soft corals, live rock, snails, a hermit crab, star fish (small).

Any assistance appreciated.

if you remove all the fish from the tank, I believe 72 days is the magic number to keep the system fishless for. correct me if im wrong.

just don't put fish back in that still have ich or you'll be starting all over.

 

[skp]

if you remove all the fish from the tank, I believe 72 days is the magic number to keep the system fishless for. correct me if im wrong.

just don't put fish back in that still have ich or you'll be starting all over.

From what I read, that 72 days was the longest period that was recorded during an experiment. I don't think it is conclusive to a degree that it can be used as a fact for all cases (strains of ich, temperature etc.). I've read more than one post where the op claims they went over 72 days and the ich returned on fish that were treated through transfer method + quarantine.

 

[atraperegrinus]

From what I read, that 72 days was the longest period that was recorded during an experiment. I don't think it is conclusive to a degree that it can be used as a fact for all cases (strains of ich, temperature etc.). I've read more than one post where the op claims they went over 72 days and the ich returned on fish that were treated through transfer method + quarantine.

i'm sure its not spot on, but its a good starting point.

I just did it myself, but i might have been closer to 80-85 days, and after finally putting 2 fish back in i havn't had any issues yet.

knock on wood, obviously.

 

[gone fishin]

Leave the DT fallow for 72 days. Then follow one of the methods to treat the fish for ich. Without treatment the lifecycle will not be broken and the fish will continue to be infected with ich.

I personally prefer Tank Transfer Method (TTM) and Hyposalinity my least preferred.

In regards to ich persisting past 72 days in a fallow DT, I feel this is usually caused by the treatment method not being executed properly in the vast majority of cases. Good luck just my two cents.

 

[Luke Schnabel]

I've done a lot of reading up and from what I gathared the life cycle of Ich cannot survive that long. The 72 days has got to be not treating the fish the right day. I'm currently fighting ich and plan to have my fish out of the tank for two full months(6days left thank god) when in QT I treated them with copper for the first month. Then ran active carbon and did a 50% water change on the QT tank and then ran hyper salinity for two weeks. I'm slowly brining them up to the DT salinity now.

 

[e048]

i left mine fallow for 6 months that worked

 

[seamonster124]

But eventually it comes back. I just keep healthy fat fish and they shake it off like champs

 

[gone fishin]

But eventually it comes back. I just keep healthy fat fish and they shake it off like champs

What comes back?

 

[skp]

What comes back?

A lot of people say the ich came back. However, I don't know how many of those people quarantined all future wet livestock in a fishless tank for 72 days and tank transferred + quarantined all future fish to make sure it wasn't re-introduced into the dt. This is what you must do to guarantee no ich right?

I don't know if it is worth the hassle. I plan to do the above because I want to keep more expensive fish that are prone to ich but if I were just keeping hardy fish then I probably wouldn't.

 

[AndrewDBui]

Longer the better. the Ich won't have anything to host on and die off. Turn up the heater also

 

[E Rosewater]

But eventually it comes back. I just keep healthy fat fish and they shake it off like champs

This is just factually inaccurate. If you follow proper quarantine/treatement procedures it will not. Ich is a parasite, if you keep the parasite out of the tank it can't just "come back". Ich cannot just appear out of thin air. With exception of an aerosol effect from a proximal infected tank you need to introduce the parasite into the tank.

 

[seamonster124]

Getting rid of Ich

This is just factually inaccurate. If you follow proper quarantine/treatement procedures it will not. Ich is a parasite, if you keep the parasite out of the tank it can't just "come back". Ich cannot just appear out of thin air. With exception of an aerosol effect from a proximal infected tank you need to introduce the parasite into the tank.

Yes, so there's a good chance it'll find its way back to ur tank. Plus leaving a tank fish free for 6 months is just dumb considering the average reefer is in this game 1-2 years.

WE know it is stress related so keep ur fish healthy and fat and they will shake it off; that's just MO

 

[gone fishin]

A lot of people say the ich came back. However, I don't know how many of those people quarantined all future wet livestock in a fishless tank for 72 days and tank transferred + quarantined all future fish to make sure it wasn't re-introduced into the dt. This is what you must do to guarantee no ich right?

I don't know if it is worth the hassle. I plan to do the above because I want to keep more expensive fish that are prone to ich but if I were just keeping hardy fish then I probably wouldn't.

Yes you are correct, I do not have ich in my DT. I have treated all my fish from the first one with the TTM followed by 4-5 weeks of observational QT. Also 2 rounds of prazi pro were done at some point in the QT. My corals are dipped and observed for a couple of weeks in a seperate tank along with any CUC replenshment.

 

[CStrickland]

I don't see a way around 72 days fishless qt of every single live rock, coral, and CUC, unless there's a dip they can tolerate that kills the tomont and tomite stages of the disease? Afaik there isn't.
If that's not happening I don't think the DT can be confidently thought of as ich-free.

But if the ttm isn't too stressful, it can't hurt. A fish is vastly more likely to be a vector for ich than a frag. Better than nothing.

 

[Edge Family]

Thanks everyone for your responses. Much appreciated.
Just to check - it is ok to leave the live rock - soft corals and smails in the DT ?
(You just need to remove the fish ??)

 

[gone fishin]

Yes, just the fish

 

[pmrossetti]

2 months, 72 days, 85 days, 6 months. Do I hear a year? :rolleye1:

 

[kmbyrnes]

Until you have had to maintain a large number of fish in tanks that are too small for 72 days, this is just a theoretical discussion.
WHEN it happens to you ( and it will without QT ), you will research and decide on the best method of preventing ich from reaching your DT.
In my case, that is TTM, PraziPro and an additional 4-5 weeks observation. A lot of folks use this method because it is low stress compared to Cuparmine and hypo, where careful attention to the concentration of copper or salt is required. It has also been shown to be more reliable in breaking the ich life cycle.
Fat, healthy fish are just that: fat and happy. They can still be infected with ich.