Good bye ich

[ErosJN]

So after all this time i finally broke down and set up a hospital/quarantine tonight. I should have done so a long time ago. I tranferred all my fish from the 210 to the 135 hospital tank. I dosed the tank with Mardels ich treatment, so now im wondering, how long should i leave my display tank fallow for? I know mardels treatment lasts a month, but ich can last longer in the untreated display.. my goal is to completely rid my fish and display of the ich parasite. Some other questions include, how do you quarantine inverts, anemones, corals etc. I have a harlequin shrimp which i feed bi weekly, i would hate to place a starfish in the display for feeding and it possibly have an ich perched on it, same goes with the rest of the inverts i mentioned. Sorry these may be nubish questions but im new to the whole quarantine role.

 

[JVD BVI]

So after all this time i finally broke down and set up a hospital/quarantine tonight. I should have done so a long time ago. I tranferred all my fish from the 210 to the 135 hospital tank. I dosed the tank with Mardels ich treatment, so now im wondering, how long should i leave my display tank fallow for? I know mardels treatment lasts a month, but ich can last longer in the untreated display.. my goal is to completely rid my fish and display of the ich parasite. Some other questions include, how do you quarantine inverts, anemones, corals etc. I have a harlequin shrimp which i feed bi weekly, i would hate to place a starfish in the display for feeding and it possibly have an ich perched on it, same goes with the rest of the inverts i mentioned. Sorry these may be nubish questions but im new to the whole quarantine role.

I believe 8 weeks is the norm however many go as long as 12 weeks

 

[Safir]

I have been told 72 days is the longest recorded life cycle of marine ich.

 

[ErosJN]

Thanks guys. Ive been thinking about leaving the display fallow for 9 weeks. Anyone have other answers regarding inverts etc?

 

[Postal]

Thanks guys. Ive been thinking about leaving the display fallow for 9 weeks. Anyone have other answers regarding inverts etc?

Inverts are not hosts for the ich parasite. Just leave all your corals, crabs, etc in your display while it is fallow.

 

[ErosJN]

Thanks postal.. i mea t as far as adding additional inverts. Is there no chance that the ich parasite might hitch a ride on an invert even if they dont host on them?

 

[Postal]

Thanks postal.. i mea t as far as adding additional inverts. Is there no chance that the ich parasite might hitch a ride on an invert even if they dont host on them?

Ich wouldn't be attached to an invert, but there is always the chance that a free swimming trophont could be in any water that makes its way into to your tank when you introduce a new coral or invert from an infected system. The only way to completely eliminate that chance would be to QT anything you add to your tank for a period long enough for the parasite to die off.

Also, I don't know that I would count on the Mardel treatment alone to be enough to rid your fish of ich.