I think Ich is a farce

[tmz]

In my opinion this thread is a farce so the title is at least partially apt.
Ich is a killer and it's common. The carnage is real.
Personal theories are fine; science is better.
It is one of the most well studied parasites, clear life cycle ,treatments ,studies on and on .Kill it effectively, keep it out of the tank via new fish quarnantine and treatment and it wont be a problem for fish kept by novices or those with more experience.
The parasite doesn't know how long the reefkeeper has been in the hobby. . Play with it and it will bite you sooner or later. A happy peaceful view of the world; I can control it my way view,ich won't bother me because I take care of my tanks and others don't have the same ability or experience is nice and must be comforting and self assuring . That approach to most things works well until it doesn't.

 

[mhucasey]

I see this as similar to those parents that are constantly sanitizing everything, always trying to kill the germs everywhere. Keep the kids away from anything bad, away from the outdoors, away from the possibility of getting dirty or hurt. I've noticed that those kids are sick a heck of a lot with all that "prevention".

No doubt quarantine and hyposalinity and meds and fallow tanks can eliminate protozoa...most of the time - just like dosing a person with multiple antibiotics and keeping them in an isolation ward will probably keep them from getting an infection.

The problem is that after all that protocol, if the fish are not healthy than just a small amount of infectious material carried into the tank can take the tank down.

Choose your fish types appropriately so they don't bug each other, keep their water clean, give them a large variety of whole foods, and feed them regularly(that means multiple times a day just like in the wild). It makes me sick when I hear someone say they feed their fish every other day - "to keep nutrients down". If you said that about a cat or dog you would be considered cruel, but people act like its ok to starve a fish to avoid algae.

Whether you use quarantine or not(I never have) won't keep your fish safe if you aren't willing to provide them what they need. Ich isn't a super bug, it doesn't take down every fish it comes into contact with in the wild, I think there is something to be learned from that.

 

[Tmoriarty]

Whether you use quarantine or not(I never have) won't keep your fish safe if you aren't willing to provide them what they need. Ich isn't a super bug, it doesn't take down every fish it comes into contact with in the wild, I think there is something to be learned from that.

This comment takes the cake. Oddly our tanks are not billions upon billions of gallons where fish can swim to a new area (similar to tank transfer), nor can the fish swim upstream to fresher waters (hyposalinity). You can not compare our tanks to the ocean, because in the ocean the parasite has a much harder time maintaining contact with free swimming fish who can re-locate.

As stated above, its great you have not had any issues yet, that does not make you immune to it though, if you get ich you may sing a different toon.

 

[mhucasey]

Im not sure what I stated that "takes the cake". I did not recommend that anyone not quarantine, nor did I say that ich couldn't kill. I am well aware that an aquarium is not the ocean. I said that something could be learned from nature - you yourself stated a couple of hypothesis as to why ich doesn't kill in nature.

That being said, pelagic reef fish don't swim around near the surface all day and night, they hunker down next to the substrate for the dark hours, literally pressing against the bottom or under rocks. There is plenty of time for them to become infected with protozoa.

There are many factors at work in why fish become infected or not, my main point was that nutrition, compatibility, and water quality are often ignored by many aquarists, and that there is more to keeping fish healthy than quarantine and hyposalinity.

 

[laugh]

A) This thread was dead and gone for nearly two months before someone decided to drag it back from the depths.
2) Just because someone doesn't feed their tank everyday does not mean there is not food in there for the fish to eat everyday.
IV.) There is a large amount of silliness in this thread.

 

[megadeth72]

This comment takes the cake. Oddly our tanks are not billions upon billions of gallons where fish can swim to a new area (similar to tank transfer), nor can the fish swim upstream to fresher waters (hyposalinity). You can not compare our tanks to the ocean, because in the ocean the parasite has a much harder time maintaining contact with free swimming fish who can re-locate.

As stated above, its great you have not had any issues yet, that does not make you immune to it though, if you get ich you may sing a different toon.

if? it's not an if, it's probably already there

I just moved fish from an established tank to mine, next day ich, I did nothing but feed like normal and it was gone as quick as it came, same story over the past 20 years keeping reeftanks, treat the cause not the symptoms, I've never medicated or quarantined and I've had it flair up when conditions caused it, stress, tank params etc.

 

[Sensei ClamMan]

I understand the principle idea of this thread, I'm sure it's going to keep getting revived for years because too many people are getting upset about it. Seems pretty funny, that being said I've had ick for 15 years and never done one thing about it and have only lost one fish. He was beat relentlessly for a week, out came the Ich, then dead. Not one of my other fish even showed a spot. I have a very low stress environment. Some of my fish are over 20 years old and my fish selection was based solely on compatibility. The trigger was an impulsive mistake and he died for it.

 

[Osteoicthyes]

if? it's not an if, it's probably already there

I just moved fish from an established tank to mine, next day ich, I did nothing but feed like normal and it was gone as quick as it came, same story over the past 20 years keeping reeftanks, treat the cause not the symptoms, I've never medicated or quarantined and I've had it flair up when conditions caused it, stress, tank params etc.

Treat the cause, not the symptoms??

The cause is an opportunistic parasite. If they NEVER make it into your aquarium, you have EFFECTIVELY dealt with the CAUSE.

I deal with the little monsters by qt and copper. Eight years ago I started doing this and have never had another outbreak. Very simple and very effective.

 

[gone fishin]

maybe we can let this thread go fallow

 

[Sensei ClamMan]

maybe we can let this thread go fallow

It'll go on for years...........

 

[Sk8r]

It probably shouldn't.