Ich and live rock

[fsu]

Quick question if anyone can answer please. I have ich in my 180g that I am fighting. I have a biocube 29g that I am about to set up. Can I take live rock from my main tank to put in the biocube or can it transfer the ick? JUST live rock, no fish. If it can/does transfer, can I just boil the rock and kill everything then use it as base rock?

TIA

 

[CarrieB]

Ich and live rock

I think if you dry it completely, the ich cysts would die. Or you can leave it in fishless water for 76 days, which would save you time cycling again.



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[gone fishin]

A direct transfer certainly has the possibility to transfer encysted ich to the new tank.

As mention if the rock is left in the tank for 72 days or more without fish then that would take care of the ich potential. If you remove the rock to dry make sure it is dry completely, all the way down in the nooks and crannies. I suppose if you wanted to kill the rock there are multiple ways of going about it.

I would not advise to boil live rock. There is the possibility of releasing toxins or irritants into the air, depending on what is on the rock. good luck just my 2 cents.

 

[fsu]

ok, ty for the responses. 76 days seems like a lifetime, but I'll just keep it as a frag tank with maybe some shrimp or something. Thanks again!

 

[neiltus]

And just to add, it's going to take weeks in an arid area to 'dry' any rock that has been submerged for a long time. And you still probably will not get it dry.

Life wants to live, be it ich, algae, or anything. Look at Keith Richards.

I took an ammonia badge out of a QT tank, it sat on a paper towel for about three weeks on the counter. I set up a new QT tank, with an air stone, and freshly mixed saltwater. I put the ammonia badge in that tank and had some white hairlike stuff on it. I pulled it off after a day or two and looked at it under the microscope and it was healthy algae.

Look at what lives in tide pools.

I would not put that rock in that tank unless I wanted to expose that tank to whatever (ich) was in your original DT.

 

[fsu]

Ok, so this may or may not have been a good idea, but I did it anyway. I have too much rock and money invested in it in my 180g to just let it sit and waste. I bought and started with dry base rock as to keep pests to a minimum. So after talking with a few friends that have done this for aptasia where peppermints didn't work, I went ahead and boiled it. Put it in a boil for roughly 45 mins to an hour. I know this kills everything that makes it live rock, but I'm basically killing a few pods and a bit of algae. Hope I didn't screw anything up, but I can't be in any worse shape then where I was lol