Ich Attack Question

[Joek86]

I had quite an outbreak of Ich, and I think Velvet. I lost quite a few fish, but a couple survived, a leopard wrasse and a black leopard wrasse. Are they less prone to the disease?

How long should I wait before introducing any new fish?

 

[EllieSuz]

Even if your Wrasses didn't die, they still provide a host to the parasite. Just because you can't observe any spots, Ich has a stage where they are well hidden in the gills. Your Display Tank needs to remain fallow (fishless) for ten or twelve weeks in order to be sure the life cycle of the Ich is permanently interrupted. Adding new fish will expose them to Ich and you'll be starting the problem all over again. You need to put the Wrasses in a hospital tank and treat them for Ich, leaving the Display tank empty except for invertebrates, such as corals, snails, crabs, etc. There are very informative stickies in this forum about the various methods of treatment.

 

[MrTuskfish]

Even if your Wrasses didn't die, they still provide a host to the parasite. Just because you can't observe any spots, Ich has a stage where they are well hidden in the gills. Your Display Tank needs to remain fallow (fishless) for ten or twelve weeks in order to be sure the life cycle of the Ich is permanently interrupted. Adding new fish will expose them to Ich and you'll be starting the problem all over again. You need to put the Wrasses in a hospital tank and treat them for Ich, leaving the Display tank empty except for invertebrates, such as corals, snails, crabs, etc. There are very informative stickies in this forum about the various methods of treatment.

+1 This is your only option. Then, when adding new fish, religiously use a QT and never go through this again.