Ich-Attack
- Thread starter badigital
- Start date
paulamrein
New member
my guess, only because of reading a lot of threads on "reefsafe" products it's probably at best worthless. At worst it could wipe out your entire system. I know it may be hard pulling out all the fish and QT but in all honesty it is the only way from my experience and from many peoples experience.
paulamrein
New member
I second that
killagoby
New member
Some things to ponder from the "experts"
"Ick/Ich is always present in your tank, in your fish. Stress is the main cause of Ick/Ich. Your fish can get stressed as a result of many things. I have found that Ick/Ich seems to show up most often when I add new fish to the tank. Almost every time I bring a fish home from the store and add them to a tank within a few days not only does the new fish develop Ick/Ich, but several of the other fish as well. Very frustrating."
"Ich is short for the name of a ciliated protozoan of the genus Ichthyophthirius. Ich is usually present all the time in aquaria in small numbers, just like germs are in the air we breathe. However, when a fish suffers from extreme stress, such as a sudden drop in temperature, its resistance is lowered and it becomes vulnerable to diseases. Ich outbreaks also occur after the introduction of new fish to an established aquarium.
Ich is free-swimming until it attaches itself to the skin of a fish. Under a microscope, the organism is easily seen and identified, even under low magnification. It looks like a round, rolling mass. According to John Gratsbek, et al, in the book Aquariology, The Science of Fish Health Management (Tetra Press), ich is one of the few fish parasites completely surrounded by cilia. The organism's U-shaped nucleus is often visible under a microscope.
Once the free-swimming ich reaches a fish, it attaches to the outer layer of the skin of the host fish. The ich organism then forms a tough outer shell, or cyst, while it feeds on the fish's bodily fluids. This encysted stage, called a theront, grows large enough to be seen with the naked eye. Each theront appears as a tiny white spot on the fish. Severe ich infestations make fish appear as if they are covered with salt. After the theronts grow to a certain size, they break through the skin and drop off the fish. As they fall, they attach to the bottom or sides of the aquarium, or to plants, gravel, decorations, tubing or any other stationary object. Theronts then begin their reproductive stage, and are then called a trophozoite, also known as a trophont. The attached trophozoites then begin producing the infective, free-swimming stage. Hundreds more free-swimming ich organisms, called tomites, can arise in less than a day and a half, and they in turn re-infect the fish in your aquarium."
This is why it might be found on your live rock...
paulamrein
New member
Parasites need a fish host, if there is no host than there is no ich. We also know that copper and hypo salinity kills the ich parasite. So if you have a host that has gone through treatment and has no parasite on them, put them in a tank that has not had a fish host longer than the ich life span. Than there is no way that the fish can have ich. It is not always present. Not in or on your fish. You liken it to germs. There are plenty of germ-free areas in the world. Can't catch a cold in Antarctica because there is no germ able to sustain it's life in that climate. Leave Antarctica and go into a sterile room and guess what? You still wont catch a cold no matter what. When someone says Ich is always present. I would bet anything they don't QT. They may treat the infected fish and put it back into the tank. But they don't use the fallow method. Most of the time because there are "quick fix" products out there that promise ease and comfort without the hassle of fishing them out and looking at an empty display tank for 2 months.
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