Ich free for one month - will it come back?

[350nine]

I don't know. There is so much conflict on this subject it's like religion versus evolution. I got ich as soon as I started my system. I placed all fish in hospital with copper and hypo for 4 weeks while leaving the main tank go fallow. Didn't work. fish went back in hospital, this time for 8 weeks while main tank go fallow. Didn't work either. Now I just try to manage and stay on top of these nasty little bugs. Still fighting it. So far no loss of life.

 

[Spracklcat]

Part of the problem is that the trophonts can lie "dormant" and unseen between the layers of skin of the fish for long periods of time--longer than most quarantines, so you could very well have ich reproducing below your level of detection for years. Just because you can't see it on any fish doesn't mean it isn't there. Remember that by the time you can see white dots on the fish, the ich is pretty well established.

That said, I do not think it is impossible to have an ich free system, but I also don't know how you could definitively say that it is ich free (other than not seeing signs).

 

[Pescado Racing]

I do agree, a fish can show no signs of Ich and still carry it in a number of places such as the gills and epidermis. So not seeing any signs does not mean there is an Ich free system. I am not saying it is impossible to maintain an Ich free system for years. I have done it, but to say the parasite dosen't exsist if fish are hypo QTed still dosen't float with me. Funny thing about biology, "Life, it happens!" Now Freed, I am not implying anything of the sort. In fact, I run a 30 to 35 day QT on everything I OWN and WORK with. Please try to keep your ideas seperate from my own, I can speak myself, and I can clarify if you need. How about a little less hostility there? The topic is a great debate, but take it easy man...