ich from snails??

[impur]

I bought 40 snails last weekend for my recently upgraded tank. I had a rough transfer from my previous tank, losing a lot of my SPS and some LPS corals. Things were finally looking up, and the diatom stage had hit so i bought the 40snails from the LFS. Well 3 days later both my clowns have ich. The female has 2 spots, the male 1 spot so far.

I only have the 2 clowns and a cleaner shrimp. Nothing has been added to the tank for 5 weeks prior to the snails.

Aside from feeding them food soaked in garlic and selcon, is there anything else i can do to help them beat this?

Is a QT tank my best approach? I think i could get them out of the tank.

TIA!

 

[JamesJR]

I like the QT approach myself.
But know the ICH didn't come from the snails. It probably came from the water that the snails were transfered in that may have ended up in your tank. Just a little bit can do it.

 

[JownsenJesus]

QT and go with hyposalinity treatment. Takes at least 6-8 weeks and leaves your display fallow long enough to allow the ich in the display to die off.

 

[impur]

Thanks. I didn't transfer any of the water the snails came from into my tank. I dumped them all out into a bowl and placed them on the sand. But i know even a drop could have brought it in.

 

[Puffer Queen]

Ich can be transferred via snails, other inverts, corals, rock, algae, a drop of water.......anything that is wet can transfer the freeswimming or cyst stage of ich.

Quarantine is your best option/prevention.

 

[maro1]

puffer Queen is right on.

Mar

 

[impur]

How would you go about QTing 40+ snails anyway? I mean what would you have to get them to eat for 6+weeks?

 

[maro1]

Ich needs a fish host to complete it's life cycle. you could leave the snails in the display tank and remove the fish and place them in a QT. after 6-8 weeks the ICh would be dead in the display tank and the snails would be none the worse. it is not necessary to treat the snails.

But when the ich hatches from the back of snails shell or any other hard surface, live rock, etc... and there is no fish present to host, it will die. unable to complete its life cycle

Mar

 

[impur]

Well i added the snails to a tank with fish already present. How would you QT the snails in that case? Assuming you cannot remove the fish.

 

[maro1]

It depends on how you are QT ing the fish. Your display tank has ich in it since your clowns had ich. I would just put the snails in there and leave it fallow for 6-8 weeks. No fish in that tank for 6 - 8 weeks. Your ich will be gone in that tank.

Qting the fish in another tank you need to treat with copper or Hyposalinity.

Mar

 

[Triggerfish]

Re: ich from snails??

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8728116#post8728116 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by impur
Nothing has been added to the tank for 5 weeks prior to the snails.

what was added at that time and how long was it quarantined?

 

[impur]

3 zoo frags. They got a 10min FW dip with 2X TMPCC.

 

[Triggerfish]

Re: ich from snails??

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8728116#post8728116 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by impur
I bought 40 snails last weekend . 3 days later both my clowns have ich.
i'm sort of doubting here ich cycst hatched from the snails, found a host, fed/grew and became visible all within 3 days.

Nothing has been added to the tank for 5 weeks prior to the snails.
were those zoo frags mounted?

Aside from feeding them food soaked in garlic and selcon, is there anything else i can do to help them beat this?
Is a QT tank my best approach?
i wouldn't panic about it now with only 2 spots appearing that may or may not be ich.

How would you go about QTing 40+ snails anyway? I mean what would you have to get them to eat for 6+weeks?
feed them algae

 

[impur]

I'm doubting it today as well. Yesterday there were no visible spots, same today. I'm going to keep feeding them garlic and selcon soaked foods since they are eating well and acting normally and just monitor them for awhile before i do anything drastic. Thanks.

No the zoo frags were not mounted.

 

[ReeferAl]

I think Triggerfish made a good point. Three days is too fast. Ick won't even be visible for a few days after it has attached to the fish due to the very small size. Only as the parasites grow do they show up as spots.
As far as qt'ing snails, mounted frags etc, the time of qt doesn't need to be quite as long as for fish (from the standpoint of ick) because we aren't dealing with the entire life cycle of the ick organism. If present it is already in the stage attached to substrate. We have to give it long enough to change to the free-swimming stage plus a few days. With fish we need to allow for the parasites attached to fish to mature, release their tomites, attach to substrate etc. Two or 3 weeks is probably sufficient for snails etc. Of course inspecting new corals for signs of coral pests or parasites may take longer, but that is a different question.

Here's my QT protocol:
1. fish- 4 weeks of hyposalinity plus time to bring salinity back up to NSW levels- 5 to 6 weeks total.
2. corals- 4 weeks with iodine dip treatments 3 times during qt, the last right before transfer to the DT.
3. coral frags (unmounted)- iodine dip and then into the DT. For acros I am now treating first with Interceptor before transfering to DT as well.
4. shrimp, hermits, snails- QT for 2 weeks or longer in QT with NO FISH. If the shrimp has molted I feel safe doing the transfer.

I have never had any ick in my DT and hopefully never will.

Allen