Ich Question

[jjwex]

After never having a problem with ich in 5+ years, my luck finally ran out. I upgraded tanks and lost 4 of the 5 fish in the move due to ich.

Now what? I one fish left - a maroon clown that's doing fine - in my 120 gallon tank. I do not have a quarantine tank. How long should I wait before adding new fish and what precautions should I take when adding them? Will the ich survive in my tank without a host? My tank is loaded with corals so copper treatment is not an option.

 

[RBU1]

Well if you want to attempt to have an ich free tank you will have to remove the clown and treat him in Cupramine for 4 weeks. Leave your display tank empty of fish for 12 weeks.

 

[RBU1]

My guess is that your main tank always had ich. The stress of moving everything is what cause it to come out.

 

[jjwex]

You're probably right. The stress is probably what got to them. My guess is that almost every tank has ich, it's just a question of whether it will manifest itself. I have way too much rockwork to be able to remove the clown, so maybe I'll just let the tank sit and not add anymore fish for awhile.

 

[RBU1]

You're probably right. The stress is probably what got to them. My guess is that almost every tank has ich, it's just a question of whether it will manifest itself. I have way too much rockwork to be able to remove the clown, so maybe I'll just let the tank sit and not add anymore fish for awhile.

You don't have to tell me about to much rock....I had to break down my 300 twice now. I have about 400 pounds of rock...

I think your guess is semi right. But the only tanks that have ich are the ones that people do not QT fish...

I would take the time to do it right or your going to find a fish you really like and put it in the tank only to lose it to ich.

 

[spw4949]

Ich is present in most if not all tanks, it is a bethnic organism which means it lives on rocks,gravel, ornaments, etc. in your tank. Stress is what makes fish susceptable to it, reduce your stress levels, maintain good water quality & it shouldn't be an issue....the life cycle of ich is 6 weeks I believe, so in order to have a truly "ichless" tank you would have to have no fish for 8 weeks, you would not need to treat the tank with copper or any other med because without fish ich has nothing to feed off of so it starves to death......

 

[sedor]

+1 sometimes I believe a small hospital tank can cause more stress, especially in larger species such as tangs. Hyposalinity or copper both are capable of killing the parasite because it makes conditions unbearable for the parasite, but just tolerable enough for the fish. I'm not promoting one way or another, but I have always been successful in dealing with ich by proper (sometimes over) feeding and maintaining excellent water quality. Things like ammonia spikes can and will cause problems with ich.

 

[spw4949]

Agreed, again pretty much anything that stresses your fish out will cause it's immune system to weaken therefore making it more susceptable to diseases......

 

[Ricunger]

I also had my luck run out with ick... so if Ick lives in the sand bed until it finds a host if i reduce my flow so my sand does not blow slightly will that lessen the chance of ick finding a host? Also should i wait untill i see the fish become clean visually and remove /replace the top layer of sand?

 

[RBU1]

Ich is only in a tank if you introduce it.....Proper QT and treatment will keep it out.

 

[CUZ]

Well if you want to attempt to have an ich free tank you will have to remove the clown and treat him in Cupramine for 4 weeks. Leave your display tank empty of fish for 12 weeks.

on the cupramine bottle it says 2 weeks. Is 4 weeks just to ensure it is gone? I guess it couldn't hurt with the fish being in qt for 8weeks anyhow.

 

[RBU1]

on the cupramine bottle it says 2 weeks. Is 4 weeks just to ensure it is gone? I guess it couldn't hurt with the fish being in qt for 8weeks anyhow.

If you call Seachem they will tell you to treat for 4 weeks. I guess that is playing it safe just incase you are off with your treatment level.

 

[Ricunger]

I also had my luck run out with ick... so if Ick lives in the sand bed until it finds a host if i reduce my flow so my sand does not blow slightly will that lessen the chance of ick finding a host? Also should i wait untill i see the fish become clean visually and remove /replace the top layer of sand?

I got a pair of clowns that infected my system with ick.

 

[wooden_reefer]

As far as ich is concerned, stress may have a strong impact on the first fish in a tank getting heavily infested.

After that, there is another dimension to ich, which is superinfestation, or constant reinfestation, in the confinement of a tank. Any immunity thereafter is chancy.

The more fish infested the greater dominace of superinfection over immunity. Immunity becomes irrelevent at some time or some degree of superinfection.