Ich

[attaboy]

Anyone know if Ich or other parasites can stick to inverts or corals?

Curious if inverts & corals need to be in QT for a period of time to ensure the Ich dies off if they in fact can carry the parasites.

 

[MellowReefer]

Definitely. I think it happened to me last year. No fish added for months, then I added a coral without QTing and suddenly several fish had ich. Those who say it's such a small chance it's not worth the trouble are playing russian roulette and their luck will run out eventually. Or they do have ich but their fish have built an immunity to it. I QT all corals and inverts for 6 weeks, and some would say 8 to be totally sure it's died out.

 

[triggreef]

72 days from what I've read here, to be totally sure.

 

[MellowReefer]

There are many different opinions on this. When you get a coral or snail or whatever that has ich on it, it can take from 2 to 28 days for 99% of ich, under tropical temps (about 78 degrees), to come out of hiding and try to find a fish host. Of course you don't have any fish in there, so it won't find a fish host within 24-48 hours and will die off. To speed up its life cycle, keep the tank around 80 degrees. I do 6 weeks. If you want to be 100% sure, instead of 99.5% sure that the ich is gone, do 72 days then.