ick queston for the experts

[rgaskins]

I just moved everything over to my new 180...I let the water get too cold and my blue hippo has a few spots...My question is, how long will Ick live with host fish in the tank? This has been going on for about two weeks now...All the other fish are showing no signs of Ick...Just wondering if this will be a reaccuring thing since there are fish in the tank or will it run its course and be over...Thanks for any help...

 

[White Tiger]

Ick will live on the host for about a few days. However, once the white spots fall off, new parasites will be formed. As a result, there will be an endless cycle unless you treat the ick (you can try to let your fish fight off ick by themselves but that is the equivilent of you getting the smallpoxes and fighting the disease without treatment).

==============P.S.==================
Once ick is spotted on one fish, it is most likely that other fish in the tank has it too. Even if they do not display symptoms of having ick, they still could.

 

[leebca]

My own studies have shown and, were recently corroborated by studies, that after about 15 or so generations, the Marine Ich (Cryptocaryon irritans) will be too weak to infect.

I have helped people who will not/would not let their tank go fishless. The surviving fish show signs of MI. New fish being introduced are MI-free (having properly gone through a quarantine process). The MI after several months has weakened to the point where new fish aren't much bothered by it. It is a long time/high price to pay (in time) to 'wait it out.'

 

[rgaskins]

Thanks so much for the replies...I don't mind the tank being fishless...Its just catching them with all the live rock and corals is what I hate...The hippo has just a few spots...Would running a Uv light help any? Thanks

 

[leebca]

UV won't remove Marine Ich from your tank. It will help reduce the population of MI, though. You see, the UV will only kill what passes through it. MI doesn't have to pass through it.

Some help/ideas on removing fish has been covered in threads. This is one:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=586506

 

[michindi]

I dont mean to but in on another thread, but I lost just about all of my fish to ich, the remaing ones I moved to a qt tank to treat, but my water went bad. That lasted about a week. I know it should have been longer. So I moved them back to the main. And guess what...they have it again. I think im going to try to treat it with kick ich Any thoughts?

 

[rgaskins]

Thanks for the link...