Is ICH always in the water

[Benitsme]

HI

I have heard some people say that ICH is always in the water and that the way you stop out breaks is by good water quality and a UV filter is this true...

And Will good water flow help as well ?

I thought I had an issue with ICH in my tank but it seems to have left I do regular water changes and everything is normal. But to be on the safe side I was told by my fish supplier that the best way to treat it in a coral aquarium is with UV.

Thoughts ?

 

[ridetheducati]

HI

I have heard some people say that ICH is always in the water and that the way you stop out breaks is by good water quality and a UV filter is this true...

And Will good water flow help as well ?

I thought I had an issue with ICH in my tank but it seems to have left I do regular water changes and everything is normal. But to be on the safe side I was told by my fish supplier that the best way to treat it in a coral aquarium is with UV.

Thoughts ?

Please read the sticky above.

 

[Timfish]

There are different strains with varying degrees of virility. You may have been lucky and your fish built up a resistance to a less virulent strain. In my expereince a properly sized UV installed correctly is able to rid a reef aquarium of ich but by far the best way is to avoid introducing it and QT everything before it is added.

 

[laga77]

UV cannot rid a tank of ICH. I am a fan of UV sterilizers, and have one of my own. It is just another tool to help control a ICH infestation. As far as ICH being always present, it can be in some tanks and show no symptoms. Many people have ICH free tanks using a good QT method.

 

[TheReeferer]

When sized properly UV can counteract ich (it won't eradicate from water) enough so that the equilibrium is at a point where fish are not not being overtaken by ich.

 

[thegrun]

HI

I have heard some people say that ICH is always in the water and that the way you stop out breaks is by good water quality and a UV filter is this true...

And Will good water flow help as well ?

I thought I had an issue with ICH in my tank but it seems to have left I do regular water changes and everything is normal. But to be on the safe side I was told by my fish supplier that the best way to treat it in a coral aquarium is with UV.

Thoughts ?

Wrong!!! That is an old wives tale. Anyone who claims that should be ignored, disregard any other advice they want to give you.

 

[snorvich]

Wrong!!! That is an old wives tale. Anyone who claims that should be ignored, disregard any other advice they want to give you.

I agree. Most especially ignore that advice from someone who wishes to sell you a UV unit. As a water clarifier, it works well, but it will have little effect on water born parasite life cycle stages. The exception being with multiple tank systems as a means of isolating one tank from another.

 

[tmz]

No it is not true.

 

[PatW]

Ich is a parasitic protozoan. There are a number of ways to get rid of Ich on fish like the tank transfer method. Unless Ich is introduced into a tank, it will not be there.

 

[ca1ore]

So many mis and half truths promulgated within the industry A fish importer is no more likely to be an expert on diseases than the average hobbyist, though presumably he or she is an expert on the animal importing process :lol:. It is certainly possible to have an ich free tank, though I would argue that is achieved only by those hobbyists who maintain a strict QT protocol. Common sense dictates that any device that relies on water pass through for it's effect cannot completely eradicate any water borne parasite. Whether, under certain circumstances, it can help is conjecture.

 

[Allentown]

Its sort of hard to have an ich free set up if you are stocking a large tank with multiple tangs and need to put them in all at once directly from the supplier, the whole "QT fixes all" sort of goes out the window, unless you want to drop 3 or 4 tangs in a tiny QT tank that may not even be cycled (which you should only do if your goal is to kill the tangs).

This is not an anti-QT post, just pointing out the issues when setting up a new tank. Obviously any new inhabitants being introduced to a disease free established tank, should be strictly QT first.

 

[ca1ore]

Its sort of hard to have an ich free set up if you are stocking a large tank with multiple tangs and need to put them in all at once directly from the supplier, the whole "QT fixes all" sort of goes out the window, unless you want to drop 3 or 4 tangs in a tiny QT tank that may not even be cycled (which you should only do if your goal is to kill the tangs).

This is not an anti-QT post, just pointing out the issues when setting up a new tank. Obviously any new inhabitants being introduced to a disease free established tank, should be strictly QT first.

Whether folks QT or don't QT is, of course, up to them. I'd suggest as answer to your example to not add multiple tangs to a tank all at once. With the exception of a species or two, the whole 'got to add them all at the same time' is unecessary really. Easy enough to setup a cycled QT that can house 2-4 with a bit of planning.