Life Cycle
Life Cycle
From Reef Keeping Marine ICH part I:
The lifecycle of the parasite is interesting and important to understand when evaluating a treatment. The stage where the parasite is attached to a fish is called a trophont. The trophont will spend three to seven days (depending on temperature) feeding on the fish. After that, the trophont leaves the fish and becomes what is called a protomont. This protomont travels to the substrate and begins to crawl around for usually two to eight hours, but it could go for as long as eighteen hours after it leaves it's fish host. Once the protomont attaches to a surface, it begins to encyst and is now called a tomont. Division inside the cyst into hundreds of daughter parasites, called tomites, begins shortly thereafter. This noninfectious stage can last anywhere from three to twenty-eight days. During this extended period, the parasite cyst is lying in wait for a host. After this period, the tomites hatch and begin swimming around, looking for a fish host. At this point, they are called theronts, and they must find a host within twenty-four hours or die. They prefer to seek out the skin and gill tissue, then transform into trophonts, and begin the process all over again (Colorni & Burgess, 1997).
This is a great article on Marine ICH it's a two part on Reef Keeping
The more I research on CRYPTO... the more I realize and surmise that MAYBE this parasite is most LIKELY vulnerable to treatments and irradication just AFTER the TROPHONT drops off the host and hits the sand or other surfaces to replicate as the PROTOMONT and upto and during the encyst stage just before TOMONT/TOMITE stage. and also Possibly during the stage where the TOMITES are hatching and hunting as Theronts..
In the encyst stage it may already have some type of a protective shell forming to keep out medications, from whatever source, from being effective while attached and replicating. (hidden). As others have found, once they attach to the host at TROPHONTS often treatments even Dipping can be ineffective. (though the author of the above RK post claims effectiveness)
During light infestations some treatments, including Garlic and Ginger. {or Ginger,Skipper and Mary Anne... err nevermind.. hahah} might be effective at killing and interrupting the replication process as proven in some tests., IF the treatment is being used in the middle of the process at JUST the right time..
All this is conjecture of course, I cannot prove anything, but doesn't it seem logical that there might be a more VULNERABLE time to kill the parasite in different stages? And this would also account why some have had success while some have failed. I Also read that Trophonts like to drop off in the DARK? So treating at night near or at the end of the Trophonts cycle MIGHT be effective in killing them BEFORE they can encyst and protect.
Also When the TOMITES hatch into THERONTS and during that critical period where they must find a host.. IF treatment is present at that time it MAY also kill them BEFORE they infest.
My Trophonts seem to have just dropped off my badly infested Blue TANG, so tonight I will drop in some garlic oil pressed from fresh cloves, tonight along with some Ginger just for kicks. (I'm out of ICH attack!). Then when they are gone in the morning.. CLAIM they are CURED! ahahha noooo really...
This cycle MAY just be the reason SOME in this thread had success while others SEEM to have failed.. Maybe some just caught the parasite at its weakest point and managed to kill it off While others treated and treated (like me) when the parasite was already on or in the fish attached under the skin safe and sound in the Trophont stage (hard to kill with anything).
The key must be to CONTINUALLY treat with methods suggested in this thread including HYPO, GARLIC, GINGER, whatever.. Eventually the treatment MIGHT catch the bastards when they are most vulnerable. The mistake would be to quit treating when they dissapear. and ONLY start treating when they RE Appear as Trophonts... By then it MAY be too late if they are able to bury deep enough into the fish.
By raising the temperature and speeding up the process cycle of the parasite means that treatment will be needed for a shorter period of time and most likely would catch the parasite at its weakest point during a shorter period = greater success rate since most users will treat and then quit.
