questions about coral quarantine regarding ich transmission

[Meshmez]

So i get that corals dont "get ich" but the rock, frag plug, etc they come on could have ich/velvet cysts...

if you have coral in a fishless quarantine, and add new coral to that tank, does the tank reset to day 0 of the fallow period? or do the rocks etc retain their fallow progress, only the new addition starts at 0.

im going to venture a guess that the odds of transferring trophonts with a coral, especially after a dip/rinse in a clean water source, are pretty low. (maybe im wrong?). and any newly introduced cysts that hatch will just die with no fish to attach to. so the way i see it, the fallow period should apply to each piece, not the tank as a whole. is this right?

 

[lg2725]

I remember someone else within the last few weeks asking this same question. I am pretty sure the answer was that the clock does not reset for all frags/rocks that have already been in their fishless QT. Each get their own 75 day time in fallow QT. I believe this was the answer that Throewer gave but I can not find it.

 

[Meshmez]

ok cool. so it sounds like i was on the right track. thanks!!

 

[lg2725]

It was in this thread.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2599480

 

[ThRoewer]

The clock doesn't reset on the cyst duration, but on the lifespan of the free infectious stages. Of most concern would here be Amyloodinium which has a relatively short (~1 week) cysts stage, but a free infectious stage that can live for up to 30 days without a host. Brooklynella, while being able to live free for an even longer period is of lesser concern since it doesn't have a cyst stage.
A series of dips and rinses, including at least one quick freshwater dip or rinse before and after the QT could keep these risks low.

This would also be a case where a UV sterilizer of appropriate strength and throughput on the QT can help to minimize risks.

Feeding the corals in QT with live rotifers would also reduce the Amyloodinium risk as rotifers feed on its free, algaelike stages.

Cryptocaryon with its only 2 days long free, infectious stage is of lesser concern in this regard. But its unpredictably long cysts stage could be a serious issue.

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