questions about ich.

[romsoccer12]

ive heard people say fish can naturally fight off ich in the wild. if a fish is perfectly happy in a DT, not stressed and somehow gets ich from like a coral frag, will he naturally fight it off? people say you need a hospital tank but if theres nothing stressing the fish in the tank, whats the point?

 

[Alaskan Reefer]

Generally, the idea behind a quarantine / hospital tank is to allow you to monitor and medicate a fish for disease before introducing it into your display tank -- where catching them can be difficult and medication could be harmful to other inhabitants like corals.

 

[romsoccer12]

why would you not be able to monitor your fish in your DT? i understand medications can work, but the point im trying to figure out is if the fish is happy where it is, cant it beat ich by itself?

 

[Ohiomom]

Some fish can and be a bit more resistent to the disease BUT you are taking your chances. Also any other fish added later may not be so lucky. So kind of depends on how bad the infestation is, how many fish are affected and if you are prepared to possibly lose the fish. I took my chances with one fish and so far so good, but I do not plan to add any fish in the near future. Course others will say the only way to go is to let your tank go fallow for at least 6 weeks. Kind of a judgement call..hth

 

[romsoccer12]

will you add something after 6weeks of seeing your fish ich clean?

 

[Ohiomom]

ich will still be in your tank so no matter when you add the fish it still has a chance of getting ich...the only way to be sure is to remove all fish to QT and treat. I have no plans to add anything for years..so not an issue for me unless a lot of fish die unexpectidly..

 

[es1887]

i have never taken a fish that had ich out of my tank, nor have i ever treated it. a fish will naturally get over it if they are a healthy fish that is not undernourished, and emaciated. i am probably the only one that does that. i feel that as long as your tank is healthy, water quality is good, the fish is eating, it will get over it. i have never lost a fish to ich, and i have had many sensitive fish get it. i feel putting a fish in your tank, it getting ich, you pulling the fish out, putting it in a new tank with little rock work or hiding places, and treating the fish are much more harmful. treating your dt for ich can also lead to poor water quality in turn spreading it to the other fish. either put it in a QT or do not treat it at all is what i say.
but thats just me

 

[darkdruid]

Ich is almost never fatal in the wild. In an aquarium, a fish gets infected, the parasite grows, drops off to the bottom of the tank, reproduces, and reinfects the fish. It's not the initial infection that kills the fish, it's the constant reinfections. In a tank, the fish has no where to go to escape the new parasites being produced. In the wild a fish becomes infected with ich and it matures and drops off. The fish keeps on swimming on down the reef and doesn't get a chance to become infested again.