Ttm?

[792404]

Does the Tank Transfer Method work on Inverts? I am thinking of adding some CUC and wonder if it would work also?

 

[lagatbezan]

TTM is great for eliminating ich and can work with cleanup crew from what I have read no problem. Its highly unlikely that they can harbor ich but it can still happen which is why its always best to be safe then sorry.

 

[Breadman03]

TTM doesn't work on inverts because of the lifecycle of ich. Check the stickies in the disease forum for lots of good info.

 

[lagatbezan]

Can you show me where in the stickies you see that? if it works on fish why wouldn't it work on inverts?

 

[Breadman03]

TTM targets the trophont stage of the ice life cycle, specifically the 3-7 day period in which the parasite is actively feeding on the fish. Ich doesn't feed on inverts, thus a treatment that is based on well-timed transfers to "clean" tanks in order to prevent reinfection won't be effective.

Read up on the 4 stages of the ich lifecycle in the link (tomont, protomont, theront, and trophant) and you will see why TTM and fallow periods are effective treatments. TTM because we remove the fish before new theronts can find the fish and begin feeding, and fallow because we keep fish out of the tank long enough to allow any tomonts to have hatched and die of starvation before fish are reintroduced to the tank.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2159738

The most commonly observed stage is the trophont, or "feeding" stage. The trophont is found on the fish, usually underneath the outer skin layers. Spherical to club- or pear-shaped, with cilia all over its body, the trophont will normally be seen "rolling" or rotating slowly under the epithelium (outer cell layers of the skin or gills) (see figures 3"“6 ). Because the trophont is embedded within the skin, it is relatively protected from any potential treatments. The organism's cytoplasm is more opaque in this phase, which means the lobed macronucleus (and several smaller micronuclei) can be difficult to see in live specimens (Dickerson 2006). Trophonts can range in size from about 48 x 27 µm (~1/20 x 1/40 of a mm) to 452 x 360 µm (~1/2 x 1/3 mm) (1 µm = 1 micron; 1,000 microns = 1 millimeter). The trophont feeds on the body fluids and cells of the fish for about 3"“7 days before leaving the host.
Trophonts will also actively leave fish that have died, but are not immediately infective. They require additional time to develop from protomonts to tomonts, just as they would if leaving a live host.

 

[792404]

So the only way to clean inverts of parasites it to fallow them in a fish-less tank for 90 days?

 

[lagatbezan]

TTM targets the trophont stage of the ice life cycle, specifically the 3-7 day period in which the parasite is actively feeding on the fish. Ich doesn't feed on inverts, thus a treatment that is based on well-timed transfers to "clean" tanks in order to prevent reinfection won't be effective.

Read up on the 4 stages of the ich lifecycle in the link (tomont, protomont, theront, and trophant) and you will see why TTM and fallow periods are effective treatments. TTM because we remove the fish before new theronts can find the fish and begin feeding, and fallow because we keep fish out of the tank long enough to allow any tomonts to have hatched and die of starvation before fish are reintroduced to the tank.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2159738

wow, great info. I was under the false impression that it would work for anything wet! Thanks.

 

[Breadman03]

So the only way to clean inverts of parasites it to fallow them in a fish-less tank for 90 days?

Pretty much. That's why I have a QT always running.