Why some fishes don't get ich

[eniram78]

Whilst staring into my tank I wonder why some fishes especially betta comets doesn't get ich easily or should I say immune to ich.

Anyone ever wonder if they have antibodies that can fend these disease, anyone ever thought of harnessing this special feature of this fish to create a medication that can be placed into food to improve other fishes immune system? Especially tangs!

Pls share your thoughts

 

[jcw]

certain wrasses are immune due to a thicker slime coat. Same with mandarins.

Fish do sometimes develop a "resistance" to ich but at the next major stressor, I've seen it recur and wipe out the tank.

 

[spieszak]

Anyone ever wonder if they have antibodies that can fend these disease, anyone ever thought of harnessing this special feature of this fish to create a medication that can be placed into food to improve other fishes immune system? Especially tangs!

Pls share your thoughts

I would think the number of fish that would die in a study to determine this would far outweigh the number that die in aquaria without having this.
If ich became a problem outside our tanks, there might be benefit, but even at that point, food soaks wouldn't really do any good.
That, and there probably isn't any money to be made in it long term...especially when your the company that killed 2 million fish to bring you this wonderful product... Just MHO of course

 

[MrTuskfish]

Ich is not a disease, its a parasite. Anti-bodies have nothing to do with parasites. Some fish, like mandarins and other bottom dwellers, have thicker slime coats and more resistance. Tangs are not bottom dwellers, so they don't have that same level of protection and are more susceptible. Any fish, including Mandarins can get ich, some much easier than others. But no fish can get ich if its not in the tank. Every publication and web site I've ever encountered says to QT everything. If you do this, and treat in QT as necessary, ich (and similar, deadlier parasites) are nothing to worry about. IMO, a good immune system can help and (sometimes) fish can build TEMPORARY immunity to ich; but this isn't the answer, QT is. Here's some good background on ich, vital info for every hobbyist, IMO: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1992196

 

[paka]

Here is some info on the subject.
http://gradworks.umi.com/33/67/3367915.html
If you google the authors name and the name Teresa Lewis you can find more info.

Karen

 

[Flaring Afro]

Yup as stated it's a parasite. Slimecoat and scales is what it's about. Puffers for instance don't have scales so they are more likely to have ick when caught in the wild than other fish.

 

[Wolverine]

Ich is not a disease, its a parasite. Anti-bodies have nothing to do with parasites.

That's not true. Antibodies are very much a part of the battle against parasites. They're part of that good immune system you mentioned. Also, to get more precise, infection with a parasite is a disease, so, from that standpoint, ich definitely falls under the "disease" category.

Agree with the rest of the post.

 

[MrTuskfish]

That's not true. Antibodies are very much a part of the battle against parasites. They're part of that good immune system you mentioned. Also, to get more precise, infection with a parasite is a disease, so, from that standpoint, ich definitely falls under the "disease" category.

Agree with the rest of the post.

You're right. Immune and resistant are two different things and I think a lot of hobbyists think "resistant" fish will stay that way. My semi-aging brain was way ahead of itself. I should proof read my own posts a little closer.

 

[namxas]

While some fish, such as mandarins and morays have a thick, parasite resistant slime coat, others, such as Scorpaeniformes have an outer "skin" or cuticle that can be molted off as the fish collect various algae, dirt, and other hangers on such as parasites. This makes them rather disease-resistant, but in no way are these fish immune to crypto.

Here's a pic showing a molted cuticle being eaten by a BW:

Look closely at the base of this ambon scorp's dorsal spines and you can see a loose piece of cuticle that is ready to be cast off:

 

[Monkeyfish]

Nice pics Namxas.