Will Ich be on the fishes body?

[Kewlworm]

I really want to purchase a tang from my friend, but this other hippo tang in same tank has gotton ich 2 wks back. The hippo tang is ok now, but I am worrying that the tang I am getting from him will have the ich parasites on the body.

His fishes are healthy, but I don't want to take a chance to introduce ich into my tank...as I don't have a mean to QT a fish that big.

I guess the real question is: Can ich stay on a healthy fish's body and strike when the fish's immune system are low?

Thanks alot!

 

[reefnetworth]

thy if you take care of it, it will remain healthy. Tangs can get sick easily. stress can bring on ick also. if it was treated per instructions, ick should be gone. REEF-ON!

 

[kraze3]

This is an on going debate that may never be answered. Some believe ich is always present some believe it has to be introduced.

My 2 cents is not to chance it if you cant QT the fish. If ich was present in your friends tank all of the fish should have been treated for ich. I would recommend a hypo treatment.

Ich is only visible during one stage in its life cycle. Ich trophents will drop off of the fish to reproduce in the substrate. Ich can also infest the gills of a fish, therefore this tang and all other fish in the tank may look healthy but could still be infected.

Just my .02 though, Hope it helped.

 

[Kewlworm]

With the "leave the main tank fishless for 6-8wks" thing, so I thought that a parasites has to be introduced first for fishes to get it.

If I will get whenever the fishes is not healthy or stressed, I might just get it from him. Good idea?

My friend didn't treat the tank w/ anything, he just fed them frozen food w/ selcon and the tang gets all better within a few days.

Thanks!

 

[kraze3]

yes the mian tank should be fishless when treating. Still though there is the question on wether the ich is still present but in a "dormant" stage where the fish can fight it off or wether it needs to be reintroduced.

Some fish do have great immune systems and they can fight off ich. If you really want to chance this fish I would watch it over a few weeks and if you dont see any signs of ich then you could take it. Good luck in whatever you decide.

 

[seahorsedreams]

Re: Will Ich be on the fishes body?

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7934731#post7934731 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Kewlworm
as I don't have a mean to QT a fish that big.

If you don't have a tank big enough to QT the fish then what are ya going to use as a hospital tank when these fish get sick? A QT tank doesn't have to be perfect match size-wise. The stress of being housed in a smaller than required tank during QT is far better than the stress caused by being sick in a hospital tank at a later date.

 

[BTTRFLYGRL]

I am not sure where all this false info on ich came from..Probably some forum like this Ich has been studied, its life cycle is known, it is after all the most common parasite in our hobby...You can ask fellow hobbyist or you can read articles written by people who have researched and studied....All the info I have read in my disease books are the same...not until I get on these forums do I read otherwise

Marine ich does not lie dormant..Freshwater ich can take some time to reproduce due to the cooler temps

No, Ich is not always present...it can be eradicated...its in fact easier to eradicate than many other parasites

If ich is on your fish, your fish have ich..Its not going to wait until your fish is stressed to infect it..Ich is a parasite. And for the parasite to survive, it must 'live off' its host [Thats what parasites do] It doesn't care if your fish is stressed or ill it will attack any fish at any time
Stressed fish or unhealthy fish may not survive ich like a healthy fish, but ich will attack any fish

 

[Kewlworm]

Thank you Bttrflygrl! That's what I thought. It's kind of a common sense that parasites die w/o food (in this case, fish), so if the there are no parasites in the tank or on the fish, then your tank is parasites-free.

 

[seahorsedreams]

You should still QT every addition to your tank. Even if it is the first fish to go into a display tank. Coral, macro, cleanup crew, fish... everything deserves a QT.