Marine ich question

[Jstahli]

Ok, so I had my first outbreak of MI, everyone made it through without q-tine, and there are no "visible" signs as of right now. I do understand that the ich is still in my tank and that the fish are still susceptible to infection and that the proper way to rid the tank of ich would be to remove fish and leave the DT fish less for awhile. With this being said, I think I read somewhere that if no new fish were introduced to the DT (and leaving current fish in DT) for I believe 11 months, that the tank would be "ich free", that the cycle of the ich is an 11 month cycle. So I am reaching out here for the first time as I have just recently joined and will be becoming a paid member as soon as I set up PayPal. Has anyone heard of the "11month cycle" or is this just wishful thinking? And if this is true, then why wouldn't you be able to buy a new fish, put it in QT(which is what I should have done in the first place, I know.) so that it cannot bring a new strand of ich to the tank. This is a great site, very informative, and full of knowledgable people, happy to be joining!

[schenktank]

11 months seems alot longer than what i have been reading. i thought it was more like two months. there is a stage of the parasite that will lay dormant in your tank for a while. so even if you qt'd new fish, the parasite could still attack the fish if you add them before the parasite completely dies off. thats just what ive read. IMO i think ich can be in your tank and as long as your fish are healthy to begin with and have nothing to stress them out, there immune systems can fight it off. im sure plenty of people will disagree with that tho.

[Jstahli]

Thanks for the feed back. I tend to agree with you about keeping them healthy and stress free, but I have a yellow belly hippo that if I look at him the wrong way will get stressed. Lol so my concern would be adding any fish that will cause stress and another ich issue. I know the hippo can fend it off, more concerned about any new additions. I wish removing the fish and placing them in a qt tank and letting the DT run fallow for a few months was an option, but I do not have a large enough qt set up, and trying to catch everyone IMO creates more stress and issues.i guess I can qt any new additions, build up their immunity with vitamin supplements and hope for the best?

[Coral Hind]

The 11 month rule is correct from what I have been reading.

 

Read this: http://www.wamas.org/forums/topic/41558-ichy-battle/page__view__findpost__p__350779

[Jstahli]

Thanks coral hind, that is where I got the 11 months from and couldn't find it again.

 

INTERESTING FIND: If no new MI is introduce into an infected aquarium, the MI already there continues to cycle through multiple generations until about 10 to 11 months when the MI has

[Coral Hind]

Correct, it could be carrying ich without showing any signs.

[Jstahli]

Guess there is no easy solution to preventing MI. Thanks again for all the input.

[Coral Hind]

Just keeping the fish happy and healthy in a stable environment while crossing your fingers.

[Origami]

In a medicated or hyposaline environment (1.009 sg), when the trophont stage leaves the host and later in the free-swimming theront stage, both stages are susceptible to treatment. Trophonts while under the tissue are protected from most all treatments. Still, you can exploit the ich lifecycle and kill the parasite during the latter susceptible life stages. In this manner, QT can effectively break the ich lifecycle.

[Jstahli]

In a medicated or hyposaline environment (1.009 sg), when the trophont stage leaves the host and later in the free-swimming theront stage, both stages are susceptible to treatment. Trophonts while under the tissue are protected from most all treatments. Still, you can exploit the ich lifecycle and kill the parasite during the latter susceptible life stages. In this manner, QT can effectively break the ich lifecycle.

Yes in the case of an infected fish, but if I never had an outbreak of ich in my DT and purchase a new fish, QT it for 8 weeks, and see no signs of infection during QT, then is the assumption that the fish is ich free correct, or can it still be infected and not show signs? Is the only prevention building up immune systems and keeping a stress free environment for the fish? You wouldn't assume that any new purchase has ich and treat(hypo,copper) it while in qt, seems to me to be a little drastic and added stress to a new arrival.

[Origami]

Yes in the case of an infected fish, but if I never had an outbreak of ich in my DT and purchase a new fish, QT it for 8 weeks, and see no signs of infection during QT, then is the assumption that the fish is ich free correct, or can it still be infected and not show signs? Is the only prevention building up immune systems and keeping a stress free environment for the fish? You wouldn't assume that any new purchase has ich and treat(hypo,copper) it while in qt, seems to me to be a little drastic and added stress to a new arrival.

It depends upon your QT procedure. If it's in normal saltwater, then no. Ich can still be there. If it's hypo, then the hyposalinity will kill the parasite during those stages of the ich lifecycle.

 

While copper can be rough on a fish, hyposalinity is actually easier (less stressful) on a fish than regular salinity. Fish expend a lot of energy maintaining the lower salt content in their cells. By putting them in hyposalinity, this energy goes to weight gain and keeping the fish healthy.

 

By the way, you don't need to keep them in hypo for 8 weeks. The trophont stage (when the ich parasite is actually on - or, more properly, in - the fish) typically lasts 3 to 7 days before they drop off and head for the substrate. If they drop off into hyposalinity, their cells swell with water and burst, killing the parasite. Thus, according to the literature, a QT of as little as 10 days can be effective against ich.