Considering a Blue Hippo Tang - Is Ich a guarantee?

[florida joe]

Ok Steve I am having a moment of clarity so lets get serious, if by out of no where you are talking about an established tank with out any ick and no new fish added my answer is no never it just cant happen as you know I think where some people get confused is by not knowing the life cycle of ick you can buy a fish that has but one ick parasite on it its drops off in the shipping bag and somehow gets transferred into your QT or DT to start the cycle and you cant not understand how it got there if the fish looked clean or you miss that lone parasite on the fish and it goes through its life cycle and after four weeks the free swimming thorents in their infective stage attack your fish BUT after four weeks in QT with out any signs of ick you put it in your DT or you did not QT and just put it in your DT and all of a sudden your fish brakes out in ICK and you have no idea now or why im sure you already know this but I think its good to get this info out again

 

[sepulatian]

Ich can come in on more than just fish as well. It can come in on rocks and inverts. It cannot host these, but it can come in on them. The best bet is to qt everything. Many people get confused because they have not added any new fish and their fish gets ich. Come to find out, through our questions, they have added some new rock or something else into the tank. Also, just because you do not see ich on a new fish it does not mean that the fish does not have ich. Ich hosts the soft gill tissue of fish. You would not notice it at all.

 

[florida joe]

Excellent point about the non fish transfer of ick into your system Sir Q

 

[srfisher17]

Originally Posted by sepulatian
http:///forum/post/2450491
Ich can come in on more than just fish as well. It can come in on rocks and inverts. It cannot host these, but it can come in on them. The best bet is to qt everything. Many people get confused because they have not added any new fish and their fish gets ich. Come to find out, through our questions, they have added some new rock or something else into the tank. Also, just because you do not see ich on a new fish it does not mean that the fish does not have ich. Ich hosts the soft gill tissue of fish. You would not notice it at all.
Right. All you need to introduce ich is one drop of water from your lfs or shipping bag. There is so much to this topic; but, I think the #1 preventative measure for ich, and many other problems, is to study and know your fish very well. Never introduce ANYTHING when any fish seems to be in ill-health. This fish will be a target, while the healthy fish can usually fight off a bug or two. Also, anytime a new fish is introduced, QT or not, the stress level of all the fish goes up, making them more prone to attack. A long-winded argument for QT, I guess. No bugs in QT or DT= no bugs when fish are added.

 

[ccampbell57]

I agree with the introduction of ich to your tank. I recieved an ich outbreak by housing snails and starfish from my friends tank that had it. I knew that inverts couldnt hold ich, BUT the parasite lived in the water still on/in the shells. The first fish to get ich signs??? My hippo, none of the other fish had anything.

 

[florida joe]

As has been stated tang are susceptible to ick but they are not carriers of some dormant form of the parasite that becomes active given the right host

 

[srfisher17]

Originally Posted by florida joe
http:///forum/post/2451458
As has been stated tang are susceptible to ick but they are not carriers of some dormant form of the parasite that becomes active given the right host
Yeah Joe, we're talking about a disgusting little creature with a well-documented life cycle; not some sci-fi being that lies in wait for centuries. (That would be the Detroit Lions waiting to get to the Super Bowl).

 

[florida joe]

Silver tongued and witty it’s a whole new you we are seeing

 

[princess8077]

Ok wait....dont leave this thread.
If you get some coral attached to a piece of rock, you hypo it in qt too for 6 weeks? That wont hurt the rock and coral? How the heck do you keep ich out of your tank in that scenerio?
Thanks!!

 

[m0nk]

Originally Posted by Princess8077
http:///forum/post/2452482
Ok wait....dont leave this thread.
If you get some coral attached to a piece of rock, you hypo it in qt too for 6 weeks? That wont hurt the rock and coral? How the heck do you keep ich out of your tank in that scenerio?
Thanks!!
You can keep the rock or coral in a frag tank for 6 weeks until any ich stages would have died off. Of course, not everyone can afford to run a frag tank, which means this is one "human error" way that ich can get back into the tank. You can't do hypo on live rock or coral.
This has actually happened to me, which is why I made sure to setup a frag tank. I'm battling ich in my DT AGAIN.

 

[harris28]

I have never QT'd anything for the 5 years I have been in the hobby. I know that might not be good practice but I have never had ich. I have a blue hippo in a 75 and again I never QT him and never ever had any problems. Now with that said I will probably go home and see ICH

!!haha Anyways my thought for the hippo is it would stress him out more being moved so much. So After visual inspection I put all my fish in the DT and feed fresh garlic minced in frozen food everyday and for 5 years I have been good. Call it lucky or good practice whatever you want.

 

[srfisher17]

Originally Posted by Harris28
http:///forum/post/2452608
I have never QT'd anything for the 5 years I have been in the hobby. I know that might not be good practice but I have never had ich. I have a blue hippo in a 75 and again I never QT him and never ever had any problems. Now with that said I will probably go home and see ICH

!!haha Anyways my thought for the hippo is it would stress him out more being moved so much. So After visual inspection I put all my fish in the DT and feed fresh garlic minced in frozen food everyday and for 5 years I have been good. Call it lucky or good practice whatever you want.
There still are a few LFS around that do a good job with QT before they sell it; unfortunately, they're few & far between. Good practice & a lot of luck go a long way too.

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by m0nk
http:///forum/post/2452512
You can keep the rock or coral in a frag tank for 6 weeks until any ich stages would have died off. Of course, not everyone can afford to run a frag tank, which means this is one "human error" way that ich can get back into the tank. You can't do hypo on live rock or coral.
This has actually happened to me, which is why I made sure to setup a frag tank. I'm battling ich in my DT AGAIN.
Being that there are no hosting parasite, only those that are reproducing, rock and inverts only need to be quarantined for three weeks. I am sorry that you are fighting ich again mOnk.

 

[m0nk]

Originally Posted by sepulatian
http:///forum/post/2452942
Being that there are no hosting parasite, only those that are reproducing, rock and inverts only need to be quarantined for three weeks. I am sorry that you are fighting ich again mOnk.
Yeah, I was pretty stupid and put a bunch of new coral right in the tank since at the time (about a month or so ago) I didn't have a frag tank setup. Got one of those running now, and I've also been cycling a larger QT, but until the QT is done cycling I've been using to kick-ich to keep it at bay... if the QT isn't done cycling soon I might just loose the hippo this time.

So, at any rate, I've learned the hard way about these best practices and will definitely caution everyone who has tangs to always QT, always QT incoming coral/inverts/rocks in a frag tank or something similar, and always have a large enough QT up and running that all of your fish can survive in for 6 weeks.

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by m0nk
http:///forum/post/2452949
Yeah, I was pretty stupid and put a bunch of new coral right in the tank since at the time (about a month or so ago) I didn't have a frag tank setup. Got one of those running now, and I've also been cycling a larger QT, but until the QT is done cycling I've been using to kick-ich to keep it at bay... if the QT isn't done cycling soon I might just loose the hippo this time.

So, at any rate, I've learned the hard way about these best practices and will definitely caution everyone who has tangs to always QT, always QT incoming coral/inverts/rocks in a frag tank or something similar, and always have a large enough QT up and running that all of your fish can survive in for 6 weeks.

That is why I keep two running at all times. I don't often buy a new fish, but if I see something else that I like, I am always ready. I have heard many times of people getting parasites from rock. I hope that your hippo makes it!

 

[m0nk]

Originally Posted by sepulatian
http:///forum/post/2452960
That is why I keep two running at all times. I don't often buy a new fish, but if I see something else that I like, I am always ready. I have heard many times of people getting parasites from rock. I hope that your hippo makes it!
Thanks! And that's definitely a good practice. I have the smaller QT running still but there's a chromis in there for hypo treatment right now. It started showing ich in week 2 of QT (just like every fish I get these days, something magical about week 2

) ... I never thought that the coral or the rock it's attached to really had that great a chance of carrying one of the stages of ich, but I definitely know now that you can't play against the odds.

 

[srfisher17]

Originally Posted by m0nk
http:///forum/post/2452966
Thanks! And that's definitely a good practice. I have the smaller QT running still but there's a chromis in there for hypo treatment right now. It started showing ich in week 2 of QT (just like every fish I get these days, something magical about week 2

) ... I never thought that the coral or the rock it's attached to really had that great a chance of carrying one of the stages of ich, but I definitely know now that you can't play against the odds.
Sure, the dormant stage can't do anything but sink; so I imagine it can be in coral, LR, substrate, or even sharing a shell with a hermit. Good luck with the battle!