Marine Ick

[kube]

I have a question about Marine Ick. When you treat your fish with hypo you lower the salinty to 1.009 for 6-8 weeks to break the life cycle of the parasite, the Trophont Stage the parasites burst at this salinity, now becuse the parasite could be in various other stages that why we wait the 8 weeks to make sure the parasite enters this stage
Now to the question if your display tank is or appears to be ick free for months. Say ick was introduced to you tank from some bad water but all your fish are in perfect health and the parasite is not able to attach to them to enter the Tomont Stage where the parasites feeds off the host. would you be not breaking the cycle at this stage?
When we treat with hypo we visually watch our fish for signs of ick and if we see any we start the 8 weeks over, wouldn't this be the same as the situation that i spoke of we see no sighs of ick for 8 weeks in our DT at normal salinity? Then the parasite is dead
Now I know that its not this simple as I put it. What am I missing here? Does it just lay dormat in the tanks waiting for a chance to infect the fish? But this goes against all my reading on marine ick each life cycle has certian time period before it must move on to the next stage or die?

 

[beth]

I'd say if you don't see any ich after a month, you're fine. Of course, you do need to look closely/daily.

 

[kube]

So does this theory contradict the people that say that its always dormat in your tank waiting for a chance to attack the fish? So if you add no new inhabitants for say months and see no signs of ick through that whole period can you say that your tank is ick free?

 

[saltandpepper]

I hear you on that one! One of my LFS guys says that you can never irradicate ick completely from a tank, but as the life cycles shows that must be false!
I also think that if the fishes can completely resist the ick for a month or so and does not allow the parasite to attack and encase itself than it should theorectically die off, barring any future "hatchings" of the ick ( ******) of course. In logic it should be removed from the tank. This would have to be true logically b/c the parasite would not need to host while in their free-swimming form. I have in the past killed off ick from my DT while two fish remained in the tank which had shown complete resistance to the parasite, I was not going to be able to catch them anyways. Since then I introduced a powder blue tang which I very stupidly 1. purchase in the first place 2. did not dt and 3. Was covered with ick. He only lasted two days, just long enough to reintroduce the funk to my DT...so here we go again!
Oh yeah...and the garlic. Well maybe it helps, but believe you me from experience...it ain't no miracle cure my friends! It WILL NOT keep a fish from getting ick, it may boost their immune/defense system against the parasite, but by no means will it completely protect them. Garlics uses has not been proven, it really is based upon personal opinion rather than fact, but I use it anyways as a food attractant and a secondary safe guard.

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by Kube
http:///forum/post/2918043
So does this theory contradict the people that say that its always dormat in your tank waiting for a chance to attack the fish? So if you add no new inhabitants for say months and see no signs of ick through that whole period can you say that your tank is ick free?

Ich does not go dormant. Ich MUST find a host hours after free swimming. Fish can fight off parasites if they are strong and health. Ich will attach to them, but very few parasites are able to feed enough to be able to reproduce. Enough will be able to though to keep the parasite life cycle alive.
You most certainly CAN have an ich free tank. It is not impossible. It is quite obtainable, and easily done. Pull your fish into a QT. Leave your display fish less for at least six weeks. Then quarantine all new purchases. Ich has a specific life cycle. Break the cycle and don't allow it to enter your tank again. It is simple really.