Marine Ich - Myths and Facts

[Woodstock]

#1 - you need to treat all four fish in a seperate hospital tank.
#2 - leave all inverts in the display tank which needs to be kept fish free (fallow) for at least 8 weeks in order for the ICH to starve out.

That salinity is low for a reef tank. It is recommended to keep it at 1.025 - 1.027. Reef Aquarium Water Parameters by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com

 

[justreefnmon]

oh those numbers are from the tank im am going to put them in. in article it says to have salinity a little low then slowly bring up

 

[Octoman]

I have a question...

Is there any reason I couldn't put some live rock from my fuge in the QT if I am treating with Hyposalinity? I understand that any worms, pods, etc.. won't survive the hypo, but this rock was cooked just a couple months ago and is relatively devoid of invert life. I think it would help substantially with the biological filtration...

 

[leebca]

Invertebrates cannot handle a low salinity. The live rock would turn into 'base rock' and anything dieing in or on the rock will begin to add pollution to the water.

It has been done before, however if the rock is not 'very alive' it may be okay. But odds are it will be asking for trouble with pollution.

I have known whole display tanks and systems treated with hyposalinity, but only those that did not contain live rock. Those with live rock have crashed about 75% of the time.

Pollution will be a primary concern in the QT so it isn't best to risk this. Besides, as far as bacteria goes, they are free and attached to everything in side the QT. Hobbyists sometimes miss the point that when the salinity is lowered, that the established bacteria may stop their metabolism. Thus established bacteria in the biological filter of the QT could stop; this also means that even bacteria on live rock could stop, requiring the hobbyist to perform water changes or use chemical filters to control ammonia and nitrites until the bacteria start up again.

 

[Nanoreefbro]

Is is true that running a UV Sterilizer will kill the parasites?

 

[leebca]

The UV can only kill what passes through the unit. It can't kill those that are in the substrate, on the decorations/landscaping or that are free-swimming and remain in the display.

This is covered in the first post here. Please read through it and look for "UV" for more info.

 

[ChiaReefer54]

I have a silly question, can ICH be seen on the glass of the DT? I have some white spots on my glass that have a clear covering over them. When I look as close as I can with the naked eye it almost looks like many tiny white balls grouped together in the clear pouch. When I scrape them with my fingernail they feel like little silicone blobs. Any Idea what this might be? Is it ICH or would I just be able to see on the fish, as mentioned in beginning of thread, if I had it?

 

[leebca]

Not Marine Ich, but a live rock hitchhiker. You may want to post in the reef forum to help get an identification.

The 'white spot' of Marine Ich is the only stage visible to the unaided human eye and that stage is on the fish. Spots off the fish are not Marine Ich.

 

[ChiaReefer54]

That's what I was thinking I got out of reading the begining of the thread. Thanks for the suggestion, I'll try another forum to see what I can figure out...

 

[CHASDB]

My 225G display has been fallow for 10 weeks and I am QT and treating my fish before they go back in. Are there any dips that I can use on my corals before moving them back into my display to prevent MI? I've used Revive and Tropic Marin Pro Coral Cure (iodine) for other bad hitchikers on my corals but don't know if they have any effect on ich. I still have more fish in the coral system waiting treatment so it will be some time before that system is fallow and can go 8 more weeks.

 

[leebca]

IF the corals, invertebrates and non-fish marine lifeforms have been in the tank without fishes AND no new water or other sources of contaminated life forms have allowed the Marine Ich parasites to get into the fallow tank, there should be no reason to worry that they (corals and invertebrates) would be harboring Marine Ich parasites.

From your post it seems like the corals and inverts were removed from the display. Maybe you treated the fish in the display? As long as the corals and inverts were not exposed to any MI parasites for no less than 8 continuous weeks, they should not be harboring any parasites.

If the corals and invertebrates have been exposed to contaminated water and/or infected fishes, they will just need to go fishless for the 8 weeks. No need to treat or risk harming them. I cannot say for sure that the dip was done long enough or what effect it may or may not have on those stages of the parasite.

 

[Danwaddy]

Hi, I know a long time since anything has been posted here but, can I have a fish only tank for 8 weeks? no substrate no rock or do i need to buy them again for the hospital tank. Can i leave my shrimps coral and anemones in the infected tank and and just feed them and keep the water quality good and the ICH will die off?

thanks for the help guys and gals. 2 months in and this has happened its one hell of a learning curve.

Regards

Dan

 

[Danwaddy]

one other question is do i need to remove my canister filter from the infected tank?

 

[leebca]

Can i leave my shrimps coral and anemones in the infected tank and and just feed them and keep the water quality good and the ICH will die off?

Yes.

As to your other question: It is unclear to me what it is you're asking. You don't need substrate nor rock for the QT. Have you read this post: http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums.../23584-fish-quarantine-process-step-step.html

If you're asking about the dispaly system substrate and rock -- they can be left in there during the fishless stage. All equipment, rock, substrate, invertebrates, snails, crabs, etc. can be left in and equipment should be running in the display system. Just no fish.

 

[jrdregs]

A Prominate saltwater fish seller on line writes in their knowlage base:
"Ich is a parasite that lives in almost all fish, just like we carry a cold sore. It has a life cycle of 3 weeks. Do not add any more fish for the next 3 weeks.
Ich can be treated in one of these ways. "
....
Garlic (*(() "is an herbal type of treatment. The mixture is added straight to the tank and will not harm any other occupants. The garlic may also be added directly to the food and will stimulate the immune system and the appetite of all who ingest it.
The last way to treat Ich is to drop the specific gravity of your tank to 1.0019 over a period of 24 hours. After the Ich parasite has dropped off the fish you may raise the specific gravity back to the normal range, once again over a period of 24 hours. There is a risk that invertebrates will die during the drop of specific gravity.
Some fish will be able to overcome Ich on their own without intervention. Many fish can fight this off if their general health and appetite are good, nothing is stressing them in their environment and water quality remains good."

Who am I to believe. This is what drives me nuts about the web, So much info but who is telling the truth. I used RX-p and I thought it (ich) was gone for months, I bought a new hipo tang Qted it for months, treated it with copper, and put it in the DT guess what "white spots" although they do look larger then a grain of salt. In the picture they do not look white though.
Where do I turn?

 

[leebca]

Turn to people with scientific expertise AND hobby experience. Where was the author educated? Does the author have continual college classes on ornamental marine fishes? Did the author research the parasite? How much actual hands-on experience has the author in terms of decades? All these and their credentials are what you have the right to know to decide those with the greatest credibility. Mine are here: http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/fish-diseases-treatments/45723-lees-bio-k-leebca.html

Information I've provided is reliable.

 

[minicrazy592]

About a month after I got my clownfish, I noticed he had gotten Ich. I was so heart broken when it happened. Luckily the copper based stuff took care of it before it got to the other fish. 2 years later, he and his tank mates are still swimming. Nice article BTW.

 

[proenca]

Have to praise the intial article and the whole thread : very informative and clear.

 

[happyfishman]

"11. NEVER combine a copper treatment with a hyposalinity treatment. In hyposaline solutions, copper can be lethal to marine fishes."

Very good point! A friend almost killed his fish trying to do that. Good advice here.

 

[NitrousXpress]

ok after the copper treatment has cured the ich in a qt tank, how can i restart the bio filter that the copper destroyed, seeing that my fish will be in there for anoter 3 to 4 weeks.