HELP! Marine Ick question

tla20392

New Member
If one of my fish gets Ich and dies as a result but the other fish dont show any signs of ich for 2-3 months after is my tank ich free? Or are the surviving fish hosting the parasite but just immune? Also, if I put new fish into the tank can they get the Ich from the existing fish?

tla20392
75 gal fowlr tank
1 yellow tang (infected with ich)
2 percula clowns
2 green chromis
1 bird wrasse
2 pepermint shrimp
 

DaveK

Well-Known Member
If one fish is infected, it's safe to assume all the fish are infected. Any new fish you add can get the disease from infected fish.

We get more questions on this disease than all the other put together. Here are some serious threads on dealing with the disease.

http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forum/index.php?threads/marine-ich-myths-and-facts.23132/
http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forum/index.php?threads/fish-with-white-spots-that-went-away.57175/
http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forum/index.php?threads/curing-fish-of-marine-ich.52236/
 

tla20392

New Member
Thanks for your replies....if my current fish don't die from the Ich, do I have to quarantine then all and treat them individually? Also one thing I don't quite understand is what if they show no signs of Ich for several months....is the tank free of Ich or the parasites are still in there?
 

mr_tap_water

Well-Known Member
Thanks for your replies....if my current fish don't die from the Ich, do I have to quarantine then all and treat them individually? Also one thing I don't quite understand is what if they show no signs of Ich for several months....is the tank free of Ich or the parasites are still in there?
This can get quite controversial but IMO if you want to go by the book and get rid of it all together and should be first choice if you can especially if you're not confident in doing the second option ,
you will have to take all your fish out and treat them i'll leave them out for roughly 3 months before replacing them and then you should be free of it all, but still doesn't mean you won't get it in the future through new things added to the tank less you quarantining first The only problem is then you may have reduced the chances of getting it still doesn't mean you won't get it again in the near future through stress etc,

a lot of us with big systems let's have a large rock display even some smaller would not bother trying to catch all the fish every time we got a parasite and will try to build the immune system up in the fish to help fight it off by feeding heavier and adding extra vitamins to the food along with cleaner fish/shrimp help to get rid of it off of the fish ( only )not out of the system which can mean every now and again if the fish is is not in good shape might catch it again it may (not )Again Imo and experience Though some may disagree mainly because They've never be able to do it this self.[emoji846] Bearing in mind a lot of us have Though with Great success.

Which ever way you go that's your choice both ways on not 100% guaranteed A lot of it is to do with how quick you deal with it if you leave it too long You will end up losing them ,
imo taking a fish out of it's own habitat i'm putting it in a quarantine thank can sometimes cause it more stress by the time you put it back it may of killed the parasite on it but if it goes back in stressed it will more likely end up catching something else.


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Last edited:

Pat24601

Well-Known Member
This can get quite controversial but IMO if you want to go by the book and get rid of it all together and should be first choice if you can especially if you're not confident in doing the second option ,
you will have to take all your fish out and treat them i'll leave them out for roughly 3 months before replacing them and then you should be free of it all, but still doesn't mean you won't get it in the future through new things added to the tank less you quarantining first The only problem is then you may have reduced the chances of getting it still doesn't mean you won't get it again in the near future through stress etc,

a lot of us with big systems let's have a large rock display even some smaller would not bother trying to catch all the fish every time we got a parasite and will try to build the immune system up in the fish to help fight it off by feeding heavier and adding extra vitamins to the food along with cleaner fish/shrimp help to get rid of it off of the fish ( only )not out of the system which can mean every now and again if the fish is is not in good shape might catch it again it may (not )Again Imo and experience Though some may disagree mainly because They've never be able to do it this self.[emoji846] Bearing in mind a lot of us have Though with Great success.

Which ever way you go that's your choice both ways on not 100% guaranteed A lot of it is to do with how quick you deal with it if you leave it too long You will end up losing them ,
imo taking a fish out of it's own habitat i'm putting it in a quarantine thank can sometimes cause it more stress by the time you put it back it may of killed the parasite on it but if it goes back in stressed it will more likely end up catching something else.


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I agree with where I think you are headed here.

@PaulB has an entire section in his book on the importance of fish immunity.

My personal opinion (as I won't speak for others, but I'm heavily influenced by what I believe to be @Paul B observations) is that going the "building up immunity route" is the better option than quarantining all of your fish and treating them individually for 3 months. Quarantining a fish is inherently stressful to the fish and causes it's own problems. I'm not saying never quarantine, but in this case the OP says he has a tankful of fish showing no sign of disease. Do I really want to submit them all to quarantine? I wouldn't. I'd just try to keep them healthy and if problems develop later MAYBE take a different course of action.
 

nanoreefing4fun

Well-Known Member
RS STAFF
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to ReefSanctuary, a real Sanctuary of reef forums, with lots of very nice members

Start a tank thread & share your tank with us so we can follow along, we love pics :nessie:
 
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