G
Guest
If you have a fish die from ich... does it infect your tank forever or just that animal? and if it does infect your tank how do you get rid of it?
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AggieBrandon
Guest
In my understanding ich for the most part is in your tank at all times (unless you treat to kill it but I'm not sure). The only sure fire way to get rid of the ich is treat for it and then let it sit for a few months and it will die off ( I think). What causes a fish to get ich is getting stressed to the point where its immune system is weak and lets the disease take control. I am not 100% sure on the above statements but it is just the way I was told a long time ago. If you had a fish die from ich then there may be other problems that stressed the fish. What fish was it? What else is in the tank? etc. Make sure you tell us if it is the 11 gallon or not and how long it has been running.
Brandon
Brandon
OP
OP
Guest
Yes but most of us have it in our tanks. Fish will not become infected unless conditions are less than optimal or the fish are stressed.Katie281 said:
Leave your tank with out fish for 6 wks then QT all new additions for 4 wks before putting them in your tank.Katie281 said:
OP
OP
Guest
The cyst stage of ich lasts 27 days if my memory serves me correctly.
OP
OP
Guest
yes it is the 11 gallon, I had a seahorse in it, and it died from ich.... had ich when i brought it home from the pet store... didnt notice until two days later when it started to look stressed and the tiny white spots started to get bigger...... i talked to the fish store and they said there was nothing I could do. Right now there is nothing in the 11 gallon except abotu 18lbs of live rock, and snails and hermit crabs and 1 brittle star, and some corals. I have a heater and a power head and a filter and 2 eighteen watt power compacts. I finally got the ammonia under controll but still want to wait a week or so before adding a new fish. Thanks for putting up with all my questions. I dove into this saltwater thing way to quickly, and appreciate all the great advice that you guys give me. 
. Thanks in advance
-Katie
. Thanks in advance-Katie
OP
OP
Guest
Katie281 said:
If the tank has been exposed to ick, you really need to wait 6 weeks before adding any more fish. It takes 40 days to break the ick life cycle. I just went through this same thing and added my 2 surviving fish back to the main tank 2 weeks ago. It's no fun, but it wasn't fun losing 7 fish in a 2 week period either.
Katie281 said:
Was this recently, after you took the anenome back? The high amonia could have contributed to the stress of the ponies thus causing the ick. Please wait a few more weeks before adding anything new Katie.
Wildfire
Guest
Katie,
Let the tank settle down from the ICH. I had a Purple show infection (as Carlson pointed out, it's always THERE.... just waits to pop up) and had to treat my 135. I haven't added any fish since then (December of last year) and have now established my 4wk QT policy for anything that I would bring in (like some orphan damsels that are hopefully going to get to move into their new home in two weeks).
Once the Ich is present in a tank, it never really goes away. A fish may be infected, but not show obvious signs of infection at any time. The cysts can propogate (where did I read this.....) for up to 3 months in the substrate, but unless you get an active (noticeable) outbreak, the majority should be dead within that span.
In short, I am a VERY conservative person at heart, and would recommend the minimum 4 weeks No Fish for the tank, then if you buy something new and QT it for another 4 weeks, this means your show tank will have been fishless for 8 weeks. Most likely (if you keep you water good) you'll be out of the woods at that point.
Patience is a virtue (which I, myself, must forcefully practice) in reef keeping.....
Let the tank settle down from the ICH. I had a Purple show infection (as Carlson pointed out, it's always THERE.... just waits to pop up) and had to treat my 135. I haven't added any fish since then (December of last year) and have now established my 4wk QT policy for anything that I would bring in (like some orphan damsels that are hopefully going to get to move into their new home in two weeks).
Once the Ich is present in a tank, it never really goes away. A fish may be infected, but not show obvious signs of infection at any time. The cysts can propogate (where did I read this.....) for up to 3 months in the substrate, but unless you get an active (noticeable) outbreak, the majority should be dead within that span.
In short, I am a VERY conservative person at heart, and would recommend the minimum 4 weeks No Fish for the tank, then if you buy something new and QT it for another 4 weeks, this means your show tank will have been fishless for 8 weeks. Most likely (if you keep you water good) you'll be out of the woods at that point.
Patience is a virtue (which I, myself, must forcefully practice) in reef keeping.....
OP
OP
Guest
There is lots published on this, so I won't go into all the details. But, basically the idea that ick is always present in a tank and you can keep it at bay by not stressing the fish is a myth. If you leave the tank fallow for 6 weeks, you WILL break the life cycle of ick and it will be gone from your tank.
Keeping it that way is the challenge. You have to QT fish for sure - 4 weeks is enough to make sure they are healthy, and if you have to treat them for anything, the clock starts over with another 4 weeks.
What kills the deal for most people is that you also have to QT any inverts and corals that have been in a system with fish (i.e., anything you buy from the LFS) to be 100% sure you don't reintroduce ick. Even though the parasite can't infect inverts, the cysts can be present on corals, snail shells, etc., just waiting to be introduced to your system and hatch and find new hosts.
Keeping it that way is the challenge. You have to QT fish for sure - 4 weeks is enough to make sure they are healthy, and if you have to treat them for anything, the clock starts over with another 4 weeks.
What kills the deal for most people is that you also have to QT any inverts and corals that have been in a system with fish (i.e., anything you buy from the LFS) to be 100% sure you don't reintroduce ick. Even though the parasite can't infect inverts, the cysts can be present on corals, snail shells, etc., just waiting to be introduced to your system and hatch and find new hosts.
OP
OP
Guest
the ponie was put in my tank a while ago when i first started it, cause i thought maybe i woudl do a seahorse tank, and after i realized how hard it was i changed to a nano reef. The pony was in there about 6 weeks ago. First week of january maybe. since then, i have had no fish or anything new added tot he tank. I do however still have the one brittle star that seems to be a trooper.... has survived everything.
second question, when you say qt everything for 4 weeks, do you mean that i need to get a second tank? and if so how do i go about qt'ing them?
So by waiting another week to purchase a fish wouldnt be a big deal since i have in reality had no fish in myt ank for about 6 weeks... buying one and qt'ing them would be ok?
second question, when you say qt everything for 4 weeks, do you mean that i need to get a second tank? and if so how do i go about qt'ing them?
So by waiting another week to purchase a fish wouldnt be a big deal since i have in reality had no fish in myt ank for about 6 weeks... buying one and qt'ing them would be ok?
OP
OP
Guest
Had an outbreak two weeks ago and lost my prized brown powder, yellow angel, and two damsels. I've since added a UV sterilizer, 9W Turbo Twist from Kenny at Aquatics Center and it's working!! My flame angel, Perc Clown, blue tang and sailfin tang are finally ridding the white spots... I highly recommend a UV sterilizer to run part-time or full-time depending on your system parameters and needs...
OP
OP
Guest
Katie281 said:
With no fish in the tank for 6 weeks, you would be ok to add a fish or 2 straight to the tank. Keep in mind though, that if your fish in your tank do happen to get sick, most medications are not invert-friendly, so you would have to treat them in a separate tank to avoid killing your inverts.
AggieBrandon
Guest
whenever the seahorse died then start the time frame from that date because if he truly died of ich then you need to wait before adding any other fish/invert.
Brandon
Brandon
