I'm an Idiot

[Reefie]

So sorry to hear about Doofus!

I just had a recent battle with ich, completely my fault though. I didn't quarantine and picked up the 3 Tangs within 2 days of their arrival and then after a 4 hour drip-acclimation into my tank. They did fine for the first week or so, and then the Blue Hippo showed ich, and then the Powder Blue, and then finally the Yellow. I fed them Garlic drenched food for about 10 days, and the ich looked like it was receeding. Then I noticed my McCosker's Flasher Wrasse showed ich spots, so I kept up the Garlic drenched food for another few days. I went overnight to Seattle, only to come home to................all 3 Tangs dead, all 4 Dispar Anthias dead, Carpenter's Flasher Wrasse dead, and the McCosker's Flasher shows ich but is hanging on by a thread. Did an emergency 60% WC to clear out an Ammonia. The McCosker's is still hanging on, and the rest of the fish are no longer panting for air.

So, back to the theory of "healthy" fish not contracting ich.........all of the fish were healthy and not stressed even after the introduction of the Tangs. A parasite is a PARASITE, it's life cycle to infect and reproduce until it can no longer continue to do so.

My previous Tangs did have small outbreak of ich when I first got them about a year ago. I treated with Proto Marin, as it was the only reef-safe medication I could find. I didn't use the Proto Marin this time because I now have clams, which I didn't before and I read that clams may or may not react to it.

So now, every day I come home from work, I check to see if anything else has died. Pretty sad, yes I know..........

I'm not planning to re-stock for at least a few months, maybe even half a year to let the ich life-cycle run it's course. What I have learned is to QT anything new before adding it to the DT. So, if anyone knows where I can get a small 5 Gal all-in-one tank, it would be used to QT any new additions.

Marie, I really hope Doofus pulls through for you!!!

[MarkoD]

Can you explain why one fish will get ich. And it will get worse and worse as the parasite multiplies. But all the other fish in the tank are not effected?

Originally Posted by daniella3d

wow...can't beleive I am reading this!

In the ocean the ick kyst are getting dispersed all over the currents and rarely they will be able to remain on a fish for very long because they get wiped away as soon as they detatch from the fish so not large scale infection can take place. However in the aquarium where the fish are so confined it is very easy for the ick to find the same fish over and over again until that poor fish is covered.

So yeah...if you dumped a bucket full of ick into a tank you would infect all of the fish in there. Has nothing to do with healthy or not healthy fish...it is a parasite and it will parasite.

Also you say you saw fish survive ick without treatment...fine....except have you ever seen fish survive marine velvet without treatment? now they are both parasites and the only reason that some fish manage to fight off ick is that it is not as nasty parasites. It's not only due to the fish fighting it off, it also has to do with the fact that ick is not such a deadly parasite as some others. If your theory about healthy fish fighting off disease would be true, then quite a bit of fish would survive velvet infestation, but that's simply not true. I guess that according to your theory, it means that a lot of fish are not heatly or they would not need medication to fight off marine velvet.

[jorjef]

Originally Posted by MarkoD

Can you explain why one fish will get ich. And it will get worse and worse as the parasite multiplies. But all the other fish in the tank are not effected?

Their super fast ninja like reflexes allows them to continually dodge the onslaught of the relentless evil doers called "The Ich" ... Unno just really having some fun here.... please continue.

[daniella3d]

yes maybe...are you sure it's ick? have you id it under a microscope?

Might be just some skin irritation/pimples or a skin reaction to something.

What you describe is rare though and not representative of ich infestation.

With ich, it seem that there is different level of infection and it come be quite mild at the beginning only to become plague proportion and kill every fish at some point. Sometime it's just the opposite and it start big and become less infective after a while and only a few bits of it show up here and there.

It is very hard to predict how "virulent" an infestation of ich will turn out. I guess there are a lot of influencing factors playing a role in each situation.

Originally Posted by MarkoD

Can you explain why one fish will get ich. And it will get worse and worse as the parasite multiplies. But all the other fish in the tank are not effected?

[marie]

Not only has this thread become humorous and interesting, not one person has said ........"Wow, are you ever an idiot"

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by marie

not one person has said ........"Wow, are you ever an idiot"

I was going to mention that, but then thought about what that would make me

[christyf5]

Originally Posted by marie

Not only has this thread become humorous and interesting, not one person has said ........"Wow, are you ever an idiot"

LOL, that didn't even cross my mind as I also would have never thought about treating a coral for ick No red bugs? Into the tank you go!

[MarkoD]

Originally Posted by daniella3d

yes maybe...are you sure it's ick? have you id it under a microscope?

Might be just some skin irritation/pimples or a skin reaction to something.

What you describe is rare though and not representative of ich infestation.

With ich, it seem that there is different level of infection and it come be quite mild at the beginning only to become plague proportion and kill every fish at some point. Sometime it's just the opposite and it start big and become less infective after a while and only a few bits of it show up here and there.

It is very hard to predict how "virulent" an infestation of ich will turn out. I guess there are a lot of influencing factors playing a role in each situation.

and you're not willing to admit that the the scale of the infestation is determined by whether the fish are stressed or not?

I've put new fish into my tank that get covered in ich, sometimes they live, sometimes they dont. but i've never put in a new fish with ich and have it spread to the existing fish in my tank.

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by MarkoD

but i've never put in a new fish with ich and have it spread to the existing fish in my tank.

I have...

[lockrookie]

i have too ich is my nemesis