Your thoughts on "Ich-Free" tanks - IS IT POSSIBLE?

[NastayNatron]

So in order to keep an ich-free display you would have to quarantine everything going in. For those of us who keep sps this means another complete setup with good lights, flow, water quality and everything else needed to keep them happy for there 6-8 week coral quarantine. The fish quarantine is not the part I have trouble swallowing. It doesn't cost alot or take an awful lot of effort to run a small fish only quarantine. The problem is for the coral. Is anyone actually doing this? If you claim your tank is ich-free then you must be quarantining all coral that comes on a rock or plug for 6-8 weeks. . . . Seems pretty intense to me. . . I don't think the gf would agree to another tank for coral quarantine haha

All great arguments . . . good thread so far

[CandyCane]

Every fish has ich dormant inside of it. When the fish gets really stressed its immune system drops and the ich parasite grows and shows up on the fish. Just keep it in the quarantine tank until the ich starts to fade. Feed the quarantine tank small amounts of food 3 times a day to keep the fish healthy. Keep water changes often and the ich will die off as the fishes immune system recovers. I also had a blue tang that got ich, it dissapeared after a month of feeding garlic soaked fresh plankton. I also noticed if I missed a day of feeding the ich returned so the food is really important for the healing proces.

[Reef Pilot]

It's the fish that need to be qt for 6 to 8 weeks, not the corals, because of the life cycle. If you read the article on that link that was just posted by sphelps, it explains it pretty well.

With corals, you dip them in Revive (or something similar), and have a separate QT for them, with no fish, for a week or so, before adding them to the DT. I haven't bought any new corals for a while, so haven't done this myself, but that is the best practice as I understand it. I am sure there are others on this forum, that could tell you more about that.

[daniella3d]

I don't quarantine coral usual unless I know for sure there was ich in the tank it's coming from, I disinfect them though, with revive and also a lugol bath. Doubt anything will survive this. Revive also kill red bugs.

However I do not put the water from the bag into my aquarium.

I think the most way people get their tank contaminated is by introducing a contaminated fish. It can come from coral possibly, but that must be a rare occurence and a real bad luck.

Originally Posted by NastayNatron

So in order to keep an ich-free display you The fish quarantine is not the part I have trouble swallowing. It doesn't cost alot or take an awful lot of effort to run a small fish only quarantine. The problem is for the coral. Is anyone actually doing this?

[daniella3d]

What? no, the ich is not present and dormant on every fish, that's simply not true. Ich does not live inside a fish either, it live on the skin and gills.

Your fish got ich and then it disapeared and then returned, that's because ich is going through cycles.

There is no point in doing a quarantine on a fish that has ich if you are not going to treat it and then put it in your tank. YOu might as well put it directly into your tank! Ich is not going to go away on its own without a proper treatment.

Originally Posted by CandyCane

Every fish has ich dormant inside of it. When the fish gets really stressed its immune system drops and the ich parasite grows and shows up on the fish. Just keep it in the quarantine tank until the ich starts to fade. Feed the quarantine tank small amounts of food 3 times a day to keep the fish healthy. Keep water changes often and the ich will die off as the fishes immune system recovers. I also had a blue tang that got ich, it dissapeared after a month of feeding garlic soaked fresh plankton. I also noticed if I missed a day of feeding the ich returned so the food is really important for the healing proces.

[no_bs]

Have never QT anything, only had i fish with ich and never lost it. He was like a teenager with zits, they would come and go.

[Parker]

Meh, I do alright not QT'ing. I'm more worried about my closed loop intakes claiming lives then I am ICH.

[MarkoD]

Originally Posted by daniella3d

What? no, the ich is not present and dormant on every fish, that's simply not true. Ich does not live inside a fish either, it live on the skin and gills.

Your fish got ich and then it disapeared and then returned, that's because ich is going through cycles.

There is no point in doing a quarantine on a fish that has ich if you are not going to treat it and then put it in your tank. YOu might as well put it directly into your tank! Ich is not going to go away on its own without a proper treatment.

If its not true then prove it!
Show scientific evidence that it's not true. Wikipedia doesn't count

[jorjef]

We need a cage match between daniella3d and MarkoD I think it should be hosted in Regina so I could be the guest referee and part way through the match I would go rogue and Mark and I would turn it into a handicap match... Again eyeballs, cocktail weenie forks, iodine and ahhh maybe a good viewing of the sun with binoculars this time!

[sphelps]

Originally Posted by MarkoD

If its not true then prove it!
Show scientific evidence that it's not true. Wikipedia doesn't count

This is pretty stupid thing to say, I mean really.... Not talking sides here but if you're going to make such ridiculous requests you could at least first support your side of the argument with the same "evidence". Simply saying proof it isn't an argument that supports your side, it's just an argument.