How do fish get ick
- Thread starter moodig
- Start date
shua71;4596167; said:
mark377;4596179; said:
Dear packer43064,
mark377 has just replied to a thread you have subscribed to entitled - How do fish get ick - in the General Aquaria Discussion forum of MonsterFishKeepers.com.
This thread is located at:
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=368360&goto=newpost
Here is the message that has just been posted:
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---Quote (Originally by packer43064)---
9/10 from other fish.
---End Quote---
No that's how it can enter the tank, but if your qater quality is good most of the time your fish don't get infected.
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Contradicting yourself eh?
Personally if I bring home a fish that is ridden with ich then there's a good chance my fish will catch it even if I have good water quality.
does the original poster actually know what ich is? i think if you look at the life cycle of ich you'd have a better understanding of how it spreads so easily, even in perfect conditions
From what I understand, not all fish have it, and it doesn't really lay dormant or anything. It has a cyst stage where it can wait for a couple weeks at colder temps before hatching, but that's the limit. Some fish can be more resistant to it than others, essentially acting as carriers without showing any signs of infection. If you put your tank through a Heat & Salt treatment for 10+ days though, you can be reasonably certain that your tank is Ich free at that point.
The only way it could come back into that tank is being transfered from another infected tank via Water, Nets, moving Decorations, Fish, Plants, etc. Basically if you take anything out of an infected tank and put it in your 'clean' tank, there is a chance that Ich will be transfered. Best way to combat it is to always quarantine any new fish and plants before adding them to your main tanks. Because some fish can act as carriers without showing signs, running the Heat & Salt treatment on the quarantine tank is a good idea too.
One interesting note is that Ich supposedly cannot survive without fish present. If it can't attach to a fish when it hatches from the cyst, it dies. If you buy some plants or decorations, stick them in a quarantine tank for a week and bump the temp up to 85. Don't even need to add any salt. After a week at 85, any Ich cysts will have completed their life cycle and died with no fish present. Plants and decorations should be safe at that point (as far as ich is concerned anyway).
The only way it could come back into that tank is being transfered from another infected tank via Water, Nets, moving Decorations, Fish, Plants, etc. Basically if you take anything out of an infected tank and put it in your 'clean' tank, there is a chance that Ich will be transfered. Best way to combat it is to always quarantine any new fish and plants before adding them to your main tanks. Because some fish can act as carriers without showing signs, running the Heat & Salt treatment on the quarantine tank is a good idea too.
One interesting note is that Ich supposedly cannot survive without fish present. If it can't attach to a fish when it hatches from the cyst, it dies. If you buy some plants or decorations, stick them in a quarantine tank for a week and bump the temp up to 85. Don't even need to add any salt. After a week at 85, any Ich cysts will have completed their life cycle and died with no fish present. Plants and decorations should be safe at that point (as far as ich is concerned anyway).
I am not contracting, I was editing my post since I read your post wrong the first time.packer43064;4596209; said:
The disease can enter the aquarium if you buy a fish that has it. That doesn't mean your fish get sick if your water quality is good. At least that's my experience.
Water quality doesn't have much to do with whether Ich is actually present or not. Poor water quality stresses fish, making them more susceptable to infection. If Ich isn't in the tank to begin with though, they won't magically get it if the water quality drops. Good water quality is no defense against it either. The fish might be more resistant to showing signs but will still be fighting the infection if it's present, even with perfect water.
That's what I am trying to say. By "getting sick" I meant showing the signs of it.Dark Jester;4597010; said:
Dark Jester;4596919; said:
This clears up a lot actually. I've just heard from many people that ICK is impossible to completely remove as it exists in all fishes, but it only shows up and truly attacks when they get weakened by stress and low water quality
