Ich outbreak! Wish me luck!

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Something you must know. The ich you just cured will always be in your tank unless you irradicate them with meds. The fish you currently house will be imune since they survived this outbreak. Any new fish you introduce to this tank will catch the few remaining parasites and you may have an outbreak all over again. Its true high temps lower dissolved 02 in he water so you will need to increase aeration when treating. The parasite must be irradicated. If you have other tanks you can transfer the parasite through water changes. Loss of fish should never happen when treating with meds unless the tank is poorly kept or has a very high volume of fish. Ick itself resides in the gills of your fish and they may show symptoms of gasping for air when infected. Just be smart and don't let this simple disease beat you. Good luck Monsta!
 
darippa said:
Something you must know. The ich you just cured will always be in your tank unless you irradicate them with meds. The fish you currently house will be imune since they survived this outbreak. Any new fish you introduce to this tank will catch the few remaining parasites and you may have an outbreak all over again. Its true high temps lower dissolved 02 in he water so you will need to increase aeration when treating. The parasite must be irradicated. If you have other tanks you can transfer the parasite through water changes. Loss of fish should never happen when treating with meds unless the tank is poorly kept or has a very high volume of fish. Ick itself resides in the gills of your fish and they may show symptoms of gasping for air when infected. Just be smart and don't let this simple disease beat you. Good luck Monsta!
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I'm not sure I agree with this. Are you suggesting that ich never really goes away, but is carried forever by your fish?

I had an ich outbreak last year after purchasing some fish from a vendor. I believe it was transferred to my other tanks via shared water change hoses before I realized I had an outbreak. However, after using a salt and heat treatment on all my tanks for 14 days, all ich disappeared and I have never had another issue. This includes new fish I've brought in since. I have introduced several new fish (after quarantine) to my existing stock and they've never been infected with ich while at my house. I do not believe the ich just lives on indefinitely in your aquarium, or that fish are permanent carriers. And previously infected/exposed fish are certainly are not immune, because reinfection can occur if ich is again introduced from an outside source.
 
ryansmith83 said:
I'm not sure I agree with this. Are you suggesting that ich never really goes away, but is carried forever by your fish?

I had an ich outbreak last year after purchasing some fish from a vendor. I believe it was transferred to my other tanks via shared water change hoses before I realized I had an outbreak. However, after using a salt and heat treatment on all my tanks for 14 days, all ich disappeared and I have never had another issue. This includes new fish I've brought in since. I have introduced several new fish (after quarantine) to my existing stock and they've never been infected with ich while at my house. I do not believe the ich just lives on indefinitely in your aquarium, or that fish are permanent carriers. And previously infected/exposed fish are certainly are not immune, because reinfection can occur if ich is again introduced from an outside source.
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+1

And as others have said, Ich cannot reproduce at high temperatures. If it cannot reproduce, it does die out.
 
I believe that its cystic form is forever in your water, no matter what... It's just that when your fish become stressed that their immune system is weakened, so they are more vulnerable to its attacks. Nothing will kill the cysts, as that's the point of having a cystic form, it's immune to higher temperatures, so in this sense he is right, but there is nothing you can really do except perhaps medicate your tank (IDK how well the cyst form holds against the meds) but either way you'd have to medicate every time you did a water change as the parasite itself is in the water, and that would be a little ridiculous.


Edit:

^Finally parasitology paid off ;) God I hated that class.
 
Congrats to those of you who have been successful in the fight against ick. But don't sleep on this parasite. Some outbreaks are so lame your fish can fight them off with their immune system alone. However, I've witnessed outbreaks that were fast and relentless. Completely covering fish within 24hrs. Have'nt seen those kind of outbreaks for a while. Thankfully.
 
Ich and the flu are one in the same. Ich cysts will always be in your tank. Your water quality will always play a part and if you have pristine water, you will not have a persistent and devastating ich outbreak. If your water water quality is poor, the immune system of your fish will be drastically reduced, and your fish will succumb to viral and protozoan attacks. Just as elder people have problems with the flu and pneumonia. Water quality us your key to fighting disease and parasites.

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And relating to the flu... You will find some stains of the ich protozoan that are more aggressive and hardier than others

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