Ick immunity

[Rakeboy]

Have you tested your water?

Yes

If yes, what is your ammonia?

0

If yes, what is your nitrite?

0

If yes, what is your nitrate?

5ppm

If I did not test my water...

...I recognize that I will likely be asked to do a test, and that water tests are critical for solving freshwater health problems.

Do you do water changes?

Yes

What percentage of water do you change?

21-30%

How frequently do you change your water?

Every week

If I do not change my water...

...I recognize that I will likely be recommended to do a water change, and water changes are critical for preventing future freshwater health problems.

I have 6 juvies oscars in my 75 grow out tank. The water parameters were good. However, i have an ick out break. It started with my two albino tiger oscar. I remove them in the tank and put them in my 60 gallon no filter planted tank. I did this because i have no quarantine tank left in my house. After 3 days of observation, all of the white spot in those two albino oscars were gone. I put them back in my grow out tank. Then after a day, the other oscars have white spots. The most attacked oscar was the tiger oscar who was eating a lot of food. He is so dominant in feeding time that he eats most of the food that i gave. The other fishes were have some white spot but eating just alright. The two albino oscars that i put in my planted tank were never had any single white spot on the body. I am hesitant to treat the whole aquarium for medication since it will put to much work for me and the fishes. Do fish have an immunity for ick once they have them like in humans having a chicken pox? If yes then am thinking that i will leave it be and let the immune system of the fishes fight it like what happened to my two albino oscars who recovered with the ick. Btw, my tank also is blackwater with almond indian leaves and driftwood. The ph is 7. Any thoughts?

 

[DirtyPaws949]

Hi, My experience is limited, but,
Ich is a parasite, not a virus like chicken pox, so re-infection can happen.

Even if you do not see ich on the body/outside of the fish, it likes to infect the gills and can be elusive. You may see previously infested fish still “flash” from time to time due to gill irritation.

How strong your fish’s immune system is will play a HUGE role (stress, nutrition, other diseases) and I’ve hardly ever had it infect established fish. It is most common in new fish.

I think of ich like demodectic mange, a mite that is found on ALL dogs to some degree. If their immune system is healthy, the mites pose no issue. But if the dog is stressed/ malnourished/ in bad conditions, the immune system fails, and the mites get out of control, leading to a hairless, scabby pup.

For some of my fish, it has “gone away” on its own, and new fish I add to the tank don’t seem to get infected, but it will likely remain in the aquarium/ gills at some level unless treated.

Ich cysts that fall off can last in the water for months, so hindsight I wouldn’t have put it in a planted tank that might house fish in the future.

 

[kno4te]

Did you treat the reason for the underlying cause that allowed the ich to manifest?! Probably the stress from each other. I’d suggest treating the whole tank but that’s just me and eventually move the fish.

 

[Rocksor]

Re-infestation of ich is entirely possible if you don't get rid of it within the month. I've had it happen where I thought it was gone (probably survived in a few drops of water in my water changer since it wasn't thoroughly dry), but I had to retreat 3 weeks later.

 

[Rakeboy]

Hi, My experience is limited, but,
Ich is a parasite, not a virus like chicken pox, so re-infection can happen.

Even if you do not see ich on the body/outside of the fish, it likes to infect the gills and can be elusive. You may see previously infested fish still “flash” from time to time due to gill irritation.

How strong your fish’s immune system is will play a HUGE role (stress, nutrition, other diseases) and I’ve hardly ever had it infect established fish. It is most common in new fish.

I think of ich like demodectic mange, a mite that is found on ALL dogs to some degree. If their immune system is healthy, the mites pose no issue. But if the dog is stressed/ malnourished/ in bad conditions, the immune system fails, and the mites get out of control, leading to a hairless, scabby pup.

For some of my fish, it has “gone away” on its own, and new fish I add to the tank don’t seem to get infected, but it will likely remain in the aquarium/ gills at some level unless treated.

Ich cysts that fall off can last in the water for months, so hindsight I wouldn’t have put it in a planted tank that might house fish in the future.

After further observation i think i am dealing with lymphocystis their cyst were bigger and not that numerous. I could not get a clearer picture since this fish are always hungry and my water is black.

 

[Rakeboy]

Did you treat the reason for the underlying cause that allowed the ich to manifest?! Probably the stress from each other. I’d suggest treating the whole tank but that’s just me and eventually move the fish.

They are not fighting but i think i am dealing with lympho thank God it is not fatal like ich.

 

[Rakeboy]

Re-infestation of ich is entirely possible if you don't get rid of it within the month. I've had it happen where I thought it was gone (probably survived in a few drops of water in my water changer since it wasn't thoroughly dry), but I had to retreat 3 weeks later.

What product do i use if i need to treat an ick infestation when my tank is planted?

 

[Rocksor]

What product do i use if i need to treat an ick infestation when my tank is planted?

Seachem Paraguard for 3-4 weeks. Needs to be redosed everyday and if you are doing substrate cleaning to remove the ich, redosed a few hours after using water conditioner.