I was just curious of where ich comes from. Can it just appear in a tank out of nowhere, or does it have to be introduced from an outside source like an infected fish? I don't have ich in any of my tanks, and have been lucky enough to have never had ich *knock on wood*, but was curious about this.
Where does ich come from?
- Thread starter eatingleg4peanut
- Start date
My understanding is that it is passed along be fish or any other wet item that has the protozoans on it (equipment, etc). Personally I don't worry too much about ich, very easy to take care of when it does manifest itself, unlike crypt and other diseases
It is a living organism that has to be introduced to the tank either on new fish, plants, live food, equipment that has been in an infected tank, etc. Provided none of these are put into an existing tank ( ie really good quarentine ) then it is impossible to get ich.......
Or so I hope as i build by big tank fish house with a central filter
Or so I hope as i build by big tank fish house with a central filter
aside from being passed along from other [fish, decor, whatever], it is also believed that the little ich-causing organism is present in almost all situations, but that fish have built up an immunity to this very small amount that is usually there. therefore, stress due to any number of reasons [poor water conditions, temp. change, etc.] can bring down a fish's immune system [stress: #1 killer of fish] and allow the ich to invade and spread and grow.
and just an FYI, some people will disagree with this, but [in my opinion] the very VERY best treatment for ich is to prevent it from happening in the first place [that's not the part that people will disagree with]. i ALWAYS keep 1 tbsp. of salt per gallon of water in my tank as a general tonic and infection preventer [please don't try to argue with me, i will not be around to see it and besides, salt is something that is commonly used to kill infections and such.. ever had a cancor sore? yeah, it can smother infectious bacteria and stuff] and keep my tank temp. at 78 degrees [and make sure all my fish are compatible with this temp obviously]. the combinations of the CORRECT amount of salt and ~78-80° temp helps to keep the fish stress-free and the bacteria and other small baddies at bay. and i've used 3 tbsp. salt/gallon plus ~80-82° temp to kill off ich successfully [not in any my tanks, i've never had ich in them, but in my mother's. i've also used this combo. to rid my GSP of a fungus he had that popped up on his eye]
oh, and sorry for the mid-sentence ramblings
and just an FYI, some people will disagree with this, but [in my opinion] the very VERY best treatment for ich is to prevent it from happening in the first place [that's not the part that people will disagree with]. i ALWAYS keep 1 tbsp. of salt per gallon of water in my tank as a general tonic and infection preventer [please don't try to argue with me, i will not be around to see it and besides, salt is something that is commonly used to kill infections and such.. ever had a cancor sore? yeah, it can smother infectious bacteria and stuff] and keep my tank temp. at 78 degrees [and make sure all my fish are compatible with this temp obviously]. the combinations of the CORRECT amount of salt and ~78-80° temp helps to keep the fish stress-free and the bacteria and other small baddies at bay. and i've used 3 tbsp. salt/gallon plus ~80-82° temp to kill off ich successfully [not in any my tanks, i've never had ich in them, but in my mother's. i've also used this combo. to rid my GSP of a fungus he had that popped up on his eye]
oh, and sorry for the mid-sentence ramblings
Calihawk;5066889; said:
yeah i don't like the feeder thing, they're always so diseased. have you considered keeping a guppy tank? breeding guppies is a much much healthier way to get feeders. they'll be a bit smaller, but you'll know that the fish are healthy
Calihawk;5066899; said:
i didn't mean as a daily food.. i really don't support feeding live, there is really no nutritional value to it. you said that ich pops up "when you introduce a live feeder". i meant in regards to that