I am not saying fish can't develop immunities. I'm saying ocean fish don't need immunity to deal with the parasites we are most concerned about and in fact are probably not immune to those parasites. Otherwise, why does ich ever show up in aquariums in the first place? Some significant studies have focused on ich on fisheries. The ones I've read were in regard to fish being raised in confined quarters, hence more susceptible to high propagule pressure. I'm certainly not a scientist either, but I think it's highly unlikely, given the parasite life cycle, that a fish becomes infected with ich by eating another fish infected with ich.Being an electrician my knowledge on this is limited to things I read here and on research papers but it sounds logical. I do want to add that remember, it is not just that the parasite lives on the fish, falls off and "looks" for another fish to infect.
Of course that is one way fish are infected. But probably all fish in the sea are harboring parasites either on their gills, skin or in their stomach. When they get eaten by another fish (which is what happens to almost every fish) that predator fish also has that parasite in it's gut so it will be infected that way to.
According to these authors, fish can have immunity to parasites.
Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
(ISRN ImmunologyVolume 2012 (2012), Article ID 853470, 29 pageshttp://dx.doi.org/10.5402/2012/853470Review Article
An Overview of the Immunological Defenses in Fish SkinMaría Ángeles Esteban)
Quote: Immunity associated with the parasites depends on the inhabiting discrete sites in the host. Especially important for this paper are the ectoparasites, those habiting in or on the skin. Until recently there had been little direct evidence of innate immune mechanisms against parasites associated with mucosal epithelium [285]. The active immunological role of skin against parasitic infection has been shown recently [286–288], and now mucosal immunity against them start to be elucidated.
And this one
Fish immunity and parasite infections: from innate immunity to immunoprophylactic prospects - PubMed
The increasing economic importance of fish parasitoses for aquaculture and fisheries has enhanced the interest in the defence mechanisms against these infections. Both innate and adaptive immune responses are mounted by fish to control parasite infections, and several mechanisms described for...pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.govFish immunity and parasite infections: from innate immunity to immunoprophylactic prospects
Pilar Alvarez-Pellitero 1
Affiliations expand
- PMID: 18783835
- DOI: 10.1016/j.vetimm.2008.07.013
Abstract
The increasing economic importance of fish parasitoses for aquaculture and fisheries has enhanced the interest in the defence mechanisms against these infections. Both innate and adaptive immune responses are mounted by fish to control parasite infections, and several mechanisms described for mammalian parasitoses have also been demonstrated in teleosts. Innate immune initiation relies on the recognition of pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) by pathogen recognizing receptors (PRRs).
For me, I don't want to rely on a fish I acquire to already have immunity or to develop immunity while in my possession. And I say hogwash that no one who has QTd and not followed your protocol has been as successful as you. Your are to be commended for your success. I'm sure just as many people have failed trying to emulate your experience as have failed trying QT. In both cases, people make mistakes. When they are lucky, the fish they acquire were healthy to begin with, and they are convinced their method was the reason for their success. When they are unlucky,.......