No, absolutely no. It is on the fish skin.That's a big spot. I thought it was a blemish on the pic.
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No, absolutely no. It is on the fish skin.That's a big spot. I thought it was a blemish on the pic.
I've read this as well. However, since most (but not all) who practice ich management don't QT then it's likely another fish with ich will be introduced into their DT; and probably with a different strain of ich. That diversifies the gene pool and takes care of the inbreeding problem. Or at the very least, restarts the 10-12 month clock.
A given strain of ich will die out after about 4 years, on average. However, if you introduce a new strain of ich from not QTing the cycle starts all over.
Correct. Anytime post 14 days therapeutic copper is fine.#reefsquad Running copper. You can run 14 day therapeutic, then trasfer to sterile tank. Or run 30 days in same tank then remove copper.
Question may be stupid, but if you have a sterile tank to move fish to. You can do so anytime between end of 14th day and 30th day, doesnt matter when?
You still have Ich in the tank then. UV itself is not a method of eradication of Ich.I'm a big believer in oversized UV if you want to eliminate ich. I got ich early on in my tank. Came in on my achilles and a blue hippo tang. All fish were exhibiting signs of it. All I did was increase feeding, increase water changes, and added a very large UV sterilizer. I'm now over a year out and all of the fish survived and have been completely ich free ever since.
I get your observation, I do. And as someone in the hobby for 45 plus years I know what ich was like from the truly primitive days as each miracle liquid and gadget came on line. UV can be very helpful in the right applications. Once Ozone was considered the tag team state of the art set up for ich with a one ,two, three punch from ozone ( O3) and skimming and UV. Today we use protein skimmers as a must have, some still use UV ,and Ozone is a thing of the past. We know the ich cycle and we know a lot about UV today. Ich cysts sink to the sand as part of their natural. When the fish are still at night, near that substrate, the cysts tend to get active and find their hosts. UV is a physical delivery to a tube where algae, parasites and bacteria pass and their cells are damaged so they die over a few passes. The tube itself does become coated in a short time and so frequent change out is required. So as a help aid, it has its place. As a stand alone treatment or in a race with ich deaths, it is not very effective. You mentioned two species that are known to harbor and experience stress ich. Stress ich is a condition of low population brought visible and increased in numbers by a drop in the fish's natural immune system and its inability to shed slime coat. This stress can be from water or simply water parameter change or by aggression when first introduced into a tank. Think of it, not as an infestation, but as a warning. IF you are over crowded, the water conditions are poor, there is a lot of organic or nitrate in the system and nutrition is average, the combination of the fish's impaired metabolic systems and immune system will help the numbers of parasites get a foot hold and then rise to infestation levels ( 100s to thousands). In short- UV is an isolated pass thru killing machine. Ich is a tactical parasite with stages and time intervals that can be worn down by UV but not eradicated. It seems your attention to feeding and strengthening the immune systems of your tangs ( well done!) are just as, or even more likely, to be the reason for your success.I'm a big believer in oversized UV if you want to eliminate ich. I got ich early on in my tank. Came in on my achilles and a blue hippo tang. All fish were exhibiting signs of it. All I did was increase feeding, increase water changes, and added a very large UV sterilizer. I'm now over a year out and all of the fish survived and have been completely ich free ever since.
exactly --- back ground existence along with other micro species, harmful and beneficial lurking in the snow and sand. we walk a thin line between supporting some beneficial species ( even eutrophic beneficial bacteria create 'rafts' that split off from the biofilm so as to colonize all areas of the aquariums surface) and killing bad things. UV is useful but limited and should only be looked at as a help aid. I like the idea of it in a Q tank. Not so much in a established system- especially if it is the kind of system that depends on biodiversity.You still have Ich in the tank then. UV itself is not a method of eradication of Ich.
agreed. Your obvious perspective is something that takes years to gain. I worry about the snippets of knowledge posted on the internet by newbies. I get it and why it happens but I think it is the responsibility of the experienced hobbyist to help put a perspective and a context in place without hurting newbies feelings or challenging their "do I believe you or my ly'n eyes!" experienceIt's a difficult concept for many to understand but everything can look normal and your fish appear healthy and disease free for extended periods of time with Ich still present in the system. This is the difference between Ich management(which works quite well for many) and Ich eradication. Neither are easy or necessarily the best course for anyone. What fish you keep, your own skills and resources as well your facilities all enter in to deciding which course of action you take.
Stress appears to "cause" Ich but it is just a trigger that reactivates it......very similar to chicken pox/shingles in humans. It's a virus, not a parasite but the principles are similar. Read about that disease and it will help you somewhat to understand.
Who cares if it’s “in the system” if the fish are fat, healthy, and thriving?You still have Ich in the tank then. UV itself is not a method of eradication of Ich.
You obsiously dont know about the biology of ich if you say you've eliminated ich by UV and good feeding. You'll always have ich in your system if you dont go through the ich eradication process (TTM or Copper etc) I am in the exact same situation as you. I had the signs of ich 5 yrs ago, I bought a UV and doubled my feeding and filtration and haven't seen any signs since. Do I still have ich in my system? Yes. Could my fish show signs again? Maybe. I think the stress of ich eradication would kill some of my fish. I feed fresh seafood and nori and try my best at keeping stress situations at a minimum. I'm staying the course.I’m well aware of the biology of the life cycle of ich. But, it doesn't really matter if I have ich in the system or not. My fish have zero ich. They are fat, healthy, growing, active. And they’ve been this way for well over a year now. They dont even flash their gills on things. For an ich magnet species like Achilles and Blue hippos, that says a lot. UV and good feeding, IMO eliminated ich from my fish which is all that matters. And for the record, I’ve been in this hobby for 13 years and I’ve heard everyone and their mom say over and over again that you can’t treat ich with UV, but in my experience it has worked well. I think the alternative (tearing down the rock work, catching all the fish, setting up a hospital tank, and treating with copper based chemicals) would have resulted in a lot more stress and fish death.
I’m well aware of the biology of the life cycle of ich. But, it doesn't really matter if I have ich in the system or not. My fish have zero ich. They are fat, healthy, growing, active. And they’ve been this way for well over a year now. They dont even flash their gills on things. For an ich magnet species like Achilles and Blue hippos, that says a lot. UV and good feeding, IMO eliminated ich from my fish which is all that matters. And for the record, I’ve been in this hobby for 13 years and I’ve heard everyone and their mom say over and over again that you can’t treat ich with UV, but in my experience it has worked well. I think the alternative (tearing down the rock work, catching all the fish, setting up a hospital tank, and treating with copper based chemicals) would have resulted in a lot more stress and fish death.