Ich on live rock

[henryriesett]

Hello. I recently had an outbreak of ich, and set up a quarantine tank, for corals and inverts. (I did not have the space to quarantine fish), so I treated the dt. I put 2 pieces of live rock in the coral and invert tank, and treated the dt. I am currently removing copper from the dt, and have a question about the live rock from the qt. Could it still have ich on it? It was sitting the the qt tank with no fish, I then hosed it off outside, and it has been sitting outside in 95 degree temperatures since yesterday. Could the ich live through all of that?

 

[GARRIGA]

Is any of the rock still moist? if not then that live rock likely lost it's beneficial microbiology (no clue what else to call it) and at this point perhaps best just bleach, hose off and let air dry in the sun.

 

[henryriesett]

Is any of the rock still moist? if not then that live rock likely lost it's beneficial microbiology (no clue what else to call it) and at this point perhaps best just bleach, hose off and let air dry in the sun.

Yeah it definitely is not moist. I did want to keep any of the bacteria, I just was wondering if the ich would have died off it by now

 

[GARRIGA]

Yeah it definitely is not moist. I did want to keep any of the bacteria, I just was wondering if the ich would have died off it by now

I'd post the question in the treatment forum as I recall Jay mentioning that in some situations ich could persist in a dry state. Recall it being anoxic but not sure. Bleach solves that BTW.

 

[henryriesett]

I'd post the question in the treatment forum as I recall Jay mentioning that in some situations ich could persist in a dry state. Recall it being anoxic but not sure. Bleach solves that BTW.

On top of everything, I am soaking the rock in 135 degree water. I really hope that is enough.

 

[GARRIGA]

On top of everything, I am soaking the rock in 135 degree water. I really hope that is enough.

That I don't know. @Jay Hemdal would know best.

 

[CO2TLEY]

I always thought ich can not survive without a host (meaning fish). A #fishmedic would be able to answer this question

 

[henryriesett]

I always thought ich can not survive without a host (meaning fish). A #fishmedic would be able to answer this question

Yeah that is what I have come to learn, but what I am not confident about is how long it can survive without a host.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

That I don't know. @Jay Hemdal would know best.

Sorry - I don’t know for sure. I did a quick literature search this morning and couldn’t find any good references for this, just some speculation.

Soaking in hot freshwater should be fine (assuming no zooanthids are on the rock), as freshwater alone is often used.

 

[henryriesett]

Sorry - I don’t know for sure. I did a quick literature search this morning and couldn’t find any good references for this, just some speculation.

Soaking in hot freshwater should be fine (assuming no zooanthids are on the rock), as freshwater alone is often used.

Thanks. I did that and put the rock in the tank. If ich lived through all that, then I have some respect for that parasite.

 

[Dom]

I always thought ich can not survive without a host (meaning fish). A #fishmedic would be able to answer this question

This is correct.