Ick in all systems?

[jacobreynolds6883]

After a week of research I have found there still seems to be a huge difference of opinion in the hobby in regards to ick and how it lives in our systems. Many experience tank owners will agree that ick lives in almost all closed systems and only shows up when a fish are extremely stressed. However it seems the same amount will say no it doesn't and it is only introduced by the tank owner through tank additions, and cannot live inside the system with healthy fish. So as a hobbyist of reefing I'm curious to see the opinions on here and if you can add some type scientific reason to back your response would be great.

Does ick live in all closed systems?

If yes, can ick live in a closed system and never show up on fish that aren't stressed?

Furthermore can fish build up an immunity to ick by exposure and be able to fight it off from that point forward?

Have you dealt with ick in your main display? if so, did it wipe your tank, or does it still live in there with fish?

 

[piranhaman00]

First, ich* is freshwater parasite, crypto is saltwater parasite that you are referring too.

Second,

There is no debate on this subject. Crypto can only be present if it is introduced. If crypto is in a system it will periodically pop up even under the best conditions, as minor stress events will let it pop up. Fish cannot gain immunity to parasites. Certain fish are more susceptible however.

Crypto can live in fish gills, even if you cant see it it is still affecting your fish (if you have it in your tank of course).

I have never seen crypto because I QT everything in copper. Many people run crypto management successfully, I would never do that however.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Cryptocaryon can be kept out of closed system aquaria with proper quarantine methods. The process is laborious, but it can be done. Essentially, all of the "ich is present in every system" proponents come to that conclusion due to having employed ineffective quarantine processes at some point in the aquarium's history. It could be something as simple as adding a handful of new Astrea snails from a LFS.

"Back in the day" before the advent of reef tanks, there was no discussion about this, everyone treated every fish with copper or chloroquine and ich was rarely an issue. I recall managing a 1200 gallon fish-only system at a pet store in the early 1980's - we ran coppersafe all of the time - never had any ich at all.

Jay