If a fish does not have white spots, can he still have the parasite on him?

[ScubaSkeets]

Hi folks!
Like the title says, are white spots the only indication that a fish has Ich? The reason I ask is if they are and a fish shows no visible signs of ich (white spots) and Ich needs a host to survive, wouldn't it be safe to say that the tank is free of Ich? If you do not introduce any new fish into the tank and after a period of time, a fish develops ich, where did it come from If it needed a host to survive in the first place?
Or are the white spots just the final..or visible... indication that the fish has ich?
(I hope this makes sense)

 

[JaaxReef]

You could have fish happy and healthy enough that they never show signs of ich until they are stressed. It could still be in the tank, especially if you didn’t QT any of your livestock.

Basically any stress will cause slimecoats to thin and then ich will have an opportunity to take a strong hold of it is waiting.

 

[ScubaSkeets]

You could have fish happy and healthy enough that they never show signs of ich until they are stressed. It could still be in the tank, especially if you didn’t QT any of your livestock.

Basically any stress will cause slimecoats to thin and then ich will have an opportunity to take a strong hold of it is waiting.

I get that, but if a fish is happy/healthy enough not to show the signs of Ich, does that necessarily mean he is not hosting the Ich, and if it is not hosting the ich when ich needs a host to survive how is the ich surviving?
I guess its more of a rhetorical question than anything

 

[Rickybobby]

I have a fish that fertilizes my coral qt tank. Never shown a sign of any parasites. However could it be in the tank? It’s possible and if I take a coral out and put it in my display I’m playing with fire. So I took a perfectly healthy fish. Put it in a separate tank to fallow the coral tank. Just to make sure.

 

[Tamberav]

I get that, but if a fish is happy/healthy enough not to show the signs of Ich, does that necessarily mean he is not hosting the Ich, and if it is not hosting the ich when ich needs a host to survive how is the ich surviving?
I guess its more of a rhetorical question than anything

It survives in the gills in low numbers where you can not see it. You would need a microscope and preform gill scrapes and need to know what you are looking for under a scope and so on.

People can carry pathogens and be a asymptomatic. Fish can also.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I get that, but if a fish is happy/healthy enough not to show the signs of Ich, does that necessarily mean he is not hosting the Ich, and if it is not hosting the ich when ich needs a host to survive how is the ich surviving?
I guess its more of a rhetorical question than anything

You may miss seeing small tomonts, and Cryptocaryon - ich can fester for quite some time like that. I’ve seen it go for over a year on tangs in a large reef tank - never becoming an acute infection, but flaring up every once in awhile.
Jay