Is the proper spelling ich, or ick?

hds4216 · Nov 10, 2020

It's ich right? The name comes from the freshwater version of ich, which is caused by the parasite Ichthyophthirius multifiliis. The shortened name is obviously derived from the first few letters of the scientific name. The marine version is caused by a totally different parasite with a different name (Cryptocaryon irritans), but it still makes sense to call it ich.

Disclaimer: I know the spelling of the name is irrelevant, but the fact that it's inconsistent annoys my OCD.

ichthyogeek · Nov 10, 2020

Eh, you get used to people misspelling things very frequently while on the internet. I've lost count of how many times I've seen people misspell the word "axolotl" on Reddit, and I just joined reddit a week ago...I should make a "pragnet" video on the topic really....

So yes, the correct way to spell it is "ich" as in "ichthyophthirius", but you still pronounce it "ick", which is where people probably get confused. They hear it as "ick" so ask about "ick" when really they're asking about "ich". It doesn't help that most people don't understand that "ich" is short for "ichthyo" which derives from "ichthys" meaning fish. Now imagine people on forums calling you "ichy" as a shortening of your handle/username....

Ach. Too many icks and iches. :P