Possibly had ich years ago. Planning to add lots of new fish in coming months. Should I QT current fish and let DT Fallow?

[zalick]

I possibly observed ich on my clown and/or foxface about 3 or 4 years ago. At the time, the foxface was around 3 years old and the clown 9ish. The tank had been running for about 3 years at the time. I wasn't sure if it was ich or not. Just a couple white spots that didn't appear to be sand. Maybe lasted a day or a couple days. No other symptoms of ich whatsoever. Current fish are foxface, royal gramma, sleeper banded goby and b/w clown. Ages 5 - 12yrs old. I did not QT any of the fish, just a few weeks in an observation tank before going in to DT.


I'm planning to fully stock my tank in the next few months with a total of about 30 fish and they will all have gone through a strict QT protocol with Mike at Quarantined Fish.

Should I move my current fish to QT tanks, run hypo or copper and let the DT sit fallow for 76+ to ensure no ich prior to adding all the new fish?

 

[xxkenny90xx]

I'd say yes. If your going to pay extra for all of the new fish to be in qt then now is the time to also qt your current fish for 45 or 76 days.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I possibly observed ich on my clown and/or foxface about 3 or 4 years ago. At the time, the foxface was around 3 years old and the clown 9ish. The tank had been running for about 3 years at the time. I wasn't sure if it was ich or not. Just a couple white spots that didn't appear to be sand. Maybe lasted a day or a couple days. No other symptoms of ich whatsoever. Current fish are foxface, royal gramma, sleeper banded goby and b/w clown. Ages 5 - 12yrs old. I did not QT any of the fish, just a few weeks in an observation tank before going in to DT.


I'm planning to fully stock my tank in the next few months with a total of about 30 fish and they will all have gone through a strict QT protocol with Mike at Quarantined Fish.

Should I move my current fish to QT tanks, run hypo or copper and let the DT sit fallow for 76+ to ensure no ich prior to adding all the new fish?

If it has been 3+ years with no new fish, the risk is minimal to none. The ich was unconfirmed, and you’ve had no outbreak since then.
I don’t know quaratined fish’s protocol, but I quarantine all new arrivals, no matter their history, even fish from other public aquariums always get my full quarantine process.
Jay

 

[zalick]

If it has been 3+ years with no new fish, the risk is minimal to none. The ich was unconfirmed, and you’ve had no outbreak since then.
I don’t know quaratined fish’s protocol, but I quarantine all new arrivals, no matter their history, even fish from other public aquariums always get my full quarantine process.
Jay

Thanks! I just checked my list and the last fish was added October 2016. I honestly can't remember when I saw the spots either. At least 2 years ago, probably closer to 3.

Mike does a 6 week QT and a similar routine to Humblefish if your familiar with theirs. In an ideal world I would do my own QT but life circumstances make time hard to come by right now!

 

[ca1ore]

What fish are you planning to add? Even though none of my fish show symptoms, I know I have ich in my tank because when I’ve tried to add an Achilles tang ..... spot city!

 

[zalick]

What fish are you planning to add? Even though none of my fish show symptoms, I know I have ich in my tank because when I’ve tried to add an Achilles tang ..... spot city!

Basically the list on my stocking thread I posted in the fish forum. A month between each round.

Round one: 3/4 gobies and 5 PJ cardinals.
Round two: 5/6 wrasses
Round three: 2 dwarf angels and 2 swallow tail
Round four: YT, PT & two bristletooth tang

 

[Zionas]

let me know how it goes with the Swallowtails! Love them.

 

[ca1ore]

Basically the list on my stocking thread I posted in the fish forum. A month between each round.

Round one: 3/4 gobies and 5 PJ cardinals.
Round two: 5/6 wrasses
Round three: 2 dwarf angels and 2 swallow tail
Round four: YT, PT & two bristletooth tang

OK, was too lazy to go look . None of those are hyper-susceptible to ich so I think I would agree with Jay to not worry about it.

 

[Zionas]

Oh really? I was bit worried about Zebrasoma Tangs and the Genicanthus and Centropyge but glad they’re not more susceptible than the average fish.

 

[ca1ore]

Oh really? I was bit worried about Zebrasoma Tangs and the Genicanthus and Centropyge but glad they’re not more susceptible than the average fish.

That's not exactly what I said. None of them are hyper-susceptible, but tangs generally are higher of the susceptibility spectrum than say a damsel or a clown. They're just not canaries.

 

[JumboShrimp]

Just peace-of-mind reasoning, if you have plenty to do on other aspects of your project anyway, during the fallow period, go fallow; you are starting with a clean slate. (Even though as others have said, it might not be a particular necessity in your case.) Best wishes.