Questions about ick

I luv fish · Jun 23, 2020

Questions about eradicating ich

I have two questions that I would love some input.
#1 - I have a 75 gal fish only tank that has struggled with ich. The battle was lost and all fish have passed. I know I could let the tank go fallow for 72 days or so. I have read pros and cons, but was hoping to start from scratch. Here is my question. Can I empty the tank of saltwater and run it for a week or so with freshwater to kill remaking ich in the varying stages? Will this kill all the ich or will I need to bleach all rocks, sand, equipment etc?

#2 - I have other tanks and I am worried about spreading the parasite. So far I have contained it to one tank, but I worry about transfer on my hands. Will washing my hands with soap and water kill the ich? Does hand sanitizer or rubbing alcohol kill it?

Stege_saurus · Jun 23, 2020

I luv fish said:
Questions about eradicating ich

I have two questions that I would love some input.
#1 - I have a 75 gal fish only tank that has struggled with ich. The battle was lost and all fish have passed. I know I could let the tank go fallow for 72 days or so. I have read pros and cons, but was hoping to start from scratch. Here is my question. Can I empty the tank of saltwater and run it for a week or so with freshwater to kill remaking ich in the varying stages? Will this kill all the ich or will I need to bleach all rocks, sand, equipment etc?

#2 - I have other tanks and I am worried about spreading the parasite. So far I have contained it to one tank, but I worry about transfer on my hands. Will washing my hands with soap and water kill the ich? Does hand sanitizer or rubbing alcohol kill it?

#1- In my experience, I would let it go 76 days fallow (fishless). Going freshwater or bleaching the rock will kill all beneficial bacteria needed for the nitrogen cycle...you'd have to cycle the tank again.
Pros- Kills ich in every stage of life, and helps it to not return.
Cons- You have to wait 76 days to put anything in the tank.
#2- As long as the other systems are 10+ feet away from the affected tank it shouldn't transfer. Washing your hands between putting your hands in other tanks should help. Same for hand sanitizer and rubbing alcohol.

Words of advice: when going fallow, if you put anything in the tank, including invertebrates or corals, you will have to restart the 76 day clock and treat the instance as though you know the specimen had ich on it. Also, while the tank is fallow, use it as a time to make upgrades to the tank and fix anything that may be broken or missing.

Quarantine is an invaluable system that helps prevent these issues.

NoFoolin · Jun 23, 2020

I luv fish said:
Questions about eradicating ich

I have two questions that I would love some input.
#1 - I have a 75 gal fish only tank that has struggled with ich. The battle was lost and all fish have passed. I know I could let the tank go fallow for 72 days or so. I have read pros and cons, but was hoping to start from scratch. Here is my question. Can I empty the tank of saltwater and run it for a week or so with freshwater to kill remaking ich in the varying stages? Will this kill all the ich or will I need to bleach all rocks, sand, equipment etc?

#2 - I have other tanks and I am worried about spreading the parasite. So far I have contained it to one tank, but I worry about transfer on my hands. Will washing my hands with soap and water kill the ich? Does hand sanitizer or rubbing alcohol kill it?

Now I am no expert but I would think running fresh water for 30 days would do the trick. However, if you are going through all the trouble you might as well nuke everything with extreme prejudice. That way you will never wonder if you went far enough.

On the second question, again no expert, but a good hand scrub should do the trick. Just don't cross contaminate with tools.

Zionas · Jun 23, 2020

Do you know the source of the ich? The fish or any other piece of livestock that introduced it?

Henryb9 · Jun 23, 2020

Use copper power(Amazon) in a quarantine tank, and leave your main display with everything running normal for almost 2 months. It killed the ich in about 2-3 weeks if I remembered correctly. Use only 70% of the usage recommendations on the label.