What is ich?

[CoralChaos]

Hi everyone, I hope everybody is doing good. I have some questions about marine ich, I want to separate fact from fiction so if you can help me out I’d very much appreciate it.
1. Can a fish have ich and not show any signs of it?
2. I’ve been told a fish can carry ich and not show signs of it until it becomes stressed, is this true?
3. By putting all my fish, cleanup crew, and corals through a qt process, is it possible to never introduce ich into the tank or is it inevitable at some point?
4. What is the best medication to treat ich in a qt tank?
5. What do I do if there’s an outbreak of ich in my tank and most of my fish die but a couple wrasses survive, will the ich disappear eventually or will it continue to live on in the tank as long as there’s a fish? Don’t want whatever I introduce next to get ich

 

[AllSignsPointToFish]

1. Yes
2. Yes
3. Yes, it is possible to keep it out of your DT with strict and proper length QT protocols.
4. Copper is lights out for most ich strains as long as it stays in the therapeutic concentration for the proper length of time. There is some debate as to which form of copper is most effective, however. Chloroquine phosphate is also very effective against ich, but it can be difficult to obtain.
5. It will exist in the tank as long as the tank is not fishless for periods less than 72 or so days. Ich depends on fish to complete its life cycle. If fish are absent long enough, the ich cannot reproduce and dies off.

 

[CoralChaos]

1. Yes
2. Yes
3. Yes, it is possible to keep it out of your DT with strict and proper length QT protocols.
4. Copper is lights out for most ich strains as long as it stays in the therapeutic concentration for the proper length of time. There is some debate as to which form of copper is most effective, however. Chloroquine phosphate is also very effective against ich, but it can be difficult to obtain.
5. It will exist in the tank as long as the tank is not fishless for periods less than 72 or so days. Ich depends on fish to complete its life cycle. If fish are absent long enough, the ich cannot reproduce and dies off.

Thanks for the information, how do you recommend quarantining wrasses?

 

[AllSignsPointToFish]

Thanks for the information, how do you recommend quarantining wrasses?

I'm not a wrasse expert, but unless the particular wrasse is sensitive to copper, I'd use Copper Safe or something similar in a quarantine tank with a tight lid. Get a copper test and make sure the copper concentration stays in the therapeutic range for the duration of the treatment period.

I've had good luck with Cupramine, but others have reported issues and fish sensitivity to it.

 

[AllSignsPointToFish]

If you can get some chloroquine phosphate, that would even be better.