Brew12
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My Tank Thread
Discussions on ich management vs taking a tank fallow happen all of the time on R2R. This is typically followed by a discussion on what changes the fish keeper will make in order to manage ich. And honestly? I don't understand this mindset.
So when is the best time to start practicing ich management? It's before you put your first fish in your display. Waiting until you see an issue is waiting until it is too late. If your stocking plan, feeding plan, or filtration plan would need to change if you had ich in your system are you really doing the best for your fish? Don't we have an ethical responsibility to keep our fish in the best condition we can?
I don't feel we should do anything different if we prophylactically QT, observationally QT, or do not QT at all. It is HARD to keep every possible pathogen out of our systems. Why not try to set our fish up for success so that even if crypto sneaks its way into our systems, we would never know?
And along these lines, if you are running an ich managed system and you see a fish showing signs of an outbreak, please pull it and treat it. Sick fish should be treated! Don't use this as an excuse to never use medications on fish. It doesn't mean that you have to take the tank fallow. It does mean that fishes immune system needs help to overcome the disease. While you are treating it you can try to figure out where things went wrong. Do you have an aggression issue? Is the tank a proper size for the fish? Is all your equipment working properly? Are you meeting the fishes dietary needs?
As a fish keeping community I think we have a lot of room to improve. A large part of this is helping people new to the hobby learn what fish are appropriate for their tank size and the overall stocking plan. Let's leave advanced stocking plans like putting 3 different Acanthurus tangs together in a 180g with very experienced reefkeepers. Let's stop trying to get away with the cheapest foods we can find. And most importantly, let's stop acting like we are in two completely different camps. We should be learning from each other, not arguing with each other.
So when is the best time to start practicing ich management? It's before you put your first fish in your display. Waiting until you see an issue is waiting until it is too late. If your stocking plan, feeding plan, or filtration plan would need to change if you had ich in your system are you really doing the best for your fish? Don't we have an ethical responsibility to keep our fish in the best condition we can?
I don't feel we should do anything different if we prophylactically QT, observationally QT, or do not QT at all. It is HARD to keep every possible pathogen out of our systems. Why not try to set our fish up for success so that even if crypto sneaks its way into our systems, we would never know?
And along these lines, if you are running an ich managed system and you see a fish showing signs of an outbreak, please pull it and treat it. Sick fish should be treated! Don't use this as an excuse to never use medications on fish. It doesn't mean that you have to take the tank fallow. It does mean that fishes immune system needs help to overcome the disease. While you are treating it you can try to figure out where things went wrong. Do you have an aggression issue? Is the tank a proper size for the fish? Is all your equipment working properly? Are you meeting the fishes dietary needs?
As a fish keeping community I think we have a lot of room to improve. A large part of this is helping people new to the hobby learn what fish are appropriate for their tank size and the overall stocking plan. Let's leave advanced stocking plans like putting 3 different Acanthurus tangs together in a 180g with very experienced reefkeepers. Let's stop trying to get away with the cheapest foods we can find. And most importantly, let's stop acting like we are in two completely different camps. We should be learning from each other, not arguing with each other.