Hi BARs,
The following is an excerpt from a note I sent to a friend who also has a reef tank. I am just mulling over how to address marine ich in my own reef tank - a 175 gallon mixed reef.
I have been reading a lot about ich lately. I am pretty certain that I have ich in my tank. Once there, I am skeptical that I would be able to get rid of it - even if I did hyposalinity in a QT tank for 10 weeks. My sense is that it would just find its way back in one way or another - even if I implemented a strict QT regimen for anything I put in my tank - sand, rock, coral, fish. I have decided that I am definitely NOT going to do any kind of copper treatments in a QT or otherwise - seems too risky.
(And side note: I know I have a pesky goby living in my overflow that I will NEVER be able to catch! He would be able to keep the ich alive...)
There is a lot written about susceptibility of different fishes and about the development of resistance or immunity to the parasite once the fish survives an initial bout. There is also a lot of talk about the best management being STRESS REDUCTION - feeding high quality foods with garlic (supports appetite, feeding and only maybe (depending on who you talk to) immunity), skimming and water changes (water quality), compatibility of species (avoid fights and pests)...all things to keep the tank stable and as stress-free as possible.
Most people think that the cleaner shrimp and wrasses don't do much to address ich - they may help with wound care and cleaning. I have one of each in my tank and they are constantly picking at the inhabitants. Funny, my wrasses never visit the shrimp and only make use of the wrasse.
Most people agree that the "reef safe" products are useless.
A few folks put out a school of thought that - ridding your tank of ich is the difference between your fish surviving and thriving. I, of course, want my fish to thrive. But, again, I am skeptical that I would be successful in any attempt to rid my tank of ich. The unfortunate thing is that this school of thought is common among those articles that are written by the more scientific, seemingly experienced, knowledgable, credible people in the forums.
What are your collective thoughts, learnings, philosophy on this? If fish do develop immunity - is that strictly surviving - are they still some how less "happy" waging the constant immunity battle with this parasite?
I know I have ich on a few fish. I know it is likely on the other fish too - just not visible in the gills and such. But I do have ich that becomes visible mostly when the lights go down in the evening. The ich is on newer arrivals - the old kids don't seem to show it (immunity?). I know I've had it in my tank probably since the beginning when I got my first tang (one of my first tank inhabitants). The fish that have visible salty specks seem to be fighting it okay. They eat, they swim. They do look a tad more sad (stressed - are fish sad?) than the rest. I also have a few fish sand diving and scratching. I feel for them. But, as I say these are mainly newer arrivals and may just have yet to settle in, de-stress and build up the resistance the other tank mates seem to have.
I may go buy a QT tank and set it up. I just struggle to determine where I would want to put it in my place. I also considered getting my old 75 gallon tank out of storage and setting it up as a QT - moving all the fish over there for 10 weeks of hypo salinity. Just uncertain about the outcome with all the different messages online.
I am most inclined to provide the fish with an environment so they can fight the ich off and then ultimately hope that they are more resistant to it and as happy as a fish in a micro reef can be. But as I've read, all it takes is one stressor and the fish succumb to the attacks again.
I'm rambling now. Your thoughts?
Thanks, All!
Dennis
175g mixed reef with another 40g or so down below.
The following is an excerpt from a note I sent to a friend who also has a reef tank. I am just mulling over how to address marine ich in my own reef tank - a 175 gallon mixed reef.
I have been reading a lot about ich lately. I am pretty certain that I have ich in my tank. Once there, I am skeptical that I would be able to get rid of it - even if I did hyposalinity in a QT tank for 10 weeks. My sense is that it would just find its way back in one way or another - even if I implemented a strict QT regimen for anything I put in my tank - sand, rock, coral, fish. I have decided that I am definitely NOT going to do any kind of copper treatments in a QT or otherwise - seems too risky.
(And side note: I know I have a pesky goby living in my overflow that I will NEVER be able to catch! He would be able to keep the ich alive...)
There is a lot written about susceptibility of different fishes and about the development of resistance or immunity to the parasite once the fish survives an initial bout. There is also a lot of talk about the best management being STRESS REDUCTION - feeding high quality foods with garlic (supports appetite, feeding and only maybe (depending on who you talk to) immunity), skimming and water changes (water quality), compatibility of species (avoid fights and pests)...all things to keep the tank stable and as stress-free as possible.
Most people think that the cleaner shrimp and wrasses don't do much to address ich - they may help with wound care and cleaning. I have one of each in my tank and they are constantly picking at the inhabitants. Funny, my wrasses never visit the shrimp and only make use of the wrasse.
Most people agree that the "reef safe" products are useless.
A few folks put out a school of thought that - ridding your tank of ich is the difference between your fish surviving and thriving. I, of course, want my fish to thrive. But, again, I am skeptical that I would be successful in any attempt to rid my tank of ich. The unfortunate thing is that this school of thought is common among those articles that are written by the more scientific, seemingly experienced, knowledgable, credible people in the forums.
What are your collective thoughts, learnings, philosophy on this? If fish do develop immunity - is that strictly surviving - are they still some how less "happy" waging the constant immunity battle with this parasite?
I know I have ich on a few fish. I know it is likely on the other fish too - just not visible in the gills and such. But I do have ich that becomes visible mostly when the lights go down in the evening. The ich is on newer arrivals - the old kids don't seem to show it (immunity?). I know I've had it in my tank probably since the beginning when I got my first tang (one of my first tank inhabitants). The fish that have visible salty specks seem to be fighting it okay. They eat, they swim. They do look a tad more sad (stressed - are fish sad?) than the rest. I also have a few fish sand diving and scratching. I feel for them. But, as I say these are mainly newer arrivals and may just have yet to settle in, de-stress and build up the resistance the other tank mates seem to have.
I may go buy a QT tank and set it up. I just struggle to determine where I would want to put it in my place. I also considered getting my old 75 gallon tank out of storage and setting it up as a QT - moving all the fish over there for 10 weeks of hypo salinity. Just uncertain about the outcome with all the different messages online.
I am most inclined to provide the fish with an environment so they can fight the ich off and then ultimately hope that they are more resistant to it and as happy as a fish in a micro reef can be. But as I've read, all it takes is one stressor and the fish succumb to the attacks again.
I'm rambling now. Your thoughts?
Thanks, All!
Dennis
175g mixed reef with another 40g or so down below.