Marine Ich (cryptocaryn irritans)

Chitown1

Marine ICH is one of the most prevelant issues all aquariums will face, there is a lot of information available about it and countless studies available. There are many myths about the parasites and I though I would give my 2 cents worth for those who are facing the problem or new to the hobby.

1. It is a parasite that requires a fish host to survive, this is the reason quarintine is so important before introducing new fish to a established tank

2. The only time we can see it is when the parasites are pregnent on the fish and have surfaced as white nodules on the fish, it usually starts on the fins and progresses to the entire body as the conditon gets worse.

3. The parasites are not very sensitive to tempure change, the theory of raising the temp to decrease the life cycle is not true.

4. Even if no new parasites are introduce after a initial infestation they can still breed for up to 10 - 11 months.

5. Tangs are more suseptible than other fish, their mucus coating are thinner than other species to allow them to swim up to 25 miles to search for food in the ocean.

6. Adding garlic to your fishes diet will not cure the infestation, it will however boost the immune system of the fish making them more likely to fight of the issue to begin with.

7. The theory that all fish have the parasites is untrue, they can only transmit existing parasites and serve as a host for them.

8. a UV sterilizer will not cure ICH, although it may reduce the parasite by killing the waterbourne parasites, they also cling to rocks, substrate, decorations, etc. and those parasites will renain unaffected by a UV.

9. There are only 3 proven treatments for ICH
A. Hyposalinity - Using a refractomenter keep the salinity at 11-12 ppt for 4 weeks after the last spot was seen, then slowly start raising the salinity back to a normal level
B. Copper treatment - Follow directions on the brand you purchase and it can be affective in as little as 2-4 weeks, after treatment remove all copper and QT the fish for 4 more weeks to ensure there is no living parasites remaining.
C. Transfer - Move the infested fish from tank to ank to seperate the fish from the cysts that fall off the fish.
None of these methods should be done in the display tank, A & B will kill inverts, LR and all other non-fish life and C requires multiple tanks.

10. Stress is not a direct cause of ICH, it does however lower their immune system making them more prone to the disease.

11. ICH does not go away on its own, if you see it then it appears to have gone away, it is just no longer visible but it has not gone away, the fishes immune system was able to fight it off that time, but it will be back and if the fishes immune system is weaker it will take hold.

12. There is no proven reef safe cure, if the was it would be headlines and sold at every LFS

saltyfish dude

Chitown, this is all very good info on ich. I currently have an ich problem in one of my three saltwater tanks. I have been keeping saltwater for about a year now. My first was my 100 gal reef, the second, which is the one I am having the problem with, is a 72 gal bowfront with about 80 lbs of live rock. And I also have a 50 gal corner tank which is currently cycling. My problem is the ich that is mostly affecting my auriga butterfly. I understand the whole "quarantine" concept, and I have had success with it. However I am extremely frustrated with this method, although it works great on the fish, I will admit, the problem ultimately is the ich is already in the main system by the time you notice the problem. You have all this info on prevention and individual fish cure, but this helps none. What is your opinion on getting rid of the problem in the main system, keeping in mind the live rock. Do you know of any way to treat the main system without tearing it down, there has got to be a way. Please share your ideas..........Neal in Grover Beach, CA.....

gm333

I would like to stress that hyposalinity should not be done by beginner. It is very hard to get a acurate reading without a refractometer, even with a good rafractometer it is still risky.

Also there is a product that I have used on my reef system with good results. Mind you all the corals were soft. The product is called Ich Attack from Kordon. It has worked well on a couple of ocassions. It claims to be 100% organic, but yo know how that goes. The active ingredient is an herb containing Naphthoquinone. I have used this product for both fresh and salt with only one loss. Like all medications make sure you folow the directions.

alexfevery

hypo salinity:

I know for a fact that a 60 second dip in pure freshwater is much less stress ful than a 2 hour dip in less salty water.
i know that both are equaly effective too.

Chitown1

I disagree, I have been keeping tanks now for over 15 years and my family has had them all my life. A freshwater dip does not remove any of the parasites that exist in the tank, so when you add the fish back to the display it is exposed all over again, it is just treating the result and not the problem. There has been countless studie done on ICH as it is the number 1 problem for breeders and millions of dollars have been spent on research and the only 3 PROVEN methods are the 3 I listed, there are cases when a dip has eliminated the parasites from the fish only to have them return and wipe out a tank later and as for the No-ICH, kick-ICH and similar products theat claim to be reef safe, they are hit and miss, there have been instances that it appeared to work and others where they did nothing and the livestock was wiped out by the disease. I would however be glad to read any studies you know of that state otherwise.

http://www.marineaquariumadvice.com/...um_fish_3.html

Are freshwater dips effective?




Freshwater dips are generally ineffective in the treatment of marine "Ich" infestations. Trophonts burrow deeply into the epithelium where they are generally protected from external influences. Colorni (1985) found that even after 18 hours in freshwater, infected fish still have trophonts attached in the same positions as they had held before the freshwater treatment. The trophonts later detached and completed their life cycle as normal.
Trophonts penetrate the epithelium which causes a loss in osmoregulatory capability. Infected fish are less able to cope with a sudden and drastic change in the ionic concentration of their environment. This is likely to cause further stress to the fish which will impair their ability to acquire immunity to the parasite.

rayjay

Yes, fresh water dips only get the external parasites on the fish but leave imbedded ones still alive and don't do anything for the ones in the tank and on the other fish in the tank. It is only used to give the fish quick relief for a heavy infestation to provide some relief for the fish and allow it to be less stressed afterwards.
For the Auriga, it's my experience that the butterflies for the most part have a great affinity for gill parasites that hypo won't do anything for.
All of my 'flys I now copper before placing them in the 'fly tanks.
Lastly, a comment on quarantine tanks.
I never put a NEW fish into a q tank just to observe for a time. I treat with hypo at the very least, and for a minimum of 6 weeks, and because failure CAN occure sometimes at higher treatment, I lower mine to 1.0075, which needs certain accuracy to keep from killing the fish. My achilles had parasites survive even this for 6 weeks and through two sessions so I ended up treating it with copper.
Just because the fish doesn't show signs while in q, doesn't mean they aren't present. I don't want to have to redo all the fish in the tank it will end up in.

alexfevery

I never said it worked on the ones in the tank, obviosly it wont,

But it is quite effective on parasites in the gills.

rayjay

I don't understand what the point of your freshwater dipping is, other than temporary relief until hypo or copper have time to work in the hospital tank?
As already mentioned, you put that fish back into the show tank and it will still have imbedded parasites and more from the tank will now host on the fish.

With the butterflies and gill parasites, freshwater dip does the same as other fish with crypto, in that the surface parasite can be removed, but it still will not rid the fish of the imbedded parasite in the gills.

alexfevery

the point of a freshwater dip is to cure the parasites on the outer skin and gills, it does not cure him because as soon as he goes back in the tank he will be reinfected, but it can help a fish fight off the parasite. It is like dyalasis for kidney failure patients. It wont make their kidneys work again, but it will help to keep them from dying of blood poisoning.

Chitown1

Where are you getting your info from? To do a dip then put it back into the display would have the stress levels elevated and would give the fish less of a chance to fight of the parasites that remain in the tank, a dip just for the purpose of removing off the gill is useless IMO and should as stated, only be done when relieveing the fish after the QT is set up, a dip then back to the QT, never back into the infected aquarium. You dont for for dyalisis and then use tainted blood.