Lifecycle of Ich?

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Hunter2001

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Jan 24, 2003
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Strathmore, Alberta, Canada
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I am fairly new at keeping fish, and unfortunately I lost almost my entire population to Ich (6 Tiger Barbs, 3 Silver Dollars). The only fish remaining is my pleco, I don't think anything will kill it.

When I realized my tank had Ich (29 Gallon), I tried to treat it, raised the temperature, treated the water with Ich Guard, but I think it was too late.

My question is what do I do now? How long is the Ich lifecycle? How do you know when its safe to add new fish.

Thanks you for your comments.
 

RioXingu

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Mar 30, 2004
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Janesville, WI
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Your pleco may not show the characteristic white spots, but he may still have the parasite on his gills.
I would remove the pleco from the aquarium to a quarantine tank, and continue to treat for Ich per the instructions on your medication.
Meanwhile, the parasites in the empty tank will die without a host fish.
At an elevated temperature, this process might take a week or more.
It is said that heat alone, above 90 degrees, can kill ich. If your heater is up to the task, I might leave the temp at that level for a day or two as well.

Ich is best to avoid. I follow these rules:

#1) Do not buy fish from store with a central filtration system for all their tanks.
#2) Carefully inspect all the fish in a tank before puchasing from that tank.
#3) Quarantine new fish for 2-3 weeks before adding them to an established aquarium.

The only outbreak of Ich I have had in the past 15 years was by violating rule #1. I avoid the "big box" pet outlets that are fond of this filtration method.

Good luck to you.

Bill in WI
 
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