For all the disease experts....

bortsamson · May 3, 2004

I would like to pose a question for you.
I have a case of ich currently in my tank.
NOW
there are currently only 2 fish out of......oh 35+ that have it.
And they are recent additions to the family.
Now, before these guys, I did have a very slight case of ich which only affected one fish, I nabbed him and cured it with high temps.
He has since been doing just great.
But naturally all my community would have been affected by that outbreak.
So, with that in mind, now that I have ich again, and because only the two fish have it, is it possible that everyone else in the tank has built up an immunity to it?
And also, the fish that are being affected by it are ever so slowly losing the visual signs of ich, So is it possible that they are fighting off the disease. I am going to keep water conditions as good as possible and NO ONE else has showed any signs at all, laboured breathing, lethargy, etc.
I recently got Maracide and am hesitant to use it, being a planted aquarium and all.
I will use it if I have to, but I just thought i would ask that question. Give me your opinions!
Round one...............DING!

aquariumfishguy · May 3, 2004

In theory, the fish should be able to fight off Ich if not already infected as Ich picks on the weaker, more helpless fish which are already stressed or sick at the time of infection.

So I would ask you, if you know... how did these fish get the Ich in the first place? Can you think of what might have happened lately to overly stress them out or cause them to become ill?

I would still isolate these fish until the ich is gone, jmo.

bortsamson · May 3, 2004

they got it becuse I intoduced a guppy that had it...I think.
Plus, if you read my posts about the 55G disaster, its no wonder these guys became stressed.
I will monitor the situation and update when I can.
I just thought it odd that everyone else is ok.
BTW my neons and otos are doing OK, and i figure they would get it for sure

bortsamson · May 3, 2004

no other thoughts?

Must4ng s4lly · May 3, 2004

You need to treat for it as ich is livingg out its three lifecycles in your tank and will readily attack any stressed fish. If one fish has it, all fish in your tank are either suceptible to it or could have it in their gills etc. Are your fish flashing - rubbing on an object or the substrate?

Read this article all the way through it will help you to understand ich. It helped me a lot!

http://www.skepticalaquarist.com/docs/health/ich.shtml

You can raise the temp of the aquarium slowly to shorten the ich cycle too. You just have to do it slowly over a couple days so the fish don't get stressed....

Oh, Maracide won't affect your plants. I have used it and it did not bother them. I used it for at least a week after all signs of Ich were one. Be sure to do a water change before medicating and in the middle of treatment as well.

Hans · May 3, 2004

i dont believe you can build an immunity to a parasite?

bortsamson · May 3, 2004

oh thanks! I was worried about the effects of maracide on my plants, lol.
Only thing I am worried about is I have heard loaches dont respond well to meds.
and i also have cories in the tank, so I know I have to tone down the dosage for the scaleless folks.

Hans.
The reason I think they might have an immunity to it is because they have been affected by it once before, and no one is under high stress, so I would think it possible that some sort of immune system must exist, and I would think it would be able to fight off the parasite. Maybe not the parasite itself, but perhaps prevent it from attatching itself, just posing a question, thats all

carpguy · May 3, 2004

Healthy fish can fight off the parasite or at least keep it at bay. The ich may have been surviving in the tank as an unnoticeable low grade infestation since your first run in with it. A couple of new guys go into the drink, stressed out by the transport and acclimation and suddenly they have ich.

I googled "maracide" and the very first item to pop up was a post at loaches.com about problems with loaches and a new formulation of maracide. Dead fish were involved. I'd use it as a last resort and not as a preventative kind of thing.

Try the salt and heat method first.

RioXingu · May 4, 2004

A concentration of 0.05 ppm of malachite green should cure Ich and not harm sensitive tetras and loaches.

This link describes some research about acquired immunity to Ich and other parasites:

link

Bill in WI

bortsamson · May 4, 2004

well, I prolly read those posts too late, loaches and all.
BUT, on the good side, I dosed it last night, but I only put in enough for a 25-30 gallon tank, and mine's a 50. I put it in last night around.....6:30 or so.
This morning everyone is doing just fine. My loach is as active as ever, practicly jumping out of the water to get some flakes n stuff. So, thru all the stress and whatnot, he's still doing OK. I will update as possible.


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For all the disease experts....

bortsamson

Resident Cat herder

aquariumfishguy

Social Regular

bortsamson

Resident Cat herder

bortsamson

Resident Cat herder

Must4ng s4lly

AC Members

Hans

I will eat your fish.

bortsamson

Resident Cat herder

carpguy

lots of small fish

RioXingu

AC Members

bortsamson

Resident Cat herder