Well I must say that there is really no proof that ich is always in an aquarium. My aquariums have never seen ich. My fish have been moved on a 4 hour drive, had their aquarium heater stuck on til the temp reached 90F, been through varying temp water changes, had to deal with me rearranging the plants. I would have to sya they have been through stress and ich has never managed to rear its ugly head. I would therefore guess that there is no ich in my aquarium.
Temperature Drop expericences
- Thread starter davidru
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Well I must say that there is really no proof that ich is always in an aquarium. My aquariums have never seen ich. My fish have been moved on a 4 hour drive, had their aquarium heater stuck on til the temp reached 90F, been through varying temp water changes, had to deal with me rearranging the plants. I would have to sya they have been through stress and ich has never managed to rear its ugly head. I would therefore guess that there is no ich in my aquarium.
Ich is not always present in a tank. If the fish have been exposed and incompletely or unseccessfully treated, then the parasite may exist--but it is not ubiquitous in water. It must be introduced to a tank, and it can be effectively removed.
I'm with TKOS and OG - Ich is not always present in aquaria. Subclinical infections are certianly possible and not rare due to incomplete treatments, but "always present" is myth.
If it's myth that’s one hell of a myth... I am sorry, but there are so many reputable sites out there, which say that ick is always present. I have books here at home that say the same and I am including some websites which seem to agree. I will say this, I have heard that something scientifically called "obligate" which means the parasite can not survive without infecting its host, in this case, fish. And, theronts have been shown to die if a suitable host is not found within the required time. Yoshinaga and Dickerson (1994) found that few theronts (0.34%) were viable 12.5 hours after excystment. But nonetheless, the theronts were still there, even in VERY small amounts.
http://www.nunnie.com/ick.html
http://www.aqualink.com/columns/k-cory11.html
I found many others, but they just said the same thing...
...I will be honest though, I am leaning towards believing ich is NOT always present in the aquarium... but I need more assurance before I tell others that.
http://www.nunnie.com/ick.html
http://www.aqualink.com/columns/k-cory11.html
I found many others, but they just said the same thing...
...I will be honest though, I am leaning towards believing ich is NOT always present in the aquarium... but I need more assurance before I tell others that.
But where does all this ich that is supposed to be in my aquarium come from then. Is it in my drinking water? Does every fish on the planet have some ich?
See, that’s where my own personal doubt comes from. I believe that if a fish you have is carrying it, it is hard to get rid of. For example, if you treat the aquarium for the short time most meds recommend, the ick isn't always totally removed.
Cory, you got it in one. Incomplete cure allows the fish and their immune response to fight off a low grade infection (it has been shown that there is some immunity developed to Ich). The preferred site for Ich is gills, due to the rich blood/O2 supply available. Fish can go indefinitely without clinical (numerous encysted parasites visible on body and fins) Ich, but fighting off anything more than a low-grade gill infection - unless/until the fish is stressed. Subclincal (gill only) minor infections are common as dirt.
But if you have really cleared the parasite while the fish was in QT, your displays need never have an outbreak. With the extended power failures we had last year, my tanks should all have had Ich outbreaks if the parasite was present at all - all the tanks dropped at least 10 or more degrees. But I never had any at all.
My most-used LFS has the majority of their tanks on 3 central systems. I have to therefore assume the presence of subclinical Ich on new acquisions.
But if you have really cleared the parasite while the fish was in QT, your displays need never have an outbreak. With the extended power failures we had last year, my tanks should all have had Ich outbreaks if the parasite was present at all - all the tanks dropped at least 10 or more degrees. But I never had any at all.
My most-used LFS has the majority of their tanks on 3 central systems. I have to therefore assume the presence of subclinical Ich on new acquisions.
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