In order to keep fish from getting badly infected with ich, early detection of the parasitic infection is critical. The fish in an aquarium need attention at least a few minutes each day to detect any unusual behavior, especially for the first two to three weeks after they have been added to the tank. In the earliest stage of infection, there are no visible spots on the fish. It is also hard to observe the spots if they are few in number.
When fish are treated during an early infection or a light infection, the chance of survival from parasitic infection is always higher than for a severely infected fish. Fish that survive an ich infection can develop an immune response and become resistant to parasite re-infection. Serum and mucus from those immune fish contain antibodies against the parasite. Then, when infective theronts come into contact with anti-ich antibodies, the antibodies cause the theronts to become immobilized.
The immobilization causes the theronts to lose their swimming ability. The antibodies also cause the parasites to leave the fish so that ich cannot become established in immune fish. Recently, a few studies showed that vaccines against ich induced protective immunity and could provide a solution to prevent this parasitic disease through vaccination instead of chemical treatments.
Issue: February Preventing Ich. Everyone Loves Aquariums Millions of people around the world keep aquariums stocked with colorful ornamental fish, enjoying one of the most popular leisure-time activities. Parasites in Fish Several factors influence the health of aquarium fish, and parasitic disease is a major one. Types of Parasites Digenetic trematodes grubs have a complex lifecycle involving a series of hosts, including snails and birds, nematodes and leeches, meaning they cannot complete their lifecycle in an aquarium because they cannot reproduce.
Lifecycle of Ich Three Life Stages Ich is a ciliate parasite that has three developmental stages, a parasitic trophont, a reproductive tomont, and an infective theront. Captive fish that develop ich usually get the disease when their immune systems are not functioning as well as they should be because of stress. We know that stress lowers the immune response and when fish are stressed that is when ich is most prevalent. There are many causes of stress in a fish's life, many of which can be made worse or better by the owner.
Water temperature, water quality, tank inhabitants, improper diet, and a variety of other factors all contribute to stress, but one of the most severe causes of stress occurs during shipping and handling of a new fish.
Whether coming from the wild or farm-raised, the handling and shipping of the fish from their origin to a wholesaler, then to a retailer, and finally to your home is extremely stressful. With the widespread prevalence of ich, it is no wonder that many newly purchased fish are affected. Infected fish are covered to various degrees with small white spots on the body and gills. In some infections, the ich organisms will only be found on the gills.
Unfortunately, small occurrences often go unnoticed before they progress to a more serious stage. As the disease progresses, severe infestations may occur and are easy to spot. The disease may then cause respiratory distress, severe agitation, loss of appetite, and eventually death.
However, ich won't remain unnoticed for long. Like a bad penny, it will be back with a vengeance. This disease is often identified based upon history, symptoms, and the presence of white spots, but if there is any question, it can be identified microscopically. The life cycle of Ichthyophthirius is complicated, but very important in understanding the treatment and prevention of ich.
Once the ich protozoan attaches to the side of the fish, it begins feeding on the skin and tissue causing irritation. The fish's body begins to wall off the parasite to try to limit its damage. The protozoan continues to move around in the cyst feeding and growing, while the body continues to further encapsulate and wall it off. This encapsulation by the body is one of the reasons that ich is so difficult to treat during this stage of the disease, because medications cannot penetrate through the wall of the cyst to reach the ich parasite.
During this stage, the ich protozoan is called a trophozoite. You didn't give me much on what method of treatment you're using, but it generally takes two weeks on any treatment. Hope this helped. Click to expand Good morning, More often than not, if one fish is infected with ICH then the entire tank is infected and should be treated. To be on the safe side I would not Quarantine 1 fish but treat the entire tank.
Using the heat method as mentioned above is most recommended. Raise it to 86 F and leave it there for two weeks. Do two gravel vacuums each week to remove the spores that fall off of the fish and into the substrate. ICH may appear worse before it gets better. Be sure to leave the temperature increase for a full two weeks. Once fish have had ICH it is a possibility that it won't happen again. However, there are cases of it reappearing. Ken I know we always do this but its something ive seen time and time again so I must disagree with the notion that if one fish is infected they all are.
AGAIN, this is when water quality is not the cause. If what you do works for you then I wouldn't change a thing I stand by my recommendation of treating the entire tank, especially in cases where a Quarantine tank is not used prior to introducing new fish into a main show tank. I would not feel comfortable knowing a fish with ICH was in my main tank, moving it to Quarantine and treating that fish only, with the possibility of ICH remaining in the main tank, visible or not.
It's risky IMO and not one I'm willing to take and I don't recommend that anyone else risk it either. However, that one fish getting ich means that there are other parasites in the water. Once there is ich in the aquarium it is all but impossible for all of the parasites to happen to be one one fish or another. There are going to be some free-floating and some in the substrate. It is quite possible that that one had some issue that made it more susceptible to ich.
However, at that point, it's always imperative to watch out for other fish getting infested, too. As far as number two, it is extremely important to continue an effective treatment for at least two weeks. There are no fish-safe treatments that kill all three stages of the parasite, so only continuing until there are no more spots on the fish is taking a huge chance that they won't return.
I have read numerous accounts from folks who have had ich in their tank, treated until the spots were gone, stopped treatment, and then had their tank overwhelmed when the cysts in the substrate opened up a week later. Most often, this second wave is worse than the first, and usually ends up being fatal to at least one fish.
Some people may have had success with only treating until the symptoms are gone, but doing so is playing Russian roulette with your fishes' health. Yeah, keeping the treatments going for the full two weeks is absolutely necessary.
The ich protozoan metabolism speeds up in tandem with the tanks temperature. There are a number of advantages and disadvantages of this method we will discuss below. It is recommended to increase the temperature to at least 86 degrees 30 celcius from its current state. It is not recommended to exceed 90 degrees 32 degrees celcius. Most tropical fish will be able to withstand temperatures around 86 degrees for shorter periods of time.
Ensure your species are able to cope with temperatures this high before proceeding. It is recommended to increase the temperature by no more than 2 degrees every twelve hours. When your desired temperature is reached it should be left at this level for at least 2 weeks. After this time period, slowly reduce the temperature back down to its normal state.
There is a fine balance between shortening the life of Ich and placing your fish under undue stress. Unfortunately some strains of Ich will not be affected by temperatures of 86 degrees.
In this case, 88 degrees or 90 degrees may be necessary. If you have a quarantine tank, it is an excellent time to transfer your tanks inhabitants. Without any inhabitants, the high temperature will quickly kill the ich.
In the quarantine tank, increase the temperature to at least Slowly add the inhabitants back to the display tank after a few week. Only do this when you are certain none of them are carrying or showing signs of the disease. This solution is the most optimal, however not always possible. Raising the temperature of your aquarium can definitely aid in curing Ich.
However, it should only be one point of attack. Raising the temperature alone can sometimes fail to completely remove Ich from your aquarium. Fish should be kept in quarantine for some time until you are certain the Ich has been removed. If absolutely necessary, use medications in the quarantine tank. It is also highly recommended to read through the prevention step above.
Ensure to be vigilant when purchasing live goods from a store. There is constant debate to the legitimacy of using salt when curing Ich. Salt is often hailed as an excellent additive for freshwater fish diseases. In personal experience salt has had little impact when curing Ich. More importantly, some fish such as Cories can be very sensitive to salinity changes. Unless you have had prior positive experience using salt I would not recommend it for curing Ich.
You are more likely to find that raising the temperature. Unfortunately, sometimes medications are the only option. When using medications for curing ich there are three key points to remember.
Always transfer your fish to a quarantine tank before medicating. The chemicals from the medication will never completely be removed from the aquarium water column. For this reason it is essential to use a quarantine tank. Some medications can be dangerous to plants and anaerobic bacteria. Some medications contain copper which can be lethal to invertebrates. Ensure to read up online before using some medications.
Read the directions and use a calculator to work out the dosage required. Never add more to the aquarium than recommended. If the dosage is daily, it is usually a good idea to spread the dosage over a number of hours. This will allow you to see if any negative reactions occur in lower concentrations.
Carbon and other filter media will absorb the chemicals in the medications. Rendering them useless. Be sure to remove all forms of chemical filtration before adding the medicines.
There are a number of proven products that may help you beat Ich. Each tank has different inhabitants who react differently. Garlic Guard is essential for fish that are having trouble consuming their food or are not hungry. The smell of garlic is a natural diet enhancer and should help you to keep them eating through the worst of the disease. Reducing the stress of your fish is imminent to your future success. This means the medication is powerful and deadly. Use any Ich medication with extreme caution with your inhabitants.
The medications are toxic enough to kill the parasite while sparing your fish. This is a fine line to dance. There is no requirement for these companies to digress what ingredients they use. I would always recommend using an established brand for this reason. ParaGuard is an aldehyde, which is probably preferable to other medications as it is undoubtably less toxic.
On the downside, ParaGuard is not made exclusively for curing Ich. Medications that have a range of purposes will always make me more skeptical than those made specifically for Ich. ParaGuard employs a proprietary, synergistic blend of aldehydes, malachite green, and fish protective polymers that effectively and efficiently eradicates many ectoparasites on fish e.
The better you know the enemy, the better your chances to defeat it, especially if you get one of the more resistant strains. What we see as white spots which are visible on our fish is a life stage known as a trophont. The more Ich the fish carries, the weaker it becomes. Thermonts hatch fairly quickly, depending on the exact temperature, into hundreds of free swimming tomonts which are again vulnerable to medications, but only until they find a fish host to attach to.
This is why removing all fish from a display tank for a couple of weeks will clear the display tank of Ich. Salt will kill your plants! The time during which Ich are immune to medications and salt is quite a bit longer than the short time during which they are vulnerable, so persistence with treatment is important. This is because Ich can hide inside the mouth or gills where they are impossible for us to see. The extra days of treatment done after the body and fins appear to be clear are the very best insurance that you will kill ALL the Ich during the treatment time.
If even one trophont survives, you will find you have Ich showing up on the fish gain in a few weeks. Better to treat a few days longer and be sure than quit too soon and have it all to do again. Brilliant comment, thank you for taking the time to write this! I am sure other readers will be able to gain some valuable insight as did I.
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