Ich question

[Abissus]

We are on the topic of ich, I am planning to remove all my fish from my reef and hopefully remove all ich for good.

I have a question however, I know I can quarantine future new fish to avoid introducing ich or velvet, however I am now thinking what about the cyst that can possibly be on live rocks that corals come with? Does not seem impossible to me.

Am I suppose to quarantine corals too to protect my fish also? This is starting to sound like a big pain in the butt It is easy to quarantine fish, but I dont have the necessary lighting to quarantine corals.

 

[wrightme43]

Corals that are in a tank with out fish are usually fine for ich, rarely they will carry disease into your tank that effects corals. Clams, can carry stuff, zoos have nudibranch predetors hidden in them, there are all kinds of things out there that are just fine in the ocean but can become a real menace in a captive reef. Most people just quar fish usually 3 weeks will do well, if you see no ick and its doing well, go ahead and transfer it. Zoos usually get a fresh water dip, some people add things too the dip. Corals some people can quar, them, I dont have a way to do it yet. I will soon. You should get alot of good response from this question, many people have thier own way of doing things, that works well for them. I look forward to hearing new ways to take care of new corals. Live rock is usually added while there is no fish in the system and the cycle process, if allowed enough time to do it right will starve all parisites brought in, from lack of a suitable host. Steve

 

[Abissus]

I am concern about corals on live rocks that came from tanks with fish (like those in LFS or fellow reefer's tank). After losing this $100 fish really teach me a lesson, I can never be too careful.

(OK, the tang is not dead yet, but lying sideway on the bottom is not a good sign to me and I don't keep my hopes up)

 

[NaH2O]

I don't know if you have seen the series Terry Bartelme put together on the subject, but here it is:

News from the Warfront with Cryptocaryon irritans - Part One of Five
News from the Warfront with Cryptocaryon irritans - Part Two of Five
News from the Warfront with Cryptocaryon irritans - Part Three of Five
News from the Warfront with Cryptocaryon irritans - Part Four of Five
News from the Warfront with Cryptocaryon irritans - Part Five of Five

With regards to setting up a quarantine tank for your corals, see if this thread helps: Coral Quarantine

 

[Abissus]

Great reading, thanks!

In part 1 it states:

It is possible, but much less likely, to import Cryptocaryon irritans into a system by means other than on infected fish. Water containing the free-swimming (theront) stage is a possible means of introduction (Colorni & Burgess, 1997). However, considering the short time span in which theronts remain infective in the water after hatching this risk is significantly smaller. Storing the water for 24 hours before use should provide a margin of safety (Colorni & Burgess, 1997). Hard surfaces such as sand, rock, glass, equipment and even some invertebrates (invertebrates do not become infected) can serve as attachment sites for tomonts (Burgess, 1992). If any of these objects are removed from an infected tank or system and placed into another aquarium they may carry some tomonts or cysts. It is also theoretically possible to import an infection when using live foods of marine origin.

Drying the aquarium, sand, rock and equipment will kill attached tomonts. Drying, obviously, cannot be used as a means to kill tomonts that are attached to live invertebrates. If the system that an invertebrate, piece of live rock, or live sand originates from is infected, it may be necessary to quarantine these items before they are moved into a display containing fish.



Sounds like I should quarantine EVERYTHING. It says "less likely", I am wondering how much less likely? Anyone ever introduced ich in their tank when following a good quarantine procedure for fish? (i.e. get it from corals, rocks, inverst?)

 

[NaH2O]

Hmmm - I would have to go back and read the articles again, but how long do the tomonts remain attached to inverts or live rock? If you remove the fish and place into QT for 6 weeks, would they be safe to go back into the aquarium, since the tank was fishless for that time? I also wonder if it's more of a "how badly infected" the tank is for attachment to live rock, inverts, etc. to occur?

 

[steve-s]

The tomont can remain attached anywhere from a few days up to a month, it can also depend on the activity and environment of the system it's in. If already in an established undisturbed system they can hold out the month. From what I understand of this parasite it can "react" if you will to changes in it's environment causing increased activity. Theoretically speaking, the move from one system to another could spur the parasite into action causing the tomont to breach, the tomites to be released and the theronts to seek for a new host.

The fishless period should be a mimumum of 4 weeks but preferabley longer (6 weeks) for that reason. It can stay encysted as a tomont for long periods. How badly infected a system becomes wouldn't be too relevant since it only takes one remaining tomont to begin the cycle anew (given there is a fish is present to complete the life cycle). It's moreso dependant on when the last fish was removed from that system. What the tomont attaches to would be pure chance, there is no preference on the part of the parasite so all hard surfaces should be considered suspect.

Cheers
Steve