Really?? Ich still!!

[AquaKnight]

I can't believe I still have Ich in my 125. The tank's been fallow since Nov. 2, but I keep noticing Ich cysts on my front glass. At least that's what I think they are, I've been told you can't see Ich other then on cysts the fish. Is that true and I'm seeing something else? I'll try to describe (only point and shoots here so no good pics) is a tiny white dot, a tad larger then a roller ball on a pen, with like 7-10 'legs' that attach to the glass.

The reason I thought they're lch is that after I lost all my fish, I had an explosion of these things, covering the glass. I haven't scraped the glass since, so could they just be stagnant, dead Ich? The only thing in there are a couple corals I added from my established 29gal (to get better lighting), and hermits/snails/horseshoe crab (don't ask lol) that have been in there since before the crash. Unless the horseshoe is breeding them? I doubt it right?

It's just the 72 day waiting period is coming up this Sunday and have a couple fish in QT that would be ready to add to the tank Monday.

 

[Herefishyfishy]

Those are not Ich, just fauna that bloomed from the nutrient spike. When in doubt, add time. Leave the tank fallow a full 6-8 weeks

 

[AquaKnight]

Sorry I edited it after you posted but it's been 70 days so far. The longest day I found about Ich's life cycle was 72 days, which is coming up this Sunday and I have fish in QT that are ready to add. Wanted to be sure.

 

[DonW]

It's just the 72 day waiting period is coming up this Sunday and have a couple fish in QT that would be ready to add to the tank Monday.

I also doubt its MI on the glass but according to Lee it could remain in the system much longer than 72 days.


"INTERESTING FIND: If no new MI is introduce into an infected aquarium, the MI already there continues to cycle through multiple generations until about 10 to 11 months when the MI has ‘worn itself out’ and becomes less infective. A tank can be free of an MI infestation if it is never exposed to new MI parasites for over 11 months."

 

[AquaKnight]

I believe that's when Ich continues to reproduce (ie keeping a fish with Ich) and at about 11 months, the Ich genetically 'wears itself out' if I'm not mistake. The longest for a life cycle of "one Ich" was 72 days. Again, I think that's how it interpreted it.

 

[ronj]

well if it can continue its cycle for up to 11 months, i have never seen it happen.that is probably in rare cases.. i qt and leave the tank fallow for 8 weeks and i have never had an ich outbreak

 

[Herefishyfishy]

Have seen more than one tank with no new fish added during the 11 months that had ich still present. Perhaps some came in with the water, when invertibrates or coral were added?

 

[ronj]

i don't even use the same net or any tools from another tank when i am leaving a tank fallow.. it could definitely be added when adding water or something else from another tank

 

[Herefishyfishy]

i don't even use the same net or any tools from another tank when i am leaving a tank fallow.. it could definitely be added when adding water or something else from another tank

Not talking about a fallow tank, talking about tank with no new fish added for 11 months with ich still present

 

[ronj]

oooooooooohhh.. gottcha!!!

 

[leebca]

Meanwhile, back to the original post. . .

The 'white things' you see on the sides of the aquarium is a type of small crustacean marine life form. They often come in on live rock. Their presence indicates a likelihood of some organic build up and nutrient excess. Many systems have them in such small numbers they go unnoticed.

Do the spots look a little like the ones in the photos on the wall of the aquarium in this thread: http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32089. They are blurry since they were not the subject of the photo, but I think you get the idea of what they look like.

It is not Marine Ich.

 

[krisfal]

I also doubt its MI on the glass but according to Lee it could remain in the system much longer than 72 days.


"INTERESTING FIND: If no new MI is introduce into an infected aquarium, the MI already there continues to cycle through multiple generations until about 10 to 11 months when the MI has ‘worn itself out’ and becomes less infective. A tank can be free of an MI infestation if it is never exposed to new MI parasites for over 11 months."

If I remember correctly when Lee stated the above he was talking about a tank that is stocked with fish so that the life cycle can continue. The theory was that after 11 months the ich would die out (wear out) if new parasites had not been added.

I remember thinking that my first tank (nothing QT'd) would be pretty close to ich free as it had been over a year since I had added new fish since I had lost a neon goby to ich in there. I hadn't added anything because I knew the ich was not gone, the fish still in the tank just seemed able to able to resist it.

 

[ronj]

i don't see how ich would just die off if there were still fish in the tank..i guess that would depend on the kinds of fish you have and if they have scales... i don't really see it dying off if there were tangs present.

 

[AquaKnight]

Meanwhile, back to the original post. . .

The 'white things' you see on the sides of the aquarium is a type of small crustacean marine life form. They often come in on live rock. Their presence indicates a likelihood of some organic build up and nutrient excess. Many systems have them in such small numbers they go unnoticed.

Do the spots look a little like the ones in the photos on the wall of the aquarium in this thread: http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32089. They are blurry since they were not the subject of the photo, but I think you get the idea of what they look like.

It is not Marine Ich.

Lee, I think those are the spiral snails in the mandarin photo? Definitely not what I have. They're soft bodies and have those 6-10 legs coming off the main dot that secure it in place. If I had to imagine what an Ich cyst looked like, they would be it. Also the heaviest concentration of them were on the front glass where my Wave2k blasts against. I am guessing you can't see Ich cysts (off the fish?)?

 

[leebca]

You guess correctly. The Marine Ich organism, only visible under a microscope, is ciliated. This means it has 'moving hairs' all over the cell. It has, by comparison, a thousand 'legs' that are short, moving hairs.

I'd stick with a small creature from your live rock.

 

[krisfal]

Do your white things on the glass look like this?

http://www.reeffrontiers.com/photos_corals/showphoto.php?photo=622

 

[AquaKnight]

Krisfal, yes, very similar! (Esp. after I looked them up!)

That's really reassuring! Thanks a ton for that link! It mentions 'favorable conditions' maybe higher then normal ammonia? As I had a lot of die-off? I never noticed them moving though, weird!