Myths and Facts about Marine Ich.

[seatrueblue]

This is a great read for anyone that has marine ich problems. I copied it from www.reefsanctuary.com (http://www.reefsanctuary.com) , originally written by Lee (leebca) who has given me permission to repost.

Marine Ich (Cryptocaryon irritans)

One of the marine aquarist’s devils. So many articles have been written about it. Many are long or are in multiple parts. A lot is known about this marine fish disease because of the many $$$ put into research by the fish farming and aquaculture industries. First discovered (or the better word is 'noticed') in the 1800's and later more understood in the 1900's, we’ve learned about all there is to know about this parasite by the 2000's.

I don’t want to write a long post on Marine Ich (MI) but the reader, in as brief of space as possible, should know some truths. The aquarist 'sees something' and then 'guesses' as to what it means and thus starts another round of rumors. It's almost a type of voodoo. It's easier to listen to a rumor of a short absolute statement then it is to read and understand the results of decades of studies and experiments. It is easier to try and take shortcuts with this disease by believing the parasite to be able or capable to do things or die from things it just can't, then it is to do the work to kill it, control it, or prevent it by the means that are known to work.

It's time to separate out the rumors from the facts and the subjective observations (which start rumors) from actual scientific studies. In bullet form, here’s what is known:


Life and Visuals:

1, The parasite has several ‘stages’ in its life cycle. Cyst in aquarium (usually on substrate, decoration, wall, equipment, or rock) ruptures into free-swimming parasites that burrow into fish, grow into a visible white nodule that is ‘pregnant’ with more parasites, that usually falls off the fish to form a cyst that starts the cycle over again.

2. Only time a human can see this parasite with the naked eye is when it is ‘pregnant’ on the fish and has formed a white nodule. (The white spot is about the size of a grain of table salt or sugar).

3. Parasites that have just burrowed into the fish are not visible until 2.

4. Cycle can be completed in less than 7 days, but usually within 24 days BUT can go as long as 72 days. Literature usually quotes ‘average’ number of days. 72 days is rare; 60 days usually encompasses more than 99.9% of the observations and research.

5. This is not the same as the freshwater disease, Ich (Ichthyophthirius multifilis) but it was named after it?! http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/images/smilies/mad.gif This leads freshwater aquarists to thinking the wrong things about Marine Ich, adding to the myths and rumors.

6. MI is not very sensitive to temperature changes. That is, increasing the temperature does not significantly decrease the life cycle time. This is not true with Freshwater Ich (which is where this rumor of raising the temperature on a marine aquarium with MI comes from).

7. MI can live and reproduce in temperatures as low as 50F and as high as 90F. Thus temperatures that would kill MI would first kill or severely stress most tropical marine fishes.

8. Spots appear then disappear as MI goes through its cycle. Remember 2. This 'disappearing act' is what leads uninformed aquarists to believe the fish are cured. This is the dumbest thing aquarists can possibly think about this parasite! http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/images/smilies/frown.gif

9. Parasite likes infecting the fish’s gills. The tissue there has more water passing by so there is an increase in chance the free-swimming parasite will get to the gill. This is one reason why fast breathing (over 80-90 swallows in one minute) is one of the symptoms of possible infection.

10. The parasite burrows into the fish, below the mucous layer and into the skin. (This is why cleaner fish/shrimp can’t get to it in order to remove them from the fish). The second dumbest thing an aquarist can think: I'll get some cleaner fish or cleaner shrimp to remove/eat the parasite. THESE MARINE LIFE DO NOT EAT THE PARASITE NOR WILL FISH OR SHRIMP REMOVE THE PARASITE FROM THE INFECTED FISHES. http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/images/Tsmilies/duh.gif

11. Parasite is transmitted in water (free-swimming and cyst stages), or by falling off of an infected fish (even one that seems healthy because of 9.). This means that water OR fish from another aquarium can carry the disease to another aquarium.

12. The parasite can infect bony fishes, including eels, sharks, and rays, though many species of fish, like Mandarins, have a good resistance to MI, they can still be infected and can harbor or carry the parasite. Invertebrates, snails, crabs, corals, plants, etc. are not affected/infected by MI, but the MI can be in their water, shells, etc.

13. There is no such thing as a dormant stage for MI. The parasite can’t wait around for another host. It MUST go through its cycle. Dr. Burgess recorded that in the cyst stage, he found the longest existing cyst to last for 60 days before releasing the free-swimming parasites. This is rare but possible.

14. 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.

[seatrueblue]

Treatments:

1. Hyposalinity - Using a refractometer, hold salinity at 11ppt to 12ppt until 4 weeks after the last spot was seen. (Best to use salinity, but if you use specific gravity, that equates to roughly 1.008 to 1.009 sp. gr. units). Raise salinity slowly and observe fish for 4 more weeks. Hard to control pH and water quality during treatment. This is the least stressful treatment for the fish. See: http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/...t-process.html (http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/saltwater-fish/23131-hyposalinity-treatment-process.html)

2. Copper treatment - Follow medication recommendations. Can be effective in 2 to 4 weeks of treatment. After treatment, remove all copper and observe fish for 4 more weeks. Copper is a poison to the fish and creates some stress. The fish may stop eating. See end of this post for other things that can go wrong. See: http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/...-problems.html (http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/saltwater-fish/23130-copper-treatment-use-problems.html)

3.. Transfer method - Fish is moved from tank to tank to separate the fish from the cysts that fall off and the free-swimming stages of the parasite. Two hospital tanks are needed to perform this treatment. The fish is stressed by having to keep moving it between these hospital tanks.

4. Only the above 3 known cures work almost 100% of the time. Other chemicals will kill the MI parasite, but only in special conditions (not good for the fish) or in lab experiments (not using marine fish). Some chemicals will only kill some of the organisms, letting the others escape death to go on to multiply and infect.

5. Not any of the treatments can be done in a display tank with true live rock. Must be done in a hospital tank or quarantine tank. The hyposalinity and the copper treatment would kill invertebrates, live rock, and other non-fish marine life. Substrates and carbonates interfere with a copper treatment.

6. No known ‘reef-safe’ remedies work consistently. Many aquarists think a particular remedy works when in fact the fish acquire an immunity or defense against the parasite. It’s easy for any manufacturer to have an independent study done on the effectiveness of the ‘reef-safe’ remedy but they don’t because. . .

7. Cleaner shrimp and cleaner wrasses are not known to pick these parasites off of fish. (See 10. above).

8. Freshwater dips can kill some of the parasites on/in the fish, but not all of them because many of the parasites are protected by the fish's skin and mucous layer. (See 10. above).

9. No dip can get rid of these parasites because primarily of 10. above.

10. Let aquarium go fishless (without any foreign saltwater additions (e.g., water from LFS system, water from another tank or system -- use only distilled or RO/DI for evaporation and freshly made, uncontaminated salt water for water changes), without contamination from infected tanks, live rock additions, etc.) for at least 8 weeks and the tank will be free of MI. This 'fallow period' has over a 99.9% chance of success.

11. NEVER combine a copper treatment with a hyposalinity treatment. In hyposaline solutions, copper can be lethal to marine fishes.


Defense and Immunity:

1. The fish’s mucous coating can provide some protection from the parasite. The mucous coating is where some fish immunity develops.

2. When water temperature drops, mucous coating is often reduced or lost in marine fishes, that is why sometimes MI becomes visible on the body of the fish after a sudden drop in temperature. This meant, however, that the disease was present and living in the aquarium, infecting fish without the aquarist having been aware of it.

3. No fish, no matter how good its defense is, can stop being infected. A healthy fish will and can be equally infected as a sick or stressed fish. What happens is the aquarists sees one or more fish with the disease and assumes because none are seen on the other fish in the aquarium that they are 'disease free.' NOT. Aquarists can't always see the parasites. See above top, 2., 3., and 9. All fish in an infected tank require treatment.

4. A weak, stressed, or sick fish will die sooner than a healthy fish, but is no more likely to get infected than the healthy fish.

5. A fish that survives an attack may develop proteins in the mucous coating that will help fend off the parasite (this is a type of immune response). An immune fish will usually not show being infected. Unfortunately. . .(see 6. below). . .

6. An immune fish doesn’t remain immune. Separated from the disease for months, the once immune fish can become MI infected. OR if the immunity weakens, the fish will be attacked.

7. Immunization seems to work, but not affordable or likely available to the hobby for many more decades. The immunization materials are hard to make, expensive, and slow to produce. Immunization usually only works for several months at a stretch.

[seatrueblue]

Subjective and Non-Subjective Observations, Claims, and Common Myths

1. Some Tangs seem more susceptible. True. http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/images/smilies/mad.gif Their mucous coatings are reduced in thickness and composition. They swim up to 25 miles a day in the ocean in search for food so maybe Mother Nature provided them with this as a means of 'escape.'

2. It goes away on its own. Untrue. Only visible at one stage IF it is on the body or fin of the fish. It’s the life cycle. If it was once seen, then it hasn't gone away -- it's just not visible to the aquarist.

3. It goes away with a ‘reef-safe’ remedy. Untrue. This is one of the biggest and most 'dangerous' of the misrepresentations in the hobby. The aquarist thinks everything is okay when it isn't. What usually has happened is that the parasite has killed the fish it will kill and the rest have developed a resistance or immunity. The parasite is still in the aquarium, possibly infecting the gills of the fish where it can’t be seen.

4. It was gone then when a new fish is added, it is there again. Not true. See 3. It wasn’t gone or the new fish brought in the disease with it. A new addition to an aquarium can be the stress which triggers the other fish to reduce their defense or immunity, thus allow the parasite to 'bloom' to the point where the infection is now visible to the aquarist.

5. The fish lived the last outbreak then died during the second or subsequent outbreak. Can be true. The fish had a resistance or immunity that it lost.

6. It was accurately diagnosed as MI spots, then never showed up again. It wasn’t MI or the fish quickly developed an immediate immunity or resistance, or the fish is still infected in the gills.

7. MI can ‘hang around’ almost unnoticed with just a body spot now and then because it often resides just in the gills. True. So ‘it is gone’ after ‘it was here’ is very unlikely.

8. Aquariums always have MI. Untrue. MI can be kept out of an aquarium. Just quarantine all fish and don’t let non-quarantined livestock get into the aquarium. After keeping thousands of marine fishes, my home aquariums have been free of MI since 1970.

9. Fish always have MI. Untrue. In the wild they often show up to 30% infected (or more) but the wild fish survive minor infections. In the tank the parasite can 'bloom.' In the tank the fish can't get away. The combination of bloom and no escape will overcome the fish. In capture and transportation the fish can share the disease and thus many wild caught marine aquarium fishes do have this parasite, but not all.

10. Like 9. a fish can't be made to be totally rid of MI. Untrue. All marine fish can be cured and rid of any MI infection.

11. Just feed the fish well and/or feed it garlic and it will be okay. Untrue. I compare this approach to this one: "Granny has pneumonia. Let's keep her home rather than take her to the hospital. We'll feed her well with chicken soup and vitamins." http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/images/cwmsmilies/shocked.gif Nutrition, foods, vitamins, etc. don't cure an infected fish. An infected fish is sick and is being tortured by the itching and discomfort. It might pull through and obtain Resistance or immunity (see above) but while you sit comfortably in your home, the fish is being stressed by having to contend with a parasite. Don't let this happen to the fish. Cure it!! http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/images/ragsmilies/thumb.gif

12. A new cure has been discovered. Unlikely. If the aquarist thinks they have found a new cure, then have it researched and independently tested. It's easy and cheap. If it is as good as the above 3 then the professional veterinarians, private and public aquariums, fish farms, and I will use it. The aquarist needs to keep the perspective of how devastating this parasite is not to just the hobby but to the whole fish farming industry. Any new way of 100% treatment will make headlines! http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/images/smilies/eek.gif

13. If the MI can't always be detected, then why bother with a quarantine procedure? In the confines of a small quarantine and being there for no less than 6 weeks, the MI parasite will make itself known because the fish is weakened and the fish can't get away from being re-infected by multiplying MI parasites. In other words, the quarantine procedure instigates a 'bloom' of the parasite which will make it visible to the aquarist.

14. All white nodules fall off the fish and move on to the cyst stage. Untrue. It has been discovered that, on very rare occasions (why we don't know) the white nodule will encyst and rupture while still on the fish.

15. UV and/or Ozone kills MI. Ozone doesn't kill all parasites that pass through the unit, nor does the water treated with ozone kill the parasites. UV only kills the parasites that pass through the unit. Not all MI parasites will pass through the unit, so the UV will not rid an aquarium of MI. A UV can help prevent a 'bloom' of the parasites however, and thus help in its control. UV is not a cure nor a preventative measure for MI. http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/images/smilies/frown.gif

16. Spots are MI. Untrue. Probably one of the most problematic causes for rumors and myth-information in the hobby is assuming the spot is Marine Ich when it may be one of another few dozen other parasites or conditions (e.g., pimple-like reaction to infection) that look like Marine Ich. The mis-diagnosis is often the cause for claims of what cured MI, when the fish didn't have MI to start with.

17. My LFS quarantines their fishes for 2 weeks and I only buy them to be sure they are healthy and free of MI. Have you been reading the above? The 2 weeks is not long enough. Was the 2 weeks in isolation or is the fish's water mixed with other fish's water? Seeing is not believing, right? LFS employees don't have time to closely observe and study the fishes they have in stock, for a full 6 weeks. The truth is out there. . .Trust no one.


PLEASE DON'T SPREAD RUMORS! http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/images/smilies/frown.gif
__________________
LEE

[Mr Cob]

Great read Christina. Thanks for posting Lee's article. You have taken a "Stand-up" approach to educating us about MI. I can appreciate it, but until this process becomes easier...I'm not convinced many people will adopt it. Most people like myself will just continue to "fatten grandma up and keep her happy". LOL! Pretty good metaphor.

I would love to have a MI free display and will admit, after reading this article, I'm more motivated to try...just another darn thing to purchase and learn!!! WHEN WILL IT EVER STOP!?! : P

1 Vote for sticky under the emergency forum???

[MRSBIGBIRD123]

Great read, and Rob consider it done.

[phrog]

Great read! I think I understand it all much better now.

[hannahh78238]

Extremely useful information. Thanks

[Marlin]

Great information Chistina. This explains why ich is so hard to get rid of.

Thanks,
Rick

[seatrueblue]

I haven't been on maast in a while. I am so happy to see that you all like it.:D awesome!
Thank you so much for turning this into a sticky. I also thanked Lee for allowing me to repost it on maast. I don't think I could thank Lee enough for even writing the article, it has helped so many people understand ich.

[alliedag85]

wow if i read the link right. ick gets into your tank by adding new fish and corals. is this the only way it can get into your tsnk? i just got a coral not to long ago from a member. give or take 5 days later my yellow tang has ick. tang looks like it has small white dots. what ick treatment do you think i should use. i dont over feed and per are good. tang eats fine. please pm with any info you may have for me. thanks

[Mr Cob]

wow if i read the link right. ick gets into your tank by adding new fish and corals. is this the only way it can get into your tsnk? i just got a coral not to long ago from a member. give or take 5 days later my yellow tang has ick. tang looks like it has small white dots. what ick treatment do you think i should use. i dont over feed and per are good. tang eats fine. please pm with any info you may have for me. thanks

Most likely you already had ich in your tank. It's probably just a coincidence that the tang got ich some time after you added the coral. Most display tanks do have ich,you just don't see signs of it until the fish get stressed in some way.

The only sure way you don't have ich in your tank is if you followed the steps mentioned in the article for every piece of livestock in your tank.

[moe]

I really love this read. Thank u so much chris' now more than ever I to have hospital tanks. By the way do u have any? Is that how u were able to help ur BSC. U should post what u told me bout them.

moe

[seatrueblue]

I quarantined my chrysopterus aka ( blue striped clowns) in a 29 gallon tank for 16 weeks.
I know, way longer than they should be quarantined. 8 weeks after I started to quarantine my clowns I read this article. It inspired me to have an ich free aquarium. Sooo..I made my 120g go fishless for 8 weeks as well..sigh. It was a long wait but now I am rewarded with an ich free aquarium. :bigsmile:

oh btw I used cupramine to get rid of the ich that my chrysopterus were infested with. The ich almost killed them. A couple of hours after I properly dosed the 29g with cupramine my fish were getting relief. Their breathing turned back to normal and their scales started to slim off the ich. The very next day they were looking so much better that they actually wanted to eat again. If you use cupramine..read the instructions carefully. Your quarantine must not have any live rock or live sand for it to be a proper quarantine tank. Just some pvc pipes, artificial aquascape, air stone and filtration.

To learn more about copper treatments and cupramine. read this link.

http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/fish-diseases-treatments/23130-copper-treatment-use-problems.html

The only thing this link doesn't tell you about cupramine..is to measure cupramine with ml not drops. If you measure it in drops you can overdose the quarantine tank.

[moe]

that great, by the way my BTA kill my LTA. Very sad it was a nice looking one but it had no chance. I added another BTA and my clowns are loving it.

[hilltopperpete]

Thanks for the info. I picked up a 75g to quarantine all my fish in copper for 5 weeks before putting them in the main tank. Don't want ICH again EVER!

[barderer]

another intresting tid bit that seatrueblue was alluding to is having a bare bottom QT tank. Apparently the cyst form of the parasite does not like the hatching conditions on a ultra smooth surface. This was observed by a fish breeder who's live stock he housed in cement breeding tanks would always get ich and the ones he housed in bare glass and fiber glass would not. Once again, not a cure but just something to assist the healing. It also makes it easy to siphon out the cyst form of the parasite in the morning off the clean glass.

[juliear74]

Hi Everyone,
I found that this thread is so helpful! We have had a recurring ich problem in one of our tanks (which has been a bear) and have decided that we will try the settle the problem by using the copper treatment method described above after multiple failed treatments with a variety of agents. We have ordered the Cupramine and the test kit. I was wondering if some of you out there have done this before, and if so if you might be able to help me with a couple of questions in terms of set up. We have 5 fish that will be quarantined (2 damsels, 2 clowns, and one cowfish) for this purpose but have not yet set up a quarantine tank. My questions are as follows. (1) we have purchased a 29 gallon for quarantine of the fish. Will this tank size be adequate? (2) I understand that the QT must be simple, i.e., no sediment, and use only plastic etc. In setting this tank up I am concerned about nitrogen cycling. Should we fill the QT with water directly from the display tank so that the water in the QT already contains bacteria? The filter unfortunately will not. Should we set up the QT tank from scratch and let it cycle first? (3) How often should we test the quality of water in terms of ammonia, nitrite, etc while underoing copper treatment? (4) Should we QT the cowfish separately from the other fish to avoid poisoning all fish in the unfortunate instance that she stresses too much or dies? I fear that separating her will cause her even more stress as she is used to her tankmates.
I apologize for the length but I must admit that I am apprehensive about this process as I do not want to lose my fish but want to be rid of ich if at all possible! Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated!
Julie

[Richard]

(1) we have purchased a 29 gallon for quarantine of the fish. Will this tank size be adequate?
Yes
(2) I understand that the QT must be simple, i.e., no sediment, and use only plastic etc. In setting this tank up I am concerned about nitrogen cycling. Should we fill the QT with water directly from the display tank so that the water in the QT already contains bacteria? The filter unfortunately will not. Should we set up the QT tank from scratch and let it cycle first?
The tank needs to be fully cycled. You won't get enough bacteria from the water to get the tank cycled so you'll need to let it cycle. I would run the filter on your display tank for a week or so to get it seeded and then move it to the qt tank. Then you can either dose ammonia (google fishless cycling for directions) or you can add some black mollies to complete the cycle. You need sufficient bacteria to handle the bioload so you don't get ANY ammonia/nitrite spike. I've always preferred using black mollies to maintain a qt tank. They can be moved to a bucket with an airstone while you qt your fish if you don't want them in with them during qt (sometimes they pester the sw fish and sometimes they act as cleaner fish so you just have to keep an eye on them). The mollies can easily be made ick free by switching them back to fw for a few days and then used to keep your qt tank cycled and ready for future qt'ing. Although bare bottom is always recommended I always found the fish to be less stressed with just a little substrate so I usually put just a thin layer of non-carbonate sand or epoxy covered gravel, although it's not required.
(3) How often should we test the quality of water in terms of ammonia, nitrite, etc while underoing copper treatment?
Once your comfortable that the tank is fully cycled and you add your livestock, you should check ammonia/nitrite daily the first 4-5 days (should stay at zero) then just monitor nitrates weekly and do water changes to keep nitrates below 20. The lower the better but Nitrates aren't very toxic to fish so as long as you're below 20 they should be fine.
(4) Should we QT the cowfish separately from the other fish to avoid poisoning all fish in the unfortunate instance that she stresses too much or dies? I fear that separating her will cause her even more stress as she is used to her tankmates.
I guess that's a judgement call but I have never actually seen a cowfish poison a tank even when very stressed and have put a couple of dozen through copper treatment without any issues so I would not separate him.

[juliear74]

Hi Richard, thank you so much for your response! This is very helpful to me - and I am glad to hear that you have not found any problems with treating cowfish with copper. I really appreciate your feedback!
Julie

[alton]

It is nice to see Richard is still around and unless I am mistaking and making a fool out of myself again (nothing new) Richard from Bergheim and Mark use to own one of the best fish stores in the area (CB Pets). They quarantined most of the fish in the back the way Aquarium Sales and Service did when they where still around.