Seatrueblue,

Thanks for the artical. I've read it and now understand the process, and shudder to think that I may have to set up an additional tank for four to six weeks.

I don't have a tank at the moment (although they are pretty easy to come by so that isn't really a problem) and in the interim I am going to try the organic stuff since I have very little to lose. This weekend I will head up to the flea market on 35 and pick up the largest aquarium they have there. I need to set up some kind of quarantine tank anyway.

Question. Do I take out all of my fish into the other tank even if they show no signs (I suspect that I do since this involves gills where I can't see the parasite)? Currently the visible signs are limited to my cow and tang.

Here's what I don't understand. Take fish out, put them in tank to the side. Six weeks later with no hosts the parasite in the display wither and die. Meanwhile in the other tank the fish have had the opportunity to wheather a cycle or two of the bugs as they fall off, incubate and return to infest. Here's the part that I don't understand. I then take these fish and place them back into the display, and with them the bugs that I had 'cultivated' in the quarantine tank.

Is it the lack of sand in the other tank that prevents the bugs from reaching maturity? Or producing their progeny? I didn't see whether the q tank has sand or not.

Ok, got to get ready for work. Thanks again for the advice and posting the ich post. I now understand the difference between the salt and freshy ich. I had thought that there was only one and that was limited to the fresh water tanks.