Kirsten Posted March 11, 2021 Share Posted March 11, 2021 I know I said I'd wait at least a week, but the fish in quarantine are looking so good and energetic and I'm so eager to get them back in their tank, which is currently being used to quarantine inverts and plants from all the salt and ich-x that I'm using in their usual tanks. I can't find a straight answer online. I have the plant and invert tank at a steady 78 degrees. Some people say free-swimming ich (which would be what travels along with the free-floating plants, as far as I understand) can only live for 48 hours before finding a host. Some people say a week, some people say 2 weeks, or 6 weeks. And my goodness are other fish communities nasty to each other! So, in your experience, can ich go from floating in the water around a plant, hitchhike on the plant to another tank, bury itself in the substrate of a new tank, and lie in wait for weeks for a new host? Or does the ich in substrate-burrowing mode fall straight to the ground? How long should I reasonably wait to put my plants and fish back where they belong? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Cory Posted March 11, 2021 Administrators Share Posted March 11, 2021 I think this is a part of the hobby that isn't documented well. I would do whatever is best for the fish, if the quarantine tank isn't too small and they aren't stressed, I'd wait the 2 weeks. If it's not optimal, then I'd move them in faster, knowing to keep a very close eye, no matter which direction you go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirsten Posted March 11, 2021 Author Share Posted March 11, 2021 36 minutes ago, Cory said: I think this is a part of the hobby that isn't documented well. I would do whatever is best for the fish, if the quarantine tank isn't too small and they aren't stressed, I'd wait the 2 weeks. If it's not optimal, then I'd move them in faster, knowing to keep a very close eye, no matter which direction you go. The voice of reason! You're right, I should wait it out just to be safe. The 3 swordtails and 5 guppies aren't too stressed in the 10g, just look a little bored. I'll keep an eye on if that changes and know that I'll probably be okay if I go sooner than 2 weeks, but keep a sharp eye on their condition. Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hobbit Posted March 12, 2021 Share Posted March 12, 2021 I agree with the two week suggestion! Just based on how we treat ich, I would want to wait at least the length of a full life cycle so any eggs hatch and then die without a host. Not sure if ich can “hibernate” but we at least know it lives part of its regular life without fish. Since your fish aren’t in there, you may be safe to turn the temperature up! That will speed up the ich life cycle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirsten Posted March 12, 2021 Author Share Posted March 12, 2021 (edited) 44 minutes ago, Hobbit said: I agree with the two week suggestion! Just based on how we treat ich, I would want to wait at least the length of a full life cycle so any eggs hatch and then die without a host. Not sure if ich can “hibernate” but we at least know it lives part of its regular life without fish. Since your fish aren’t in there, you may be safe to turn the temperature up! That will speed up the ich life cycle. That's a good point! I'm worried about super high heat damaging my plants and inverts, but I might try buying another adjustable heater and cranking it up a bit. Another thing I'm considering is dipping each of my "guest" plants in a weak bleach solution and rinsing thoroughly to safely return them to their home tanks. My process looked something like this: about 10 days ago, thought I saw ich in both of my main livebearer tanks, freaked out, put my newer livebearers in a QT (since there are only a few of them right now) and sequestered most of the plants and inverts from the tank that's full of babies in the now fish-free, newer tank. After about 5 days, realized it wasn't ich, just bacterial infections and maybe stress ich, but keeping up about 1 tbs salt for every 2 gallons to help them heal up. Kept my plants and inverts sequestered. Then, about 2 days ago, noticed for-real ich in another tank, ugh! So, put the hornwort and some of the epiphytes in the sequester tank as well, started treatment. That's where I think I screwed up. I should have put them in a bucket or something, kept them away from the probably clean plants and tank. So, yesterday, realized my error and put all the hornwort in a clear storage bin to chill out on its own. It's "just" hornwort, so I'm not too precious with it (and it was seriously shading my other more expensive plants). I'm thinking/hoping it's highly unlikely for ich to travel on a plant to a new tank and settle in in just 24 hours with no hosts, but I'm going to do a water change on the invert tank tomorrow, start ramping down salt in my livebearer tanks, and when the salt's minimized, I'll dip the plants and put them back where they belong, and maybe try putting a couple endler fry in the invert tank to see if they get sick. CANNOT wait for this to be over. I feel like an air traffic controller for contagious illness lol. Edited March 12, 2021 by Kirsten Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottEsh Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 On 3/12/2021 at 12:52 PM, Kirsten said: That's a good point! I'm worried about super high heat damaging my plants and inverts, but I might try buying another adjustable heater and cranking it up a bit. Another thing I'm considering is dipping each of my "guest" plants in a weak bleach solution and rinsing thoroughly to safely return them to their home tanks. My process looked something like this: about 10 days ago, thought I saw ich in both of my main livebearer tanks, freaked out, put my newer livebearers in a QT (since there are only a few of them right now) and sequestered most of the plants and inverts from the tank that's full of babies in the now fish-free, newer tank. After about 5 days, realized it wasn't ich, just bacterial infections and maybe stress ich, but keeping up about 1 tbs salt for every 2 gallons to help them heal up. Kept my plants and inverts sequestered. Then, about 2 days ago, noticed for-real ich in another tank, ugh! So, put the hornwort and some of the epiphytes in the sequester tank as well, started treatment. That's where I think I screwed up. I should have put them in a bucket or something, kept them away from the probably clean plants and tank. So, yesterday, realized my error and put all the hornwort in a clear storage bin to chill out on its own. It's "just" hornwort, so I'm not too precious with it (and it was seriously shading my other more expensive plants). I'm thinking/hoping it's highly unlikely for ich to travel on a plant to a new tank and settle in in just 24 hours with no hosts, but I'm going to do a water change on the invert tank tomorrow, start ramping down salt in my livebearer tanks, and when the salt's minimized, I'll dip the plants and put them back where they belong, and maybe try putting a couple endler fry in the invert tank to see if they get sick. CANNOT wait for this to be over. I feel like an air traffic controller for contagious illness lol. I am in he same place. I have a tank full of live plants and 2 oci cats my Ram died last night from a serious ich attack. Any suggestions on how to rid the tank of ich and restock... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirsten Posted March 18, 2021 Author Share Posted March 18, 2021 21 minutes ago, ScottEsh said: I am in he same place. I have a tank full of live plants and 2 oci cats my Ram died last night from a serious ich attack. Any suggestions on how to rid the tank of ich and restock... Ugh, I'm so sorry. It's never easy to lose fish. I'd highly recommend moving any surviving fish to a quarantine tank for treatment and recovery, but keeping the heat on in their original tank, possibly elevated to 80-82 deg F. While you're treating the fish, any remaining ich in the tank will die out from lack of a host. Hold aside any equipment you recently used in the ich-y tank to let it fully dry out, or use it just for your QT. Time and patience! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottEsh Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 34 minutes ago, Kirsten said: Ugh, I'm so sorry. It's never easy to lose fish. I'd highly recommend moving any surviving fish to a quarantine tank for treatment and recovery, but keeping the heat on in their original tank, possibly elevated to 80-82 deg F. While you're treating the fish, any remaining ich in the tank will die out from lack of a host. Hold aside any equipment you recently used in the ich-y tank to let it fully dry out, or use it just for your QT. Time and patience! The oci cats are already in a medicated tank at 85 deg. ‘the tank is treated with ich-x so should I just keep this as my hospital tank. Otherwise I’m needing to purchase and set up another tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hobbit Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 If you don’t have another tank, it’s fine to treat with ich-x in your regular tank. I did that before I had a quarantine tank—and probably would again because catching all my fish out of the 55 gallon would be way too hard! Be sure to treat with ich-x every day for the course of treatment because it breaks down in the water. Hope your other fish pull through! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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