Ick?

Ummmm, interesting statement/theory/opinion...




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

Has anyone else seen similar statement, or have experience to confirm or refute...?

I for one, think I may have had some ick show up on a newly introduced fish long ago. But it quickly disappeared after fish in tank for couple of days. Any fish since has sat in Cu treated bath before going into tank.

Have also gone, at times years, without adding any new livestock.

Never have experienced it since, despite, for various reasons severely stressing out tank and inhabitants due some accident or mishap.

Would to nice to think that the parasite tends to just disappear from tank over long period.

Have always gone along with the idea it was always sitting around tank waiting to jump on a stressed fish...but in fact, have never seen this happen...

 

I believe that if the parasite can't find a fish weak enough to host, that it will die. I'm not sure about all of the 11 generation crap tho

 

Nope.....that's true.

If you go 11 months or a year and don't introduce any more Ick, then you effectively are Ick-Free. I had a 75 gallon tank that I never added any new fish to (once it was initially stocked). No fish got Ick, even after the fire, even after the heater broke, even after a long power outage.

They didn't survive a crazy ex-wife with bleach though.

 

when I had my fowlr tank I used to bring fish that i collected and throw them in the tank w/o any problems, but most times when they came from the lfs they had some type of parasites, which pretty much never affected the rest of my fish, and some times the lfs would be just fine also. to my opinion Ick is no more than the fish that carries it, but as far is spreading that's a myth to me, other than the health of the fish in the community (tank)

 

The last 15 fish I have added only 4 have lived. I just stopped buying fish. Everyone but those 4 came down with ick and died. Some held on longer then others. I think it does attack weak or stressed fish. JMO I have lost a ton of money on fish. like 200 or 250. I hate fish most of the time. I am just going to stick to the ones I have.

 

Omrad that actually sounds contradicitive to everything that I have ever heard. Can't believe any life form would "un-evolve." Rats and roaches keep mutating to get stronger and I would think most life forms would....dunno though. Seems to me that these thousand of parasites would fight each ohter for host/food and survival of the fittest would do the rest.

The other point for anton and r34 is that these are hight aggressive parasites. Each on of those white dots are cysts/eggs that when they fall off and burst hundreds hatch. In the Ocean the currents will wash the cyst away.That is not the case in our closed enviromnets.

There is some truth in the health of the fish keeping it "at bay" but as you can see from every new fosh getting it...it is still there until you can find away to get it out or fish are healthy enough to not be overcome by it.