How Long Can Ich Live W/o A Host?

[Mikaila31]

A lot of the fish in my 20 gal planted tank came down with ich . I have large populations of cherry shrimp and pest snails in the tank. Which will did from any copper based meds. So, I had to move all the fish to the 15gal quarantine tank along with the 3 fish that where already in there. They are now all being treated for ich in the QT tank. None of them have it really bad, just a few spots here and there. They will probably be treated for two weeks to be on the safe side. The only problem is I can't treat the main planted tank for ich. I was told that the ich won't affect the snails or shrimp, so they should be ok. So, I have to wait until all the ich dies from the lack or a host. How long will this tank? and when would the tank be deemed safe again?

 

[freerunner416]

I don't know how long it can survive in the water alone but i was told if you turn up your temp to 28degs or slightly higher you will burn it off. The ich cant survive at that temp and will soon disapear. Hope that helps

 

[Little-Fizz]

I don't know how long it can survive in the water alone but i was told if you turn up your temp to 28degs or slightly higher you will burn it off. The ich cant survive at that temp and will soon disapear. Hope that helps

The higher temperatures speed up it's life cycle. This is crucial, speeding up the life cycle with the addition of salt is what really kills the ich. The ich can be killed by the salt in it's free swimming stage (While it looks for a host). If you have no fish in the tank you can blast the heater for like a week or two like full blast. And I'm sure that would burst any remaining cysts.

 

[FISH KEEPER EXP]

hi i think i read some where that ich, can stay dorment in substates for quite a while. It may be a good idea to gradually rasie your temperature, but just bare in mind your shrimp may not like the temp rise. There is a treatment on the market called Parozone which is not copper based, and use's a citronella compound to kill parasites. Its made by a company called Kusuri, and im sure most shops should be able to get it.

ive used it one my discus, with rays in the tank and it does work, just not as quick as your usual protazin, or other copper based treatments.

hope this helps if you can't find it let me know

goodluck matt

 

[Mikaila31]

hi i think i read some where that ich, can stay dorment in substates for quite a while. It may be a good idea to gradually rasie your temperature, but just bare in mind your shrimp may not like the temp rise. There is a treatment on the market called Parozone which is not copper based, and use's a citronella compound to kill parasites. Its made by a company called Kusuri, and im sure most shops should be able to get it.

ive used it one my discus, with rays in the tank and it does work, just not as quick as your usual protazin, or other copper based treatments.

hope this helps if you can't find it let me know

goodluck matt

I searched for Parozone Kursuri on google and didn't get any results. Then I searched for Parozone and only got bleach and toilet products.

 

[jasondjdelashmit]

Imo and Ime the best way to get rid of ick is to raise the temp to at least 86 deg. F and add 2 tsp of salt for every gallon of water you have in your tank. Do water changes as usual just when you do add salt back in to make up for what you took out. Do this for two weeks and all your ick should be gone. This has worked geat for me. The salt and the heat both will kill the "ick" so this is like a double wammy on them. Good luck.