Once again, against my better judgment, I am going to jump head first into this shallow pool....however, I assure you, I am not trying to argue with anyone, ok?
Many species/strains of saltwater ich run on day/night cycles and don't stray far from the fish's sleeping place, so a UV sterilizer can't possibly remove or prevent these.
Granted, the fact that there are multiple species of both FW and Marine Ich is relatively new information so it is very possible that I haven't heard about this before because of that, but to be honest, I have never heard about ich tending to 'hang out', so to speak, in one area or another - and my possibly flawed brand of logic would pose the question: "Why would an Ich protozoa wait for a fish to return to a sleeping place or whatever instead of being proactive in finding a food source?"
That being said, it is my understanding that, after 'birth', an Ich protozoa will become 'free-swimming', hunting for a host and that is why UV can be somewhat useful in Ich prevention...although yes, I agree that they are not the end-all, be-all solution to Ich.
Freshwater baths are also highly effective (I would rate it over copper and malactite green) and can save all but the most fargone of fishes.
Let me preface the following comments by predicting that this is where I am about to create controversy again...
The freshwater bath treatment is really not as effective as some may want to us to think because, once living within their 'white-spot' stage, they very well embedded and protected -
the host fishes' epithelium to thicken, so that the host's own immune reaction provides a safe haven for this "adult" or "mature" stage, where it's protected from medication (The skeptical aquarist, 2005) - and hence, the freshwater may never even reach them. This is also why cleaner shrimp and fish are also not the 100% absolute 'cure' for Ich because they also cannot reach them all without causing even more severe problems for the host fish.
In fact, many people would say that the only truly effective ich treatments are hyposalinity and copper based medications === and I would be more than willing to provide various links to support that thought, however, I am not sure if many of them might be considered 'competing websites' or not.
leave him there for three to six minutes.
Somewhat conversely though....if you are dead-set on using FW baths, I highly suggest that you keep a vigilant eye on the fish throughout the process and stop treatment at the first sign of distress....
bowl with RO water and plunk the fish in while he's till in the net
...and you should do your best to ensure that the FW you are going to use is similar in both temp and pH (meaning RO water is not a good option when SW fish are concerned) to help avoid or reduce any stress or osmotic shock stemming from 'plopping' a fish from one vessel to another....just like I now realize Sophos9 points out. That being said, I am going to go way out of bounds by restating my position that....
Fish can change their internal pH very quickly, so pH shock is almost never a problem
...this ^^^ is not always, if ever, the case in saltwater fish, and while FW fish can do so, they need time to adjust (meaning, 'quickly' may not be the best description)
Pengy666 said:
And if you look back at my previous posts I have had debates with a lot of other members and it came to light that a lot of people also agreed for what good they do they do as much harm, and yes I have had one in my nano?? and I had whitespot a few times.
So imho I feel they are a waste of money? for ME!
Again, I have also been faced with Ich even though I have a UV sterilizer on my tank...it is not a treatment or absolute prophylactic against Ich, only an added measure that can be benificial in other ways too. Don't get me wrong, I do value your opinion and am not disagreeing with you, but as with many topics in this hobby, it is easy to find conflicting opinions, ideas, and information so I am 100% sure that you have found many people who agree with you...but I could probably find an equal number of those who disagree as well. Make sense?
In short, I am just trying to provide the 'other side of the story' to help highlight what might be an opinion dressed up to look like a fact (which I am sure we are all guilty of from time to time and I am not picking on you in the least)
