Random ich outbreak?

**Demjor19** · 08-29-2009, 09:28 PM

Have you guys/girls ever had a random ich outbreak? I came home last night to notice that my Severum/Clown Loach tank has a fairly bad case of ich going on. There has been no new fish added for several months and very little aggression or apparent stress in the tank. Any idea what may have caused this? I haven't had in in quite a long time...just though this was wierd.

...anyway....I'm off to start my w/c and ich treatment. What fun!

Thanks,

**DrNic** · 08-29-2009, 10:26 PM

Yeah that's happened to me twice. In both cases the fish got stressed and ick popped up. Once was the result of some algae chemicals I was trying and once was due to a water temp problem.

Check to make sure that your water chemistry, temp and lighting are ok.

**Demjor19** · 08-29-2009, 10:49 PM

Originally Posted by Nic

Yeah that's happened to me twice. In both cases the fish got stressed and ick popped up. Once was the result of some algae chemicals I was trying and once was due to a water temp problem.

Check to make sure that your water chemistry, temp and lighting are ok.

When I did my waterchange I noticed the temp was quite a bit lower than normal. It turns out one of my cats unplugged the heater...gotta love em! That's probably what sparked the outbreak.

Thanks for you suggestions!

**Anomaly** · 08-30-2009, 12:15 PM

Even though the lower temp may have stressed the fish and caused a worse condition, ich doesn't just crop up (unless it hitchhikes in on something) if it isn't already affecting the fish and going through it's life-cycle. It's likely that the fish had ich already, just not severly enough to be noticed. Just be sure to treat long enough so that the ich is truly eradicated.

**Lady Hobbs** · 08-30-2009, 12:54 PM

My rainbow tank has had ick twice and the only fish in the tank to be affected was the turquoise rainbow. The splendida and boesemani nor the bottom feeders affected at all. Strange, I thought.

**WhiteDevil** · 08-30-2009, 01:25 PM

how are you treating your ICH?

what is your total process from start to finish, seems that the last treatment wasnt carried out long enough, usually takes 10-14 days for ICH to be executed from the entire tank, including the fish. The VISUAL symptoms go away with treatment yes, but its usually bad once you see the visual symptom.

How are their eyes? Popeye is a symptom of deep ICH contamination so keep an eye on their eyeballs. A fishes eye says alot about its overall health.

**Demjor19** · 08-30-2009, 03:50 PM

I know exactly how to treat ich...that wasnt really the point of the thread. Ive been keeping fish long enough that Ive done it more than enough times.

The last tankmates to be added was a couple of CL's about 3 or 4 months ago. There has been no sign of ich before or after that. The ich in the tank now only seems to be on my Seves. it does already seem to be going away...which is odd too. Ich normally gets worse before it gets better.

**WhiteDevil** · 08-30-2009, 06:48 PM

Life Cycle
The ich life cycle includes four stages.

Click to enlarge
The life cycle of Ichthyophthirius multifiliis.

The first stage is the feeding stage. Parasitic cells known as trophonts or trophozoites consume tissue fluid and grow. The characteristic white spots visible on infected fish are the cysts that form around these cells.

After a certain period the trophonts burst open and the free-living tomonts enter the water.

Tomonts settle onto solid objects and form capsules. Within each capsule, the tomont undergoes rapid cell division to produce hundreds of infective theronts.

Finally, the capsule splits open, and the theronts swim about looking for a host. The theront is viable for about one day, after which time it dies. Should a theront find a host, it will burrow into some suitable tissue and change into the feeding trophont stage. The life cycle is ready to start again.

The duration of the life cycle depends on temperature, ranging from three days at 75 degrees Fahrenheit to more than a month at 50 degrees.

Treatment
Only the free-living tomonts and theronts are subject to medication. These are killed either by using suitable poisons, such as copper, or by creating conditions of high temperature and salinity that they cannot endure.

Because each generation multiplies the number of ich parasites in the aquarium hundreds of times, it is important to treat promptly. Even if you can see just one or two ich parasites, a potentially lethal epidemic may be just days away.

taken from google. first hit back. yah!

the problem is YOU never got rid of the ICH. Its not random its living its life cycle. Id change your treatment methods since they arent working for you.