Chuck vs LFS!!!

chuck78

The Reefanatic
Hello all, Yesterday I got in a heated arguement with a LFS employee from a new mount pleasant store here in SC. We've agreed on many remedies regerding fishcare,tank maintenance, etc. Hell he's a knowledgeable guy, but yesterday he tried to tell that marine ich can go dormant & wait for a host longer than 2 or even 3 months!! He said that he had seen it 1st hand in his tank after letting it run fallow for 4 months. I asked him if he added corals,water from another tank or anything else during the coarse of this fallow period. He said "NO"...I asked if the new fish had been properly quarantined (6-8 weeks)...he said yes. Everything that I read about ich lead me to the conclusion that MI is a parasite THAT NEEDS A F%#$@&* HOST. Is there anyone that can come this guys defense. Is some strain of "super ich" that I'm unaware of. Now that i think of it, that's 2 stores that have told me the same thing about MI!! Am I missing something here?
 
Last edited:
Can't say I would side with him. I'd ask him if he has actual scientific proof. When people say they quarantined their fish, doesn't mean they medicated specifically for ich -- copper or hypo. Usually means they kept them separate for observation. If they showed no signs, doesn't mean they're not carriers. I bet he only qt'd for observation, but his fish were happy and healthy so the ich had no opportunity to present itself until he moved them.
 
damn damn damn , wish i could find the link , i read and have heard that ich can live without a host for up to 3 months, damn , see now your gonna have me look and search the vast interwebz lol

then again it could be freshwater ich.....hmmmm


*5 minutes later*

heres what i found

from here http://www.thereeftank.com/forums/f184/how-long-can-ich-live-without-fish-129661.html

"It depends on which part of the life cycle we are talking about.

As we know there are 4 stages in the Cryptocaryons life cycle

1- Trophont-this is the parasitic stage on the fish
2- Protomont-this is where the parasite leaves the fish to encyst on the substrate to reproduce.
3-Tomont- This is the reproductive and longest lived stage
4-Theront- Free swimming looking for a host.

The trophonts will mature and leave the fish after 3-7 days
The Protomont will encyst within 24 hours
The Tomont can last up to 72 days(in rare cases). That is the reason ich is so difficult to remove from a system.
The Theront will die within 24 hours without a host.

The life cycle can be as quick as 7 days, usually 24 days But can go as long as 72 days. 60 days without a fish will eradicate ich 99.9% of the time.

I have also read, that if no new strains of ich are added for 11 months, that the parasite will have run it's course and simply die."
 
Last edited:
I would believe it, many parasites can go dormant in host's tissues for a long long long time. That is why some parasites are so hard to get rid of and why you are suppose to worm your dogs and cats every month.
 
Yes, I believe that too fish, but at that point the parasite has already found a host. This guy insists that ich can just wait around in the substrate for months & months!!
 
Many organism can also form inactive spores, but I would bet more that he is confusing the ich coming from the sand, not the fish.
 
I'd agree on that its coming from the fish. I assume right from the start all the fish I get have MI because if it can lay dorm-it in the fish you never will know when it will pop up and say "hay guess what I'm going to F-up your tank now"
 
Back
Top