Ich Using Algae Scrubber????

[extra3d]

Hello!!! just have question. have anyone here had or have problems with ich using an ATS?? i had ick in my tank 3 months ago, i upgraded my tank from a 30g to a 75g with the same rock and sand and installed a ATS , 2 weeks later i added a couple of new fish (the others died)... 2 months later no signs of ick (knock on wood) could it be the scrubber? does the scrubber help the tank mature faster?

P.S. My fish look GREAT and very happy!! 2 Clowns, 1 Coral Beauty Angel, 3 Green gromis..

[RkyRickstr]

Only think i can possibly think off is a scrubber allowes you to feed more. Therefore fish have stronger inmune system... Bu it doesnt acrually affect the parasite.

[extra3d]

thats right... im not saying that an ATS will kill the ich,, but can it keep the fish healthy??? i read somewhere that the ATS produces some good stuff that helps corals, can it help fish to???? hmmmmmmmm...... where talking about a real good natural filter here....

[Ace25]

I agree wtih RkyRickstr. An ATS and Ich have nothing in common. One is a parasite and will live in a system with fish regardless of any filtration you have in place. The only possible thing an ATS could do in regards to ich is it could make your system more stable (algae/bacteria levels good) which in turn will make your fish happier, less stressed out, and have a stronger immune system because of it which will help them keep ich away. Ich life cycles go in phases.. just because you see no spots on your fish now, but did previously, tells me you still have ich in the system and it is just in a different phase of their lifecycle, not the phase where they attach to fish. In a healthy stable aquarium it is very possible to have ich in the system and not have any negative effects on fish, but the big problem with that is somewhere down to line something is going to happen to the tank that will stress out the fish and ich will show up in force when that happens. Power outtage, lack of water change/too much water change with bad water, bad heater, etc etc.. lots of things can happen and it just takes an hour or so to go from years of healthy nice fish to ich infested sick fish if you know you have ich in the system.

[Floyd R Turbo]

Yeah I would say your best bet is to QT the fish for 3 months to let the parasite go through it's life cycle without a host.

Then you can either treat the fish in the QT or you can use the 2-tank method to break the life cycle. That involves setting up tank #1 and having the fish in there for 3 days, then starting up tank #2 and moving the fish to that, then emptying tank #1 and letting it dry out and leave it dry for 24 hours, then switch the fish again after 3 days. Do this move 3 times and the parasite will be gone. But then you still have to wait out the parasite cycle in the original tank.

It's the only way to be sure

[red fish]

Thanks as my fish have itchy and keep trying various products.

[Floyd R Turbo]

After much reading since my last post about this, I learned that it is possible for ich to attach to the fish gills and essentially form a protective cocoon around itself and live in an indefinite dormant state, where it will be virtually impossible to completely eradicate. So the rule here is once you have ich, you may always have it. You can do what you can to interrupt the life cycle using all the techniques in the book, but when fish stress causes health to worsen, it can rear it's ugly head. The best bet is to maintain a tank with stable parameters and feed good quality food, and try to keep fish that are compatible and will not cause each other stress.

[symon_say]

What i have learned from my tank is that the best you can do for ich once you have it in your is feed your fish like you want to eat then for christmas, fat healthy fish give a s*** for ich.

I have ich in my tank since my 3rd fish and i have never lose a fish to ich except the one that introduce it, even my blue tang that is a "ich magnet" have never been bother about it, once i while i see a few spot on a fish but after that it "goes away".

I see ich like a flue it can be lethal, but most fish can hold it without any problem.