Re: [APD] Ich and planted tanks

[Liz Wilhite <satirica at gmail_com>]

On 8/1/05, Thomas Barr <tcbiii at yahoo_com> wrote: 
> 
> Ich is controlled by public aquariums by raising the temp to about 90F.
> I've never had a ich issue in a planted tank, I've even added fish that 
> had ich only to watch it disappear a week or so later of being in good 
> conditions........

 Then, according to research, you likely still had ich in the tank but it 
wasn't visible on your fish. The parasite was most likely on the gills of 
the fish and unseen. I have read a heckuva lot of research since finding ich 
on a few fish. The outbreak didn't make sense since it ocurred more than 4 
months after the last fish had been added. According to biologists who have 
done controlled studies of ich, the parasite can exist in low levels 
infecting the gills of fish for extended periods of time. There is no 
"dormant" stage in which it exists without a fish host. The parasites appear 
to much more common than is realized. It is also not clear why populations 
of ich can suddenly explode. In the hobby it is common to blame the hobbyist 
-- fish stress from hobbyists errors or neglect. That's likely hogwash, too. 
It is true that ich outbreaks are much more commonly found in tanks with 
poor water quality, but outbreaks can happen in tanks with ideal water 
quality, too.
 Liz
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