ich in liverock

[zoebeaglezoe]

can liverock carry ich?

if I move liverock from one tank to another can it be passed to the new tank?

I plan on moving the rock to the new tank and treating the fish w/copper but don't want ich in the new system

[Paul B]

Yes the ich can be transported to a new tank with rock or any other wet thing. If ich is in your tank, there are cysts all over the place just waiting for a fish to infect.

[lesleybird]

If you are moving your live rock to a new tank the ich cysts can be transported on it. If you leave the live rock fishless for about a month all the ich will be dead as it needs a fish host to attach to after the cysts hatch to reproduce. If they do not have a fish host the swimmers die in a couple of days. Really most of the ich will be dead after two weeks, but some may hang around for three to four weeks max. I keep the ich under control in my 200 gallon by using a high wattage UV with a very slow flow rate, and my fish all are cleaned by my cleaner goby that cleans the ich ten times better than any cleaner shrimp. Lesley