Ich vs cleaner crew ....question.

[Stuginski]

Hi reefers...

Ok, we know that ich can stay latent in rocks, media, pumps for months.

I think that Ich can stay in latent form in the shells of hermints and snails too for a while, right?

So...how can I treat my cleaner crew ?

Hypo? Cupramine???

Thankś guys

Hails form Brazil

D.

[downbeach]

If there are no fish in the tank just give it about 6 weeks before adding any fish. By having no fish in the tank, just let the tank go about its daily routine, i.e., feed the corals, and do normal tank maintenance.
With no fish in the tank, any Tomonts that hatch will not have any fish to attach to and start feeding to grow into adults.
The reason the tank must remain without fish for 6 weeks, is that the Tomont stage can take up to 28 days to hatch out, if it is a different species, it could take longer. With this being the longest stage of the parasite, it will take the longest to "cure".
So, no med's or hypo, save that for the hospital tank.

[h2so4hurts]

The risk of transferring ich from hermit shells is very low. In a freak circumstance, its certainly possible. Protomonts fall off of the fish while they're sleeping and encyst to form tomonts over a couple of hours. If there's a crab or something hanging out below the fish, then it's possible but not likely that the tomont will form on a crab/snail. QTing your cleaner crew is a step beyond what I would consider practical, but some may disagree with me :)

[Stuginski]

Thank´s for your help.

I'm treating all my fishes right now before introduce in a new tank. I really don´t want to risky everything due to a cleaner crew harbouring any phase of parasite over the shells. If a rock or sand or some media are able to harbor this guys, and we are taking care to don´t transfer this things to a free area I was thinking...what should we do with ours cleaner crew?


Best regards. Hails from Brazil...
D.

[h2so4hurts]

If you're worried, set up a separate system and let your cleaner crew hang out in there for 9 weeks. Any living ich should burn itself out by then.