Do corals harbor ich?

[bluecoyote79]

I got two corals in with an unknown flatworm on them. I dipped them and the worms came off, but to be safe I put them in my small QT tank with my two new flasher wrasses. Now one of the wrasses is showing signs of ich and I want to treat them with cupramine.

I'm afraid of putting the corals in the DT tank for fear of introducing ich or flatworms. Can the corals harbor ich? If I dipped them in Bayer insecticide would that be sufficient to kill anything on them? I don't have room for a second QT so not sure how to proceed.

[bluecoyote79]

anyone?

[fairladyZ]

the chances are small but yes a coral can introduce ich.. When ich drops down off the fish it finds a place to encrust and spawn. It could have attached to the coral.. A Bayer dip will not kill the parasite as far as i know or have read.

[Newsmyrna80]

Anything wet can act as a vector for any parasite or disease. There is no dip that can kill ich, brook, velvet or uronema without damaging the coral. While the chance of transference may be low it's been known to happen. I personally quarantine all corals and inverts for 72 days.

[snorvich]

Anything wet can act as a vector for any parasite or disease. There is no dip that can kill ich, brook, velvet or uronema without damaging the coral. While the chance of transference may be low it's been known to happen. I personally quarantine all corals and inverts for 72 days.

This. Water taken from a system that has fish would present a risk. So if the coral comes from such a system, the water may present problems.

[bluecoyote79]

I guess I'll bite the bullet and set up 2 glass 5g tanks tomorrow and do the tank transfer method. So long kitchen counter....reefing in a small apartment has its challenges.

[Newsmyrna80]

Tank transfer will not work with corals or inverts.

[snorvich]

Tank transfer will not work with corals or inverts.

Correct. Tank transfer is designed around the front end of the ich life cycle. It will not prevent the back end of the life cycle from completion.