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View Full Version : Are hosting anemone clowns better protected from ich?


fe342185
05/01/2016, 01:01 PM
I have an outbreak of ich and my tank and almost every fish has ich. Tank has had ich for 2 weeks but some fish seem to not have been affected. The yellow tang and hippo has it the worst. Sailfin is larger and i think stresses the other 2.

Infected
Yellow tang, hippo tang, sailfin tang, orange spot goby, algae blenny

Died of ich - was a healthy and eating powder blue and was stressed by sailfin.

No ich
Pair of true perculas, mandarin, 3 bangai cardinals

The host anemone is a ritteri and its away from the sand. The cardinals are always hovering mid to higher part of the tank.


My thoughts on why they are not infected:
Wondering if ich has not infected some fish since they swim away from the sand.
Clownfish better protected from ich due to protective coating that prevents them from being eaten by anemone.
Little to no stress.

Most of the fish has been trapped and transferred to a hospital tank. Hippo, mandarin and clowns has stayed away from trap but still trying.

Bruce51
05/01/2016, 04:01 PM
yea...you really need to treat all fish, even those not showing signs, and then leave tank fallow

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1992196

fe342185
05/01/2016, 04:24 PM
That is the goal right now. I hope I can get them all soon.


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snorvich
05/01/2016, 08:04 PM
Some fish will not present visible symptoms. All fish must be treated.

ThRoewer
05/02/2016, 03:26 PM
I have 4 pairs of percula. 3 pairs are immune to Cryptocaryon, while my first pair shows a spot once in a while, usually on the back.
That it only shows up on the back kind of makes it plausible that the anemone slime may offer some form of protection, likely masking the chemical signature of the fish that the tomites use to find a host.

Mandarins have a toxic slime coat that protects them fairly well against Cryptocaryon. They need to be in a pretty bad shape to get infected and sick.

Banggai cardinals seem also to be either protected or having natural immunity against Cryptocaryon. So far I haven't seen any banggais with ich.

As for "all fish must be treated" - ideally yes, but it may also work if you only treat the sick fish. It all depends on how sure you want to be that the ich is gone.

snorvich
05/02/2016, 04:08 PM
I have 4 pairs of percula. 3 pairs are immune to Cryptocaryon, while my first pair shows a spot once in a while, usually on the back.
That it only shows up on the back kind of makes it plausible that the anemone slime may offer some form of protection, likely masking the chemical signature of the fish that the tomites use to find a host.

Mandarins have a toxic slime coat that protects them fairly well against Cryptocaryon. They need to be in a pretty bad shape to get infected and sick.

Banggai cardinals seem also to be either protected or having natural immunity against Cryptocaryon. So far I haven't seen any banggais with ich.

As for "all fish must be treated" - ideally yes, but it may also work if you only treat the sick fish. It all depends on how sure you want to be that the ich is gone.

Don't forget that immune fish are usually carriers.

ThRoewer
05/02/2016, 05:30 PM
Don't forget that immune fish are usually carriers.
Fully immune fish can't be carriers.

Only partially immune fish can be carriers, and they often show some behavioral symptoms.

In my experience partially immune fish show at least occasional scratching and usually also have occasional spots (usually overlooked).
Fully immune fish never show spots nor scratching, even if other fish in the system are visibly sick.

fe342185
05/02/2016, 05:54 PM
This was what I was try to figure out. I guess there may be many opinions about this.

My thoughts and personal opinion is that maybe some fish has a better protective barrier on their skin therefore ich is not able to penetrate and attach. Stress may have a factor on how well the barrier is formed. May be coincidental but it seems like the fishes that are mostly affected happens the be the most skittish. The clowns,mandarin and cardinals do not tend to be hiders in my tank.


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ThRoewer
05/03/2016, 12:55 AM
...
My thoughts and personal opinion is that maybe some fish has a better protective barrier on their skin therefore ich is not able to penetrate and attach. Stress may have a factor on how well the barrier is formed. May be coincidental but it seems like the fishes that are mostly affected happens the be the most skittish. The clowns,mandarin and cardinals do not tend to be hiders in my tank.
...

That's not exactly how it works.

Yes, there are some fish that have better protection than others due to physiology (mandarins due to their toxic slime).
There may also be some fish species that are naturally immune/resistant (to some degree at least). Research so far says no, but nobody investigated every single species on the planet so any statement that there aren't naturally immune/resistant fish is at best an educated guess.

And yes, stress is a factor as well, but skittish does not necessarily mean stressed.

If you want to learn more about protective immunity check the linked articles in this thread: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2544292

fe342185
05/03/2016, 05:52 PM
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160503/4078829f04274b1cbf006879588dd272.jpg
So sad to see this tank with no fish. Well except for the mandarin since it's impossible to catch without taking apart everything.

So day 1 of 40 starts now.
10 Fish in a 15 gallon hospital tank. Going to be a lot of work keeping the ammonia down. Good thing every fish seems to be doing okay and all are eating.

I'm keeping the lighting low which seems to keep the stress and aggression down. Is that okay?

Thanks


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ThRoewer
05/03/2016, 07:09 PM
I would rather divide the tank to keep them from fighting.
Low light, while not harmful to the fish on its own, may cause you to not notice issues that may lead to losses at a later point.