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Unread 11/08/2017, 07:17 AM   #33
McPuff
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Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Michigan
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I think you should always have an eye toward ich management even with QT and TTM procedures in place. Subsea, I'm not disagreeing with your points about immune system. All of that is very true and one would be reckless to not think along these lines. BUT, there are two things to consider: 1) fish in the ocean do not have to worry about exponential reproduction of parasites like they do in captivity. The health of the individual does matter but it only takes one fish with a weak(er) immune system to doom the entire tank. 2) I do think it is important to be proactive with the new additions. TTM means no chemicals and uses the life cycle of ich to your advantage. It is very easy and only takes 12 days. From there, you can do whatever chemical treatments you wish (though freshwater dips are effective for some parasites as well). At the minimum, an observation period will be helpful, especially if you're putting the fish[es] into a large tank where they will be difficult to capture. For my fish, I do TTM and then put them into the refugium where I can monitor them for about a month. I'm changing it up slightly to include some medicated foods (metroplex) to ensure there are no gut parasites. Also important to look carefully for monotremes (clear!), hook worms, and isopods, etc. Those are more easily observed and remedied.

There is already a lot of information on ich in the Fish Disease forum. And you are right that people will have a very staunch stance on ich and other parasites. So I'm not sure how much it will help to post in there given what has already been written in this thread. In my opinion, this is the best of both worlds in terms of advice and information. A little proactive, chemical-free treatment, followed by immune boosting diet will go a LONG way toward ensuring the fish you add are happy and healthy!


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