Can Ich Survive in Freshwater

Pneumatic_Addict · Mar 24, 2022

I’ve read a few articles where they dance around the topic. Came out more confused and less certain than I went in.

Not Freshwater dips, not hyposalinity. Talkin good ‘ol straight RO water. No fish Coral or rock present, obviously.

Can Ich survive and for what duration?

For more context: Im draining a 55 QT and refilling with straight FW. Running it for a few days for good measure, then adding salt and cycling from there.

Sharkbait19 · Mar 24, 2022

Marine Ich won’t survive freshwater - hence why hyposalinty is used to treat (that salinity is not freshwater but low enough to kill ich) and why freshwater dips can offer relief.
It will live on rocks and even coral, so those will have to be taken care of as well - usually through a fallow.
May I ask why you don’t just fallow the tank if dealing with a past ich outbreak?

Pneumatic_Addict · Mar 24, 2022

Sharkbait19 said:
Marine Ich won’t survive freshwater - hence why hyposalinty is used to treat (that salinity is not freshwater but low enough to kill ich) and why freshwater dips can offer relief.
It will live on rocks and even coral, so those will have to be taken care of as well - usually through a fallow.
May I ask why you don’t just fallow the tank if dealing with a past ich outbreak?

Right. It’s a Marine Organism. No reason it should have any life expectancy in FW. Thank you.

It’s a QT. Not an established DT. I wouldn't fallow for months when I could just drain, fill & start over in a week.

Spardas · Mar 24, 2022

I think the OP wants to quickly restart.

Can't you just clean the tank completely along with the equipments? Bleach or Vinegar solution will do.

Sharkbait19 · Mar 24, 2022

Pneumatic_Addict said:
Right. It’s a Marine Organism. No reason it should have any life expectancy in FW. Thank you.

It’s a QT. Not an established DT. I wouldn't fallow for months when I could just drain, fill & start over in a week.

Yeah a qt is a quick clean - I was thinking you were talking about a dt.
Bleaching is also an option but I can’t imagine any ich being left after more than a week in fw. Though the egg stage has strong resistance, I’d expect full fresh would kill that too.

nessjosh · Jan 24, 2023

How did this work for you? I have a brand new cycled 200g, go to put my first fish in that i thought were QT'd and i see ich on its fins in the better 200g tank lighting. I was able to pull that fish a day later from the DT. No coral, no inverts no nothing just a fish with ich was introduced. I was thinking of draining it, and letting freshwater sit in it for a couple days then condition that water and start the cycle over. ( Dr Tims, so its only 12 days for $80 on an 200g) How does my plan sound?

Weeb · Jan 24, 2023

nessjosh said:
How did this work for you? I have a brand new cycled 200g, go to put my first fish in that i thought were QT'd and i see ich on its fins in the better 200g tank lighting. I was able to pull that fish a day later from the DT. No coral, no inverts no nothing just a fish with ich was introduced. I was thinking of draining it, and letting freshwater sit in it for a couple days then condition that water and start the cycle over. ( Dr Tims, so its only 12 days for $80 on an 200g) How does my plan sound?

As long as there are no 'hidden pockets' of saltwater left, this should work. The freshwater has to reach all areas, and all the substrate & rocks. Might require some stirring and lifting of rocks. Not sure what you mean by "condition that water" so that would be the only concern. Is freshwater what you add to the artificial salt?

nessjosh · Jan 25, 2023

Weeb said:
As long as there are no 'hidden pockets' of saltwater left, this should work. The freshwater has to reach all areas, and all the substrate & rocks. Might require some stirring and lifting of rocks. Not sure what you mean by "condition that water" so that would be the only concern. Is freshwater what you add to the artificial salt?

I'd use straight city tap water first which has fluorides and chloramines. By condition the water, I meant adding a dechlorinator or stabilizer so it makes tap water fish safe. Then I'd add salt to make it saltwater. I'll make sure to stir the sand bed and I already drained the rear overflow of all saltwater. I'm going to run it for a few days with tap water and make sure the sump is higher volume than normal.