Catfish eat FW Ich... worth a discussion?

[Gweeds1980]

I came across this article, whilst I appreciate that it relates to FW ich, which is an entirely different species to cryptcaryon irritans, the similarities in their lifecycle made me wonder if any similar research had been done in SW fish?

http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/blog/articles/do-catfish-eat-whitespot-research-says-maybe

I am familiar with biofilms and certain fishes ability to eat it, but I wasn't aware that FW ich at least, preferred biofilm as opposed to bare substrates.

So, a few questions for discussion...

1. Does cryptocaryon irritans also prefer to encyst on biofilm?

2. Do we have any reef safe fish which feed on biofilm?

3. Do we know if any research has already been done in a SW environment?

I know this isn't the 'reef safe cure' for ich, but in terms of ich management the 60%+ reduction in ich witnessed in FW has to be of interest.

 

[Damien Buckley]

I came across this article, whilst I appreciate that it relates to FW ich, which is an entirely different species to cryptcaryon irritans, the similarities in their lifecycle made me wonder if any similar research had been done in SW fish?

http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/blog/articles/do-catfish-eat-whitespot-research-says-maybe

I am familiar with biofilms and certain fishes ability to eat it, but I wasn't aware that FW ich at least, preferred biofilm as opposed to bare substrates.

So, a few questions for discussion...

1. Does cryptocaryon irritans also prefer to encyst on biofilm?

2. Do we have any reef safe fish which feed on biofilm?

3. Do we know if any research has already been done in a SW environment?

I know this isn't the 'reef safe cure' for ich, but in terms of ich management the 60%+ reduction in ich witnessed in FW has to be of interest.

That's really interesting but honestly I'm shocked that in 2017 we still don't have any real reef-safe cures for cryptocaryon.

 

[Damien Buckley]

Do Cleaner wrasses or shrimp eat cryptocaryon?

 

[Gweeds1980]

Do Cleaner wrasses or shrimp eat cryptocaryon?

No, they eat the dead skin around the parasite, but it's too far embedded to eat the actual parasites.

 

[Gweeds1980]

@Humblefish #reefsquad

 

[caelanuk]

Neon gobies, cleaner wrasses and shrimp I read will feed on white spot and some other external parasites. Would always run a UV sterilizer on a marine system personally to destroy them before they can reattach to fish.

 

[Gweeds1980]

Neon gobies, cleaner wrasses and shrimp I read will feed on white spot and some other external parasites. Would always run a UV sterilizer on a marine system personally to destroy them before they can reattach to fish.

They wont... they eat the dead skin around the insertion point, making it appear that the spot has gone... it's not the parasite we see, it's just this dead skin.

I was more thinking of fish or animals that might feed on the biofilm and ingest parasites that way, during the tormont stage...

Starfish and urchins spring to mind... I wonder if this is why we can't seem to keep linckia alive? Perhaps they only feed on ich cysts lol.

 

[caelanuk]

They wont... they eat the dead skin around the insertion point, making it appear that the spot has gone... it's not the parasite we see, it's just this dead skin.

I was more thinking of fish or animals that might feed on the biofilm and ingest parasites that way, during the tormont stage...

Starfish and urchins spring to mind... I wonder if this is why we can't seem to keep linckia alive? Perhaps they only feed on ich cysts lol.

Think best way is as I said with UV sterilizer for ich cysts.

 

[Gweeds1980]

Think best way is as I said with UV sterilizer for ich cysts.

Problem is that UV only kills the free swimming stage... not the cysts... if you could add something which naturally reduced the cysts before they released theronts that'd be a big boost to managing ich population. As the study referenced in the link states, in FW ich over 60% lower infection rate when plecs were used...

 

[caelanuk]

Problem is that UV only kills the free swimming stage... not the cysts... if you could add something which naturally reduced the cysts before they released theronts that'd be a big boost to managing ich population. As the study referenced in the link states, in FW ich over 60% lower infection rate when plecs were used...

An ich cyst can not stand the change of salanity in the water as well as fish. This could be done when quarantined. This would be preventative rather than a cure to the problem. In a reef system you suggest star fish or urchins could have a similar effect. My thoughts on this are more with detrivores such as bristle worm brittle stars various snails ect. Good water quality will keep the fish in good health and give the best chance of preventing an infestation.

 

[Gweeds1980]

Thanks for all the replies... I'm not talking here about how we could manage ich in general, but specifically if any similar studies have been carried out in a salty environment.

The ability to control ich cyst population inna similar way to using tangs to control algae is a very interesting one... we all know what happens if you take all the herbivores off the reef... now imagine that algae was ich in your tank...

We're not talking about cleaner wrasse eating a few ich parasites here (not that they do anyway) but rather a biological control of ich which could reduce the population by up to 60%... that's really significant!

 

[Humblefish]

@Gweeds1980 I'd have to dig through Google Scholar to be sure, but I have not seen any studies regarding Cryptocaryon and biofilm. Occasionally I run across some oddball study that seems to have promise, but there is always a catch. What helped control parasites in a culture plate or small volume of water would be impractical if done in a large reef tank.