Do Corals help with ICH managment?

[Miller535]

Could they eat them at a specific stage, possibly. And while possibly its pretty unlikely imo. But would they eat them in any meaningful way to stop ich, absolutely not. Want proof? Look at all the constant pretty much daily post on reef2reef of "help I have ich", of almost all have corals in their tank.

 

[154162]

So I voted no at first, but then read the your post rev, and then was like ok yeah maybe... thing is corals eat food, but do they eat parasites??? Like wild animals know not to eat poisonous berries

But also one point I would also make after thinking about this, is that having corals probably make the fish feel more at home and therefore less stressed, which is a huge factor with ich

 

[vetteguy53081]

Pac-Man coral eats ich !!
Proof:

LOL

 

[Tek]

We need to kill myths and stick to science. I’ve been in the hobby long enough to hear it all and this is a new one.

 

[Isabel’s Hobby]

IMO I have no clue if there is a coral what eats that ... but my personal fave is definitely a cleaner wrasse .... best fish ever !

 

[Alaeriel]

I think theoretically they can eat some free-swimmers, but ich replicates into so many theronts it would just be a negligible unlucky few who got munched.

 

[Raymuaythai]

So this question of the day comes to us as a suggestion from one of our R2R family members and to be honest it's pretty intriguing to me. ICH is a fish disease that we all hate and have probably dealt with or will deal with at some point in time. I'm not going to go into detail about ICH because most of us know about it and if you don't then here you go!

ICH has several stages of life which involve being attached to the fish, free swimming or attached to objects. So here is the idea. If corals eat food in the water column then what stops them from eating "free swimming" ICH or ICH that has fallen off of the fish? Its also suggested that people with a mature reef tank, full of coral colonies, do not experience outbreaks of ICH like others and especially like those who have FO or FOWLR tanks. So let's talk about it today!


Do you think that corals will eat ICH and do you think there is any merit to the thought that corals can help manage ICH?


beautiful reef tank via @robert s b.

I don't really know if it does or doesn't. So I voted I don't know... I been dealing with ICH for two months now! I tried just about everything, and when I thought it was over, BAM!!! One of fish gets it! But I can say this, all my fish are swimming and eating well, but I have noticed they only get for two days and then it's gone. So I don't know. But I would like to know if they do eat or not. Thanks.

 

[kkelly007]

I voted "no" based on the way the question was phrased: ANY MERIT TO THE THOUGHT THAT CORALS HELP MANAGE ICH

I think that it is possible, maybe even likely, that corals consume free swimming tomonts/tomites--cannot think of a reason why they wouldn't. With that said, to suggest that a tank full of corals is an effective ich management strategy seems to be the stretch of all stretches. How many fully loaded reef tanks have we read about on these forums where ich sneaks into a tank via a fish that has not been properly quarantined, or as a hitchhiker on a frag plug. Once ich begins to do its thing, I cannot see how corals could make a dent in its multiplication especially as they exist in different life stages all throughout your tank. If anyone subscribes to the theory of corals eating free floaters in sufficient numbers to mitigate risk to fish, I would recommend a UV sterilizer with a strong pump as a much more effective approach. Just my opinion and it's an interesting question though.

 

[terraincognita]

This would however also have to include the free swimming ICH to go into the corals mouth to be eaten.

I think the chances of this happening to be able to “cure” ich for your tank are not quantifiable without scientific research

However seeing as several inverts will eat it off the fish in that stage I absolutely believe Cora could easily digest it in the free swimming stage.

But again it only takes 1 tomonts/tomites to get away to reinfect the tank. So I don’t think it’s really a good way to cure treat it?

 

[thrasher]

I vote yes ( most likely) however, most tanks with large reefs are also being cared for by hobbyists with good habits and husbandry . Because of those habits - better water quality, better diet, and proper population ( i.e. Tangs have space to move ) fish are in better health and less stressed so their immune systems are better and they can fight it if/when they are exposed.

 

[Calm Blue Ocean]

I admit my knee jerk response was no way, having read many times that corals (and anything else wet) are a way of bringing ich into your tank! But now I'm not sure. I can't think now of any reason corals wouldn't at least try to eat ich, but perhaps it can survive being eaten, just as it can survive certain attempts at treatment? Certainly a fascinating question, though. I love how this hobby is still asking questions and learning.

 

[rmay6850]

My question after this discussion is “did online coral sales spike since it started”

 

[JustJoan]

I said Maybe. I said this because about 2 months ago i had a really bad case of ich on my four fish in my reef tank. I treated that tank before i read that corals do not like ich medicine. I was able to catch or trap 3 of my fish and put them in quarantine. The fourth fish i was unable to catch or trap. A red damsel. I told him that he is just going to die then. two weeks later, he had no more ich. I waited another month, then put the rest of the fish back into the tank. No more ich. That red damsel was loaded with them. I can't explain it.

 

[stephen wyard]

I vote no because ich is a parasite which coral have no interest with.So they are neutral and don't effect it in any way.

 

[JustJoan]

I look at it this way. I hate lamb. But if all that is available is lamb, I'm gonna eat it.

 

[MnFish1]

We need to kill myths and stick to science. I’ve been in the hobby long enough to hear it all and this is a new one.

Its actually been discussed many times. It also makes sense - in a certain sense - since 'something' must eat CI in the wild. I said 'maybe' - only because my guess is that it doesnt eat 'enough' - to change the dynamic of CI disease in the aquarium. Here is a nice article - (i.e. science

Coral Feeding: An Overview

At present, several factors which influence the growth of scleractinian corals in aquaculture have been identified. These are known as light, water flow, water quality, and nutrition. This article will focus on nutrition, and describe the various ways in which corals feed. It will summarize the...

reefs.com

 

[amarcini]

I didn’t know it’s a thing. I thought that ICH was an ever present parasite and stress brings it out. I’m not an expert though. I just use an uv sterilizer.

 

[pdxmonkeyboy]

I recently read a study where clams were able to eliminate bacteria in the water column.. vibrio comes to mind, so a clam could help reduce ich tormonts or theronts or whatever the motile phase is called.

 

[RC79ATC]

I would vote a definite maybe...I would think both the drop off stage and the free swimming stage would be susceptible to coral predation, at least to a point.

Unless there is some scientific proof that ich in these stages is unpalatable, it would seem only logical.

But lets not mistake corals eating ich for corals controlling or eradicating ich.

 

[waterskiguy]

Not really thinking about the grand scheme of things; I said no because I don't feel like I don't have any experience that tells me otherwise.

After pondering the idea, I also feel like there may be some validity to this idea. That corals quite possibly eat the "cystic" form of ich, as it finds a place to settle, therefore managing overall numbers in the tank. I guess this may be reason why a lot of people say that tangs do better in an established aquarium?? I've heard a lot of people reefer (LOL) to water chemistry, as the reasoning behind this, but it very well could be one, the other or both.