Fish Immunity / Resistance

[CivicS14]

We all hear about fish building some type of resistance or immunity to ich for a period of time. So, is it possible to purposely introduce a fish to ich then help cure it by using copper in QT to help build the fish's immunity/resistance to it? I see many hobbyist who do everything right, supposedly, with QT and hospital tanks before introducing a fish into their display to end up getting it anyways.

My past experience with diseases makes me wonder if there is a better way to help the fish become stronger and more able to fight it off on its own.

Just a thought...

 

[Rubberfrog]

Uh oh

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

We all hear about fish building some type of resistance or immunity to ich for a period of time. So, is it possible to purposely introduce a fish to ich then help cure it by using copper in QT to help build the fish's immunity/resistance to it? I see many hobbyist who do everything right, supposedly, with QT and hospital tanks before introducing a fish into their display to end up getting it anyways.

My past experience with diseases makes me wonder if there is a better way to help the fish become stronger and more able to fight it off on its own.

Just a thought...

The common thought is that acquired immunity to Cryptocaryon may only last about 6 months, so the risk/benefit is not really in favor of this. There are also cases where no immunity or resistance was ever conferred - public aquarium displays that have ongoing issues with ich for years.
Jay

 

[CivicS14]

The common thought is that acquired immunity to Cryptocaryon may only last about 6 months, so the risk/benefit is not really in favor of this. There are also cases where no immunity or resistance was ever conferred - public aquarium displays that have ongoing issues with ich for years.
Jay

I get the possibility that the immunity can only last about 6 months but I been reading a lot on Paul B's system and just started thinking is there a different approach. I have friends who never QT, they really just drop the fish right in their tank and some fish make it and some don't. However, the fish in their system rarely ever gets affected and if it does, they quickly recover. So, I was wondering what if a fish was dropped into a ich managed system, pulled back out within a few days and put in a hospital tank and treated to help cure it, then reintroduced back into the display tank, would it have a better chance?

It's just a thought...

 

[Paul B]

Remember in natural tanks where no medication or extended quarantine is used, ich will be happily living in there keeping the fish immune. Such tanks will stay immune forever as a few tanks on here as well as mine prove.
Of course the fish must be fed correctly and flakes and pellets are not it.

 

[threebuoys]

Remember in natural tanks where no medication or extended quarantine is used, ich will be happily living in there keeping the fish immune. Such tanks will stay immune forever as a few tanks on here as well as mine prove.
Of course the fish must be fed correctly and flakes and pellets are not it.

Paul B,

I've followed many of your posts since I joined R2R several months ago and I'm truly impressed with your approach and success. I think I understand your thought process concerning immunity. I don't recall, but do you advocate quarantine of new fish? I'm confused as to how a new fish introduced to your community would develop immunity to something like crypto or velvet unless they are exposed to it. I guess, if the new fish don't display the symptoms within short order after being added, you could assume the new fish were not carriers, nor would they get it in the future since the tank is clean. Or, if they do display the symptoms after being added, they will either develop the immunity just like your other fish have, or die without harming the other fish in the tank?

I yearn for a stable tank like yours, but I have a ways to go with populating my tank. When I set it up last summer, I introduced new fish directly to the tank without quarantine. I have not encountered crypto or velvet yet, but, with the investment in time and money, I'm not sure how much longer I'm willing to gamble.

BTW, I had my first tank in 1973. Just about every fish I bought had crypto then it seemed.

 

[Paul B]

Threebuoys. Good Morning. I couldn't quarantine or medicate anything If I wanted to as I don't have a small tank for anything like that. All fish in the sea have immunity. We just have to put that fish in our tank and feed it something with living bacteria in it to let it keep it's immunity and strengthen it.

Extended quarantine or medication will lessen the fishes immunity.

Of course if the fish if half dead when we get it, it will probably die.
Remember a very new tank will not be healthy no matter what you do so if you just set up the tank with dry rock and ASW you may have to quarantine for no more than 10 days maybe with copper.

But I would never do that if you used any live rock and can feed live foods like worms or at least fresh or freshly frozen clams, not from a LFS but from a fish market or supermarket.