This is categorically untrue. There's nothing inherently stressful about a fish being in quarantine. If there is, the quarantine tank is not properly set up. Additionally, while medications and copper treatments can be stressful, if done properly, the treatments needn't (and shouldn't) be "constant."
There's nothing excessive or "die-hard" about recommending a 76+ fallow period. If you want to be sure the tank is completely ich-free, you must do it. Something happened here where that either wasn't enough or the parasite wasn't completely eradicated from the fish, but this is an unusual case. Any advice that does not involve 76 days of fallow after ich is advocating for ich management over ich eradication. While I would personally never go the ich management route, that is what some reefers choose to do. If that's what the OP chooses to do, that's their decision. Let's just be very clear about what we're advocating when we give advice. If you're advising against 76 days of fallow, then you're advising that the tank have ich forever and the aquarist must take special steps to manage it.
My post was directed exactly toward tge reefer diehards like you.
"Nothing inherently stressful about a fish being in quarantine" - Really? Brainwash as well as illogical if one thinks even a little about it from the fish perspective.
"Something happened here where that either wasn't enough or the parasite wasn't completely eradicated from the fish, but this is an unusual case. " - Not as unusual as you're making it seem. Many of our best local reefers have gone through what OP has, chasing that holy grail of ich free only to have:
1. Ich reappear in DT on powder blues or other highly suspectible livestock, driving themselves and their family crazy as they catch all the fish for another 90+ days and throw into an ugly tub sitting in the living room.
2. Through this process they manage to stress out even more livestock that die. Some then blame "velvet" or other disease that may have been introduced after they forgot to powerwash the LFS water from under their finger nails /inside that clams guts.
3. Scratching their heads and going crazy, they realize they haven't sat down and enjoyed their tank for going on half a year, maybe almost a year. Then they get burned out and quit the hobby.
In the end, do the best you can do and hopefully you can limit stressors to the point your fish can eat their way back to health. Im all about ich management, if that isnt clear at this point lol.
But OP, don't drive yourself crazy chasing this grail. If you keep doing this you'll get burned out and very likely have just as many many fatalities re-catching and dosing the hell out of all your livestock.
