Scratching: Self defense from ich? How successful?

[HKfshkpr1]

Powder blue tang was covered with ich. I did tank transfer 5 times( no med) and he's clear. 5 days later( observation period) he was kind of hyper, jerky, and scratching. I said "Oh no! They're still on him!"

Since I saw nothing I just kept watching( no tank transfer). The next day he seemed fine and has been fine for a week. Can a tang possibly detatch ich by scratching? Will those "detatched" ich still live to reproduce since they could not feed to get mature? Thanks!

 

[JumboShrimp]

I think the experts here are going to say the scratching (flashing) is merely for temporary relief, and will cure nothing. Like blowing your nose when you have a bad cold gives you a few moments of relief, but does nothing to make you well.

 

[GoldeneyeRet]

The scratching is just scratching an itch, it doesn't really do anything to remove parasites.

The tang scratching after ttm could be that the insertion points from the parasites are just healing. Or they could be getting infected. Or your treatment could have failed. Or it could have other parasites such as flukes or velvet.

So it could be normal or could be a problem. Watch carefully!

Edit: hence the recommendations to continue qt after treatment

 

[HKfshkpr1]

The scratching is just scratching an itch, it doesn't really do anything to remove parasites.

The tang scratching after ttm could be that the insertion points from the parasites are just healing. Or they could be getting infected. Or your treatment could have failed. Or it could have other parasites such as flukes or velvet.

So it could be normal or could be a problem. Watch carefully!

Edit: hence the recommendations to continue qt after treatment

Thanks! So you are saying that fish scratch "not" because they feel ich "just got on them" but rather when the insertions get infected or healing?

 

[GoldeneyeRet]

I'm saying they scratch when they itch. Lots of things could itch including attacking attacking parasites or healing wounds. I'm also saying that scratching doesn't do anything to appreciably lower the parasitic load of an infected fish.

So, your fish could be parasite free and scratching a healing wound or it could hosting parasites which require treatment to eliminate.

Keep a close eye out for continuing symptoms. If symptoms persist, treat. If they resolve, your fish may be clear.

Best of luck!