Can they spread ich?

captmicha

captmicha

Le tired.
Dec 6, 2006
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Maryland, USA
I have a fish in my quarantine tank that has ich. I also have shrimp in that tank. If I remove the shrimp from my quarantine tank and put them in my main tank, can they carry ich over to my main tank? I'd like to remove them before I treat for ich, if at all possible.
 
I suppose it depends more on the treatment you're planning for the sick fish. If the proposed remedy (heat, medication, high salt levels etc) would harm the shrimp go ahead and move them. As I understand it every tank has ich in it at some level, just like you have germs on your skin. It only breaks out to the level of becoming visible if the fish are injured in some way or already sick with something else, or seriously stressed. The same way staph germs on your skin are only a threat to you if they get into a cut.

We like to think our show tanks are utterly pure and pristine, but hey. It's still biology. Bacteria and viruses and parasites are part of life, they're everywhere. That platitude aside, shrimp themselves are not succeptible to ich so you're going to transfer more parasite cysts with the water on them than on the shrimp themselves.

Or better yet you could pack up the shrimp and send them to stay with me. They're welcome to stay as long as they like. I have a nice planted tank with nothing in it right now but a juvie endler, they'd love it. Think it over. :)

best of luck to the sickly one..
 
Shrimp can't carry Ich, but there may be free-swimming parasites in any water you transfef from one tank to another. Best bet is to net out the shrimp and shake any excess drops loose before turning them loose in the new tank.
If the fish and shrimp can withstand 86 F you don't need to use meds at all. Just crank up the heat and leave it there until a few days after you see the last of the spots on the fish. Salt is optional, I don't know how it would affect shrimp, but it's not necessary if you get the temp high enough.
 
shrimp dont cary ich but ide kill the ick in the water before you move the shrimp just in case
if you want to add salt we need to know what shrimp were talking about here, if its something like ghost or amano shrimp ive droped those in high brackish water (no aclimation, feeders) and they did fine for months if its something more fancy ide be a little worried but theyd probably do fine
 
I thought setting the temp to 86 will just speed up the life cycle of the ich parasite, not kill it. ???

In the tank, there are two Ottos, glass/ghost shrimp, a platy, and a dwarf african clawed frog.
 
That is correct raising the temp doesnt' kill them it speeds up the life cycle but the salt levels keep the eggs from hatching. So when the adults die quicker because of the sped up life cycle and the eggs don't hatch you get left with a bunch of dead old ich and dead eggs.

The shrimp can have it on them but it won't be attacking them more like hitch hiking. What about putting the shrimp in a big bowl of temp matched water. Letting them swim around for 15 minutes or so to get the ich off. Then put them in the tank. Really the risk is hitch hikers. Much like when you buy a plant you end up getting snails. You have to be careful, I would guess your chances of transfering the ich is much lower than snails on plants though as I always seem to get snails from plants.
 
The free-swimming stage of the parasite can't withstand 86 F, that alone is enough to kill them. Just make sure there's sufficient circulation of the water to keep enough O2 at the higher temp. Nothing will affect them (w/out affecting the fish) while they're embedded on the fish though, they're only vulnerable after they break out of the cysts. They are also quite sensitive to osmotic pressure, and salt in the water will actually dehydrate them rather quickly. I'd move the frog temporarily, they don't do well with salt at all.
 
If only the free floating stage are killed by high temps, what is to keep the eggs from entering into a kind of dormancy for cooler conditions to hatch?
 
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