Ich From Petco Sealed Plants?

[trianglekitty]

I recently bought a number of plants from our local Petco because they are going out of business and everything was on sale. These are plants that come in a sealed plastic container, with gel at the bottom to keep the plant alive. Point being they aren't from a tank.

I thought such plants would be pretty safe- I'd figured they'd probably been in that container longer than 48 hours and so wouldn't carry the ich parasite like some live plants from tanks can do.

24 hours after I put the plants in, my gourami has white spots and is flashing. I added salt and raised his temp, and hopefully that will knock it out quick- the last time I had ich, heat and salt were the only things that worked after a week of messing with meds.

For future reference, how does a sealed plant that has been out of water for at least 2 days (I didn't even put them in the tank until the second day) infect my fish? I thought ich couldn't live off the host for long. Any tips for adding plants for the future, keeping in mind I don't have an extra tank? Any rinse or such I can do?

 

[KittyKat]

It is very, very unlikely that the plants caused the ich. Most likely cause would have been you planting the plants and thus bothering the fish. I think it is relatively safe to assume that almost every aquarium contains ich, but that it is "dormant" (someone, correct me if I am wrong?).

Did you wash off most of the gel before putting the plants in the tank?

 

[trianglekitty]

It is very, very unlikely that the plants caused the ich. Most likely cause would have been you planting the plants and thus bothering the fish. I think it is relatively safe to assume that almost every aquarium contains ich, but that it is "dormant" (someone, correct me if I am wrong?).

Did you wash off most of the gel before putting the plants in the tank?

I did wash off all the gel, and rinsed the plants in tank water. From my understanding, though, ich doesn't stay in the tank....it has to be brought in from an outside source, which is what I don't understand in this situation. The gourami is by himself, with no exposure to other fish. The other thing I've added have been the plants, which I agree don't seem like a likely source.

I got my Ich information from here:

http/www.skepticalaquarist.com/docs/health/ich.shtml

Is this site wrong about ich existing for long periods without being active?

Also, the fish is used to me doing water changes every day and eats from my hand- I wouldn't think putting in some plants would upset him.

 

[KittyKat]

No, that link is correct and I am wrong in this case. That website is generally very accurate.

Still, even according to that the plants should not have brought in ich.

Is it possible that the fish has always had *some* amount of ich, but it is only just broken out into a serious infection? How long have you had him for? What is the normal water temperature?

 

[trianglekitty]

No, that link is correct and I am wrong in this case. That website is generally very accurate.

Still, even according to that the plants should not have brought in ich.

Is it possible that the fish has always had *some* amount of ich, but it is only just broken out into a serious infection? How long have you had him for? What is the normal water temperature?

I've had him for about 6 months now. He was in with some guppies, and there was a serious outbreak of ich in the tank a few months back. However, that time around the gourami was the only fish NOT infected. I moved the guppies, but he ended up staying behind in the smaller tank until the bigger one is fully cycled. I was going to move him next week, but I don't want him infecting all the other fish, so I really want to figure out what's going on here.

My understanding of that site is that the ich doesn't stay in the fish either- that there is no dormant state for it. I'm thinking of, say, feline herpes, which my cat has- it randomly reappears and causes symptoms, but the rest of the time he's fine. I thought ich wasn't like that, but I could be totally wrong- I'm still very new to fish keeping.

 

[KittyKat]

Is it possible that the fish has always had *some* amount of ich, but it is only just broken out into a serious infection? How long have you had him for? What is the normal water temperature?

I've had him for about 6 months now. He was in with some guppies, and there was a serious outbreak of ich in the tank a few months back. However, that time around the gourami was the only fish NOT infected. I moved the guppies, but he ended up staying behind in the smaller tank until the bigger one is fully cycled. I was going to move him next week, but I don't want him infecting all the other fish, so I really want to figure out what's going on here.

So was he ever treated against the ich?

My understanding of that site is that the ich doesn't stay in the fish either- that there is no dormant state for it. I'm thinking of, say, feline herpes, which my cat has- it randomly reappears and causes symptoms, but the rest of the time he's fine. I thought ich wasn't like that, but I could be totally wrong- I'm still very new to fish keeping.

Ich goes between fish and water (usually the gravel). I am going to try to explain what I mean, but I will use "spots" in an attempt to quantify it for the sake of simplicity (so just treat what as I say as an example, not reality) and while we await for a reply about the above, I will assume that he or the tank he is in were not treated against ich.
Let us assume that when there was an outbreak of ich, the gourami did get it, but he was relatively immune to it so only got one "spot". This "spot" burst, the ich lived in the gravel for a while, then came back to the fish (again, the fish was relatively immune, so got only one "spot"). This happens a few times. Suddenly, something stresses the fish and his immune system is weakened (for whatever reason) and he is not able to fight off the ich so it attacks him in full force so he suddenly develops a lot of "spots" and you see that he has come out in ich.

Possible option?

 

[trianglekitty]

Ah, I see, that makes sense and does sound likely. The tank was treated, though...I did two courses of IchCure, but the guppies were still infected. I then raised the temp to 82 (tank is normally at 79)and added salt. That took care of the visible cysts within 24 hours. I kept the temp raised and continued with salt treatment for 4 days, just to be on the safe side.

I do know that some forms of ich are hardier than others, so maybe I have a strain that is harder to kill? If that's the case, what can I do to make sure this fish is completely free of it before I move him?

Thanks so much for your help- you explained that very well.

 

[KittyKat]

The only way is continuous treatment for 4+ days after ich is gone.. just to be sure, for a week after all signs of ich are gone would be even better.