andywg
Bored into leaving
Hmm, so the UV only reduces the Ich to a level that the fish can more than fight off themselves. I'm happy with that, and I still believe that UV is the quickest and most effective way of dealing with an Ich outbreak. but why is it so good in a central system but not in a single tank?
The reason given (the free floating cycle of the parasite can get from cyst to fish before going through the UV) would surely apply to a centralised system, n'est pas? In fact, if anything, I would expect the centralised system to exhibit more of the Ich surviving... It would be interesting to see how modern UV filters match up, since in 1983 they were nowhere near as advanced as they are now (Marine tanks had UGF back then!) and there was probably a far higher survival rate even for the Ich that went through the filter.
On a related point, about meds; from "Efficacy of Copper Sulfate for the Treatment of Ichthyophthiriasis in Channel Catfish" by Daniel Schlenk, Jan L. Gollon and Billy R. Griffin (published in Journal of Aquatic Animal Health 1998;10:390–396) they found that while the pH level of a tank does not greatly affect the effectiveness of Copper Sulfate, the level of Total Suspended Solids (TSS) does. However the extract does not go into any detail on it. I reckon there could be an effect here on people with new tanks having not much luck treating Ich due to the filter not trapping everything (and a high ammonia/nitrite/nitrate reading).
Incidentally, the Aquarium UVs are not designed (and will not really help) prevent algae outbreaks. I believe it is to do with the void space between the UV bulb and the water. That is also why the pond UVs aren't the best for treating Ich.
The reason given (the free floating cycle of the parasite can get from cyst to fish before going through the UV) would surely apply to a centralised system, n'est pas? In fact, if anything, I would expect the centralised system to exhibit more of the Ich surviving... It would be interesting to see how modern UV filters match up, since in 1983 they were nowhere near as advanced as they are now (Marine tanks had UGF back then!) and there was probably a far higher survival rate even for the Ich that went through the filter.
On a related point, about meds; from "Efficacy of Copper Sulfate for the Treatment of Ichthyophthiriasis in Channel Catfish" by Daniel Schlenk, Jan L. Gollon and Billy R. Griffin (published in Journal of Aquatic Animal Health 1998;10:390–396) they found that while the pH level of a tank does not greatly affect the effectiveness of Copper Sulfate, the level of Total Suspended Solids (TSS) does. However the extract does not go into any detail on it. I reckon there could be an effect here on people with new tanks having not much luck treating Ich due to the filter not trapping everything (and a high ammonia/nitrite/nitrate reading).
Incidentally, the Aquarium UVs are not designed (and will not really help) prevent algae outbreaks. I believe it is to do with the void space between the UV bulb and the water. That is also why the pond UVs aren't the best for treating Ich.
