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Marine Ich (Cryptocarton Irritans)
Ich (also spelled Ick) is one of the most common maladies found in salt water aquariums. It is seen as white salt-like specks on the body and fins of fish. Other symptoms include excessive slime, problems breathing (because ich invades the gills), clamped fins and loss of appetite. The saltwater version of ich involves four stages of life compared to the three stages in freshwater.
In the trophont stage the parasites are growing in the skin and gills of the fish and appear as white nodules. Ich will usually spend 5-7 days in this stage depending on the water temperature. Once it reaches maturity, the parasite will leave the fish.
In the protomont stage the adult parasite spends several hours crawling around the tank and creating a sticky slime coating around its body. This sticky coating helps the parasite cling to the substrate or aqua-scaping where it goes into its cyst stage.
In the tomont stage (or cyst stage) there is a rapid cell division in the adult parasite. Each parasite will divide into hundreds of baby parasites. The stage will last anywhere from 3-28 days depending on water conditions and ends with the hatching of the new parasites.
In the theront stage the baby parasites going into a free swim mode and searches for a new host. The new parasites must find a new host within 24 hours or they will die. Once a new host is found the cycle starts all over again.
To rid your tank of ich it is recommended that you use a combination of chemicals, temperature and water changes. Remember that each stage of ich is shortened when you increase the temperature in the tank. The chemicals recommended for treatment include; copper, formalin and a combination of the two. Follow the instructions listed on the package for each medication.
To treat for ich using the water change method complete a 50% water change daily for 14 days. This change will not harm your fish as long as salinity and temperature are the same. There are other more complicated methods that involve placing the fish in a lower salinity but this method is risky because you have to re-acclimatize the fish to the higher salt content before you can reintroduce the fish to the tank.