ICH (ichythophthitirus Multifilis): Parasitic Fish Killer

White spot disease, or ICH as it is more commonly referred to, is one of those things that causes any aquarist to worry and panic. Diseases, pathogens, parasites, fungus and viruses can plague any tank at any time. Being as cautious as possible, can help to alleviate one or more of these detrimental ailments from taking place. Loss of livestock can be attributed to the number one fact that, livestock is collected from all over the world. Moreover, shipments are arriving all the time as the replenishment of store stock is trying to keep up with demand, often times causing overpopulation and the spreading of disease. Livestock is constantly being added and depleted by pet shop and aquarist similar to a revolving door. Unfavorable water quality, poor collection, shipping and handling techniques and the absence of quarantine and correct acclimation procedures often lead to the stress of livestock. This plays out negatively and can cause widespread sickness and even death of your prized possessions. ICH is one of the most commonly encountered diseases and is unfortunately a fairly easy disease for your livestock to contact it and often leads to fish loss if not rectified promptly.

The fact that ICH is present in every tank and every fish just adds to the scenario of a possible outbreak taking place. The ICH predominance can be attributed to the stresses encountered by your fish. If your fish are not stressed, then chances are your fish will not develop an onset of ICH. What starts off as flat white spots on the fins and tails of fish can quickly overtake your fish population as these spots raise above the skin and spread causing fish to rub and scratch against anything they can find to help alleviate and remove this ICH. This irritation is comparable to a mosquito bite as the parasite feeds on the blood and epithelial cells of fish. As the protozoan begins to overtake your fish, redness and bloody streaks will become evident and your fish will become lethargic, and elevated breathing will also be noticed.

As the ICH parasites engorge themselves on fish tissue and blood, they will drop out of the fish and burrow themselves in the benthic areas of an aquarium. There, they will reproduce into hundreds of baby parasites called tomites. Once these parasites grow and become hungry, they will quickly take to the pelagic areas of a tank in search of a fish host to feed upon. This cycle will persist over and over again until something is done to rectify this process, which often requires medicine. The type of medicine depends on the other inhabitants in an aquarium as invertebrates and corals are very susceptible to medicines and will die eventually. It is during the period of time that the tomites begin to leave the protection of the substrate that medications are most effective. Once the adult ICH parasites (trophozoites) take hold of and burrow in fish, they are protected from chemicals added to the aquarium water. This free swimming stage normally lasts three days.

Now to address ways in which ICH can be conquered! Treatment includes the lowering of salinity, raising of water temperature and introduction of medications for 10-14 days. Scaleless fish should be given smaller doses as full strength medicines effect scaleless fish negatively. Tangs are especially sensitive to medicines and are one of the first fish to contact ICH. When treating ICH, it is best to remove carbon as carbon will quickly absorb the medicine from the water.

The cycle that ICH takes from the initial onset through the reproduction, free swimming stage to the full circle burrowing in fish takes about two weeks. Elevated water temperatures tend to speed up the cycle. Warm water helps to speed up and reduce the amount of time your fish are suffering and medicine can be administered.

Malachite green, methylene blue and mepracrine hydrochloride are the most popular medicines available used to cure ICH. Make sure to read and follow the directions closely and continue using the medicine for the full duration(usually 14 days). If a second dosage/treatment is to be administered, a water change is advisable before starting the second treatment.

The best advice and prevention of ICH is to eliminate the stresses that can inflict damage to fish life. This can be through creating ideal water parameters, acclimation procedures, effective husbandry requirements being implemented and fish compatibility issues being addressed. A boisterous fish can wreck havoc on other tank mates causing disease and other ailments possibly leading to the death of your livestock. The thorough inspection of your livestock before purchase, quarantine of livestock for two weeks, and a balanced diet can increase the percentages of your fish living a long and healthy life in your aquarium to offer you countless hours of enjoyment.

Hopefully you never have to deal with ICH, as it can plague your livestock and cause any aquarist widespread panic. Prevention is the best medicine towards minimizing an ICH onslaught. If the ICH parasite takes gets hold of your tank, the quick treatment and isolation of this nuisance can help your infected fish make a full recovery before you lose your initial fish and more to follow.