Black ich

[Beverly]

JT,

Here is what ATJ from RC has to say about black ich:

"Black Ich" is caused by turbellaria - a type of flatworm. While the organism itself is nothing like the parasite that causes marine "Ich", the life cycles are similar. The turbellaria feed on the host for around 6 days and then drop off move into the substrate. They then brood for 3 or 4 days where they can produce up to 160 juveniles. After the 2 to 4 days, the adults body ruptures and the juveniles released. The juveniles are infective and seek out fish to infect.

Numbers of parasites can build very quickly and can result in the death of the fish as you have seen.

As the life cycle is around 10 days, you need to wait longer that 2 weeks for them to die off in the main tank - and also general quarantine. You should leave your tank without fish for at least 6 weeks. This should ensure that most of the parasite will have died off.

Treatment for fish infected with turbellaria is with a formalin bath.

It is good that you quarantined your fish, but you need to extend the quarantine period to at least 6 weeks to ensure that any parasites or disease present show up before you move the fish to the main tank.

This quote is taken from the following page:

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...ight=black+ich