Ich lay dormant

[Number8]

Isn't it true that even though you have a fish less tank for months and months but still with live rock and sand, ich can still be present. I'm sure their in the tank regardless of what you do. It's just how strong your fishes immunity is.

[acbaldwin]

Ich will remain in your tank unless you run it fishless (fallow) for 6-9 weeks (the longer the better), at which point, with no fish to host, it will run through its life cycle and die off completely.
I'm in the 'it's impossible to keep out' camp, and focus on keeping fish strong vs. keeping ich out.

[keepswimming]

I would go fish less if you are just setting up or restocking, start off knowing your ichless. If you do not plan on QTing your fish then dont even worry about the fishless cycle and feed with garlic to boost your fish health.

[jason142]

To make sure that your system remains ich free even after the fallow period you are going to have to QT everything before it goes into the display.

[Number8]

Well I'm just inquiring. I have no problems with ich. I was just discussing if it's really the case that ich die out. Of course copper/meds will kill off.

[jason142]

It does have a life cycle and requires a host to feed off of. It can lay dormant for months but that is why it is recommended to run a tank fishless for 6 to 8 weeks, often times it is best to run it without fish for as long as you can. I just did a fallow period of 12 weeks at the beginning of the year. I also didn't have a problem with ich until I had a MAJOR outbreak, nothing new added, nothing changed, that caused a majority of my livestock to die.