[Bikinisalt]

I think when there is an ick outbreak in someones tank, people tend to panic and start putting stuff in there tanks that they should not be doing. I used to do it. I think I have killed off more fish trying to do the copper thing, add treatments, do the hypo salinity thing. Now if I get a ick outbreak on one or two fish and all the others are okay, eating, swiming around and have there colors, I leave things alone, raise the temp to 90 or even 95 and within a few days all is okay.

One other thing I want to add is; Most people that have a QT tank are either to small or not biologically stable and this IMO will not work. It is just going to create stress on the fish and eventually lead to problems. When I get a new fish, I do QT the fish in a 55G tank that is almost set up like a display, fully running with a few pieces of LR, LS, wet/dry and skimmer. This tank runs 24/7 fish or not. Once I feel the fish is okay then I put it in a tank that is running off the main display tank that has no fish in it so the fish can get use to the water conditions without it getting attacked by other fish. I do this because I like large angels and I know that the possibilty of them fighting and becoming stressed out can lead to a ick outbreak.

Can fish get immuned as they get older? IMO, Yes they can.Do I think ick lives in a tank even if the fish are not infected? IMO, Yes I do, I feel as long as there is LR and LS we will always have ick in our tanks. When I disturb something like moving some rocks around or a major water change, there have been times that I wake up the next morning and my Hippo tangs are covered with ick and my Salifin Tang has little black spots, but all my other fish are okay and once I increased the water temp, it goes away in a few.