crypto tomonts

[syd]

Hi Terry-I've enjoyed the 2 articles on Cryptocarion, and am looking forward to more Do you know if tomonts can adhere to fish scales as well as tank walls, etc? I ask this because it affects timing of treatment. If tomonts stick to scales or skin, then moving fish to a clean tank moves trophonts AND tomonts, which means I'll have to leave fish in treatment longer (until tomonts hatch). If they dont stick to fish, then I can save 3 days, and treat only until the trophonts die of old age.
I am considering 2 treatments: lower salinity 9 days until trophonts die of old age, then move fish to a clean tank; alternatively, whack fish, soft tomonts, and theronts with 100ppm formalin for 2 hours (8am-10am), then move fish to clean tank evry 3 days to beat tomont hatch until day 9, when all the trophonts should be dead from old age. Do either of these have merit? Is there a better way? My tanks hold 15,000 liters of seawater. Thanks, Syd

 

[Terry B]

Hi Syd,
I am happy to hear that you appreciate the series and that you look forward to reading the coming installments. I have heard of one unconfirmed report of tomonts attaching to gill tissue. It is generally believed that tomonts do not attach to live fish. Tomonts can attach to almost any hard surface including rock, sand, glass and equipment. Trophonts do not die of old age; they mature and fall off the fish before they enter the tomont stage.
It sounds like you would like to use a combination of treatments to try to shorten the duration of therapy. Hyposalinity is quite effective without combining it with any other treatments. Formalin is not that effective and it should only be used as a short-term bath. You may find this link helpful in explaining how to use formaldehyde and when it is appropriate to use it to treat fish disease. http://www.petsforum.com/cis-fishnet/se ... SS1601.htm. Formalin is very dangerous to fish and to humans so it should not be used unless necessary and only if you fully understand how to use it. There are better ways to treat ich that are more effective and less stressful to the fish than using formalin.
Moving the fish every three days will work to out-run the parasite. Unfortunately, all the handling and subsequent stress associated with the transfer method translates into a less than satisfactory survival rate. You can theoretically cure the fish by moving them every third day (for a total of 4 moves) to a different container. I worked out some ways to improve or refine the transfer method that should yield better results. I detailed this new or hybrid method in part five of the series. The reef tank must remain fallow (without fish) for a minimum of 30 days to rid the tank of the parasite regardless of what treatment that you use on the fish.
It was once believed that a nine day treatment was long enough to cure ich. In some instances, this can be true. However, too many variables make such a short treatment period risky at best. There are several different variants or strains of Cryptocaryon irritans and there can be deviations from strain to strain in the life cycle, effects of temperature and all the tomonts do not hatch in a timely manner. I think that we would all like to discover a quicker, easier treatment for CI. Unfortunately, taking shortcuts is a risky proposition, especially in such a large system.
Hyposalinity is still the treatment of choice IMO. If the system does not contain live rock, or invertebrates then you could shorten the treatment period to three weeks by using hyposalinity right in the display. I am sure that you have access to a refractometer to measure the salinity. Don’t forget to check the alkalinity daily and add a buffer as needed.
Terry Bartelme

 

[syd]

Thanks Terry, that helps. Syd