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I am completing a treatment of Maricide for Ich which was highly effective (loss two Otos and everyone else survived including the Clown Loaches). What do I do with my equipment that may have become contaminated prior to the Ich becoming visible. For this tank, I have buckets, a net, a syphon, an algae scraper. For this tank and my other, I have the Python. I am particularly concerned with the Python as it is used with both tanks, though it only touched the water a little bit (I import the water with the Python but extract it with a regular syphon into a bucket). So how do I clean this equipment? I wondered about putting it through my dishwasher on hot but figured the long tubes wouldn't necessarily get completely "de-iched." Thanks for any help -

Don't assume the ich is gone yet as it goes into a lifecycle phase that may appear to be gone. Watch carefully and make sure you have followed Maracides treatment plan for ich, including any rest and followup dosing. Ich falls from the fish to the tank floor where it develops into many more ich that hatch, swim and look for a fish host. When it falls, people think it is gone when it is there. Ich meds are most effective when delivered while the ich is in the freeswimming stage, freshly hatched and looking for a new host. In the coming days, check several times daily for even a single spot and redose immediately. This means there are literally hundreds if not thousands of freeswimmers looking for other hosts. Within a day, they could be encased on the fish again - too late for the med to kill them. Just thought I'd mention this.

On cleanup, I would hook the python up to the source and hold the return going back into the same sink or some other place it can drain (bathtub, laundry tub). Run the hottest water you can through there for a while. Hot tap water should be good enough, not warm, but hot.

Other tools and such can be soaked in a bucket of hot tap water that is oversalinated. So, like dissolve a cup of freshwater aquarium salt into your buckets and soak the stuff in there. Make sure the salt is fully dissolved before you add stuff as the rock type (doc wellfish) takes time, but dissolves pretty fast in hot water. You may want to stick the wide tube end of the python into this solution, after you have run hot water through it to make sure the tub is covered.

Its good you are thinking about not cross contaminating. I have built up a collection of several tools so each tank has its own. But pyton's are expensive. For smaller tanks, I just use small hoses.

Last edited by Cory_Di at 13-Jan-2005 18:49

Last edited by Cory_Di at 13-Jan-2005 18:49

Be advised that ich is a parasite, not a virus and cannot live once out of water...

All equipment left to completely dry is safe for reuse.

--garyroland.

Thank you Cory Di and GaryRoland for your assistance. I will keep a close look-out for signs of Ich. All the fish look good but I did see the Lace Gourami rubbing up againsta rock this morning so perhaps I'll reintroduce Maricide. It sounds very hard to eradicate completely. I also will make sure that all of my equipment is bone dry. That is a relief.

I hate to keep exposing my fish keeping follies to this group and look forward to more happy topics in the future.

The usual med dosage time is seven to ten days with water temp elevated to 86 degrees...

The ich parasites have a thing about warm water 80 degrees and up and would rather have a much cooler tank.

Sudden lower temp changes when doing a partial water change can trigger an ich breakout also.

We have our "Follie" Authority available on this Site to answer any and all questions. Feel free to post.

--garyroland.

OK. I had a few signs that Ich is back - one fish died and the others becoming inactive and a couple of suspicious spots on one of the fish. So I restarted Maricide. This time I cranked the heater to its highest point (86 degrees). I read the helpful post earlier in this thread that indicated that Maricide might drop the paracite from the fish into the gravel but that it could live another day. To get rid of this outbreak for good, is the heat and retreatment of Maricide enough? I heard that Coppersafe is a longer treatment that does rid the tank of Ich but I think I remember reading that it is not good for Clown Loaches