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How long does ich stay in a tank for without a host. And can ick stay on live plants?

It takes about a month for ich to go through its life cycle, give or take some time based on the temperature (shorter time in higher temperatures)

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Hi,
Here is one of dozens of articles about Ich.

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=16&cat=1791&articleid=2421

To survive it needs a host. While in the Cyst part of its
life cycle it is developing into the next phase, and it
will mature faster if the tank is warmer. It will, though,
mature and the cyst will burst. It can't hibernate so to
speak in the tank.

So, once it has been killed off, your tank should be
fine - until you import new fish that could be contaminated.

Ich will not live on plants.

That being said, however, if it is in the free swimming
stage and you purchase plants from a store that has fish
in among the plants, then some of the parasite could be
caught up in the water and transfered to your tank.

It is always best to wash the plants throughly under
running water that is the same temperature as the tank
they are going into. At that time remove snails, snail
eggs, and any brown or dying leaves. The running water
will flush the parasite off the plants.

Frank

-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

thank you

I have the occasional ICH concern via our water supply. For that reason I store my water for one week in water containers and since I have been doing that no ICH problems.

Many who have/had ICH problems in a tank think it has all gone when they stop seeing it, that is the reason to continue to treat the tank for at least one month this might seem an over kill but it is worth the extra treatment to remove it completely.

Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info

Look here for my
Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tank Photos

Keith

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