JennM;340262 wrote: Glad the purple has showed up again - how about the other 2?
Steve - while clowns are the most prone to Brooklynella, they don't have exclusivity to it.
It could also be amyloodinium - symptoms look like brook somewhat - but it responds to copper, the way ich does (of course, NOT in the DT!)
Trey - it's a pain to pull the rocks to get the fish, but you can scoot the sand to the front of the tank, re-stack your rock and scoot the sand back again... we've done it countless times.
And as to the ich debate... I've read all the science that says that leaving a tank fallow will get rid of it completely - and I cannot refute that science, because it makes absolute sense.... HOWEVER I've seen ich come back when it should have been impossible.
I think the only way not to have ich, is not to have fish, period...
I do disagree that garlic wards of parasites because it makes the fish seem unpalatable, but I do subscribe to the notion that the garlic can boost the immune system. Often it's not the parasite that kills, it's usually the secondary bacterial infection that comes about after the parasite has left an open wound to become infected.
I use garlic - and I believe in its benefits, but I do think it's a bit optimistic to think that it's the "only" thing needed to prevent or treat illness.
It's all about the big picture - good water quality, low stress, varied diet, and healthy specimens. All of those things need to be in place. UV can help but it's not a cure-all either... and plenty do just fine without one. Take any one of those basic necessities out of the picture and pathogens have a foothold.
Jenn
