There are obviously cycles where it can survive without
notice. I think more research needs to be done on this.
One method is attaching to the gills of fish.
But the reality is that if a fish is healthy with a good
immune system, it will not die, but will recover fine.

Wayne Sallee
Wayne's Pets



George Patterson wrote on 12/26/2006 3:21 PM:
Blackheart wrote:
(it will almost always be there in some form, whether
it has an outbreak is another thing).

This is a prevalent idea which is total bull. Ick is a parasite. It has
a 21 day life cycle. After that it dies. If it cannot feed off a fish at
some point in that period, it dies earlier and does not lay eggs. If it
can feed off a fish, it lays eggs. These hatch after a few days; they do
not have the capability of lying dormant. When they hatch, they attach
themselves to a fish, and the cycle starts over.

If you have oodinium in your tank, your fish will periodically be
parasitized; that is, you *will* get outbreaks. If you don't have
outbreaks, no ick is present in any form.

George Patterson
Forgive your enemies. But always remember who they are.