Ich and tang...

StringerBell wrote:
I`m a little confused, are there different kinds of "Ich"? Is there a kind
that is not contagious?

There's Oodinium and Cryptocaryon. Oodinium is usually called "velvet disease"
and Crypto is usually called "ich", but both are sometimes called "ich." They
are both contagious. With velvet, the parasites are pinpoint size. With crypto,
they're pinhead size. According to authors like Fenner, Cryptocaryon is ich.

Ive read many similiar posts in reef forums. There seems to be a lot of
people who have Tangs break out in "Ich"--- but then do water changes or use
the lights less and their Tangs also recover W/O any dipping or medication.

The stage when the parasites are attached to the fish is the adult breeding
stage. The adults then drop off and lay eggs in the substrate or live rock. When
the eggs hatch, the parasites enter a free-swimming stage. Those that encounter
fish during this stage attach themselves to the fish and become adults. The
entire cycle takes about 3 weeks. The eggs can be introduced in food such as
seaweed or on live rock. Juveniles and adults usually come in on parasitized
fish or the water in the bags containing new fish.

Some people think their fish has recovered when the adults drop off and find
that they have another "outbreak" two weeks later. In other cases, something
like a cleaner shrimp population manages to kill enough of the things to break
the cycle.

George Patterson
If you torture the data long enough, eventually it will confess
to anything.