The only flaw with this plan is if the fish is still in the tank, the ich still has a host
I'd have used the 40 to isolate the fish, do hypo and leave the main display fishless for 30 days. Ich can't host on corals or inverts, so they'd have been fine, (no hypo in the main display). Once you break the life cycle, theoretically it doesn't come back... although I'm not convinced of that.
The best prevention as I mentioned in the other thread, is to quarantine all new fish for a minimum of 2 weeks, but 4 is better, and treat them in quarantine if need be. For ongoing prevention, good water quality, low stress and good diet will keep the fish's immune system strong and able to fight it off if it's still present in the aquarium (which I believe it is).
I know people will disagree with me concerning whether it's actually possible to eliminate it from a system completely - and I'm fine with that - but I do think we'll all agree that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure
If it was only a couple of spots to begin with - you'll likely have nipped it in the bud.
Ironically, it's usually not the parasite itself that kills the fish... it's usually a secondary bacterial infection.
Think of ich like a flea or mosquito - it bites you, or feeds off you (needs to feed on your blood to reproduce). Once it leaves you, it leaves an open wound. You scratch it because it's itchy, and your skin becomes raw... then next thing you know you've got a pussy infection. Same can happen with the fish. Unless the infestation is extreme and impedes the fishes' ability to breathe (gills are basically clogged up), the parasite doesn't necessarily kill the fish - but the bacterial infection that gains entry through the bite-sites is what goes systemic and kills the fish.
Hope that makes sense...
If treating a severe infestation, it's a good idea to treat with antibiotics after the fact if you suspect an infection. I don't recommend casual use of antibiotics, because like any bacterial infection, they can become resistant, especially if the dosing isn't done carefully and for a full 7-10 days, however there are times when it's a good idea as long as you follow the full dosing regimen. Cutting the dosing time short (like when the fish appears well) can cause the bacteria to come back with a vengeance and the meds you're using become ineffective.
AGAIN - MEDICATIONS ARE FOR THE
QUARANTINE TANK - NOT THE MAIN DISPLAY! (I can't tell you how many people I've seen whose LFS have told them it's OK to treat the main tank and when every invert dies....
)
The other alternative is to use a product called
Kick Ich in the main display. It seems to be effective in mild cases, and it won't harm corals or inverts (Steven Pro has done studies with Xenia on this), but it's not as effective as conventional treatments - it's a decent "last resort" if the hobbyist has no other options available, and for some reason it seems to be most effective if dosed overnight.
Another thing - if you're using any medications of any kind - be sure to remove your carbon and turn off your skimmer - both of these will remove the medications so you'll be spinning your wheels if that's left out of the equasion. If you're only using hypo-salinity, you can leave the carbon in and the skimmer in place - but with lower salinity you will find that your skimmer doesn't work as efficiently.
Hope this helps
Jenn
