Questions regarding ich/ ick

[The Steady Foot]

I've done some light research on the aquatic parasite Ichthyophthirius multifiliis, commonly known as ich or ick, and cannot find any information about the parasite in the wild. Everything i have come across has been about aquariums. I do know that it occurs in the wild, is very contagious, and has a 100% mortality rate when unremedied.

Does anyone know much about ick? Specifically:

1) can it be transported on wading boots or nets?
2) what can kill the parasite?
3)is a dry wading boot safe from spreading ick to other streams? should i take some other action (freezing, cleaning agents)?

Afraid of saying too much too soon I can say that I might have come across this in alarming fashion on a SoCal local. If so, I will post here so others might take preventative action also.

[Fishfreak911]

I used to work in a pet store and have only known ich to attack captive fish. I do know that warm water fish are far more susceptible to ich when they are stressed, and very often when the water is too cool for their species. Pretty easily cured using OCMs from a pet store.

[Flatsix]

I did the aquarium thing for about 15 years and what I know about Ich is that it typically occurs in warmer water (70s) so I don't think that trout would typically be affected.

[The Steady Foot]

I contacted CA DFG with my concerns and some pictures of the affected fish and a senior biologist said he thought it was ich. I was also under the assumption that ich was an aquarium or warm water issue, but through my googling found that ich is indeed found in the wild and, surprisingly, occurs when water temps decrease. In fact, one suggested remedy for the aquarium is to crank the water temp to the mid-80's to kill it off.

[BobK]

A person that I fish with is a retired fisheries pathologist for DFG and yes Trout do get Ich/Ick up here in the Sierras. When I 1st dug my pond I noticed that Rainbow that were returning from the Creek from attempting to spawn would have these white sores that rapidly covered there bodies before killing them. Also, fish with sores or open wounds would sometimes get the fungus and die. Every year I lose a few older fish to this fungus and usually after spawning season. Is it Ich? I don't know, but it does look the same to me. I have only lost 1 or 2 browns due to the fungus since I've had the pond. It might not be the same thing since occasionally I will have a few fish that survive and the fungus disappears. BobK

[The Steady Foot]

A person that I fish with is a retired fisheries pathologist for DFG and yes Trout do get Ich/Ick up here in the Sierras. When I 1st dug my pond I noticed that Rainbow that were returning from the Creek from attempting to spawn would have these white sores that rapidly covered there bodies before killing them. Also, fish with sores or open wounds would sometimes get the fungus and die. Every year I lose a few older fish to this fungus and usually after spawning season. Is it Ich? I don't know, but it does look the same to me. I have only lost 1 or 2 browns due to the fungus since I've had the pond. It might not be the same thing since occasionally I will have a few fish that survive and the fungus disappears. BobK

Yes this is exactly what I have observed down South this spring. Almost all the spawners I saw in the creek had the white blotches and the dead fish I saw were all bigger, certainly mature enough to spawn, and they had the same fungus-y growth that you described around the head, gills, tail and fins. Some tails were gone completely while the poor fish struggled to get up the slightest of riffles.

Have you noticed any patterns in this condition other than spawning times? If what you describe is not ick, do you know or think that it is contagious? I am concerned about spreading this to other creeks.

Also, for the folks who have experienced ick in the aquarium, how do you deal with your equipment after an ick outbreak? Does drying the parts kill off any parasites or do you have to go with chemicals or cleaners?

[BobK]

According to long ago conversations with my friend and what I observe in my pond and attached stream it is a spoor that occurs naturally in waters in Ca. including Bishop cr. that attacks open wounds and scrapes. These injuries are natural to fish that are spawning due to digging reds , fighting,etc. By what I've observed, I don't think
that Browns are as susceptible to the fungus as Rainbows. Like I said, I've only had a couple of Browns return that had the problem. I have seen a few fish during the summer months with the fungus but I think that they were stockers that had scrapes or were released improperly. Years ago when DFG stocked a lot of spawned out fish, those that weren't caught right away were seen covered with the crud or were dying in the shallows. BobK

[Artin]

That's some yucky stuff. Looks like a pretty painful way to go too. Sd that it hapens. The stockers have a weaker immune system than wild and native fish. So they would be more prone to getting it and dying off. I have seen fish with that fungus. More stocked than wild or native. Never looked into the type it was though. This thread is very informative.

Artin

[209er]

When I fished the San Juan in the early 90s alot of those fish had ich or something like it. It appeared to have something to do with wiping the slime off the fish when photoing or releasing the fish. I've never seen it anywhere else, lower Owens comes to mind. Seems to be a rainbow thing.

[Autodave]

When I fished the San Juan in the early 90s alot of those fish had ich or something like it. It appeared to have something to do with wiping the slime off the fish when photoing or releasing the fish. I've never seen it anywhere else, lower Owens comes to mind. Seems to be a rainbow thing.

A thicker mucous layer on fish can help repel ich

[mike.s]

ICK is caused from protozoans that are ectoparasite's and can affect fish in the wild however it is more pervalent in aquariums and in hactheries...
it attacks fish that are stressed from bad water such as high nitrates or ammonia or from rapid tempature changes in both directions.. from cold water to rapid warming and also from warm water to rapidly cooling water. all of these factors contribute to a weakened immune system and alows the protozoans to attack the fish.
like others have said its not spread by humans unless you count pollution or man caused water temp fluxuations from dam releases or lack of releases....ick was a major factor along with low O2 levels that caused the huge salmon die off on the Klamath river in2002..
In the 80s i was a reseach assistant one summer while at UCLA working on my masters in biology for the CDFG.. was working with a post doc who was researching protozoans effects on wild and hatchery fish.

[The Steady Foot]

ICK is caused from protozoans that are ectoparasite's and can affect fish in the wild however it is more pervalent in aquariums and in hactheries...
it attacks fish that are stressed from bad water such as high nitrates or ammonia or from rapid tempature changes in both directions.. from cold water to rapid warming and also for warm water to rapidly cooling water. all of these factors contribute to a weakened aminune system and alows the protozoans to attack the fish.
like others have said its not spread by humans unless you count pollution or man caused water temp fluxuations from dam releases or lack of releases....ick was a major factor along with low O2 levels that caused the huge salmon die off on the Klamath river in2002..
In the 80s i was a reseach assistant one summer while at UCLA working on my masters in biology for the CDFG.. was working with a post doc who was researching protozoans effects on wild and hatchery fish.

Awesome info, that is exactly what I was hoping to hear.