Live brine & ich

[Osama]

Can feeding live brine shrimp cause ich? This question is raised after a fellow member on this board mentioned it as a possible cause for ich in his tank. Any others observed same or scientific knowledge on his subject? I used to feed live brine when the LFS used to get it???

 

[Anonymous]

Can feeding live brine shrimp cause ich? This question is raised after a fellow member on this board mentioned it as a possible cause for ich in his tank. Any others observed same or scientific knowledge on his subject? I used to feed live brine when the LFS used to get it???

I would say it could be possible. Not from the brine shrimp. but the water they come in could possibly have the parasite in it.
_________________
Honda Bros 400

 

[Anonymous]

No, it could't actually. :wink: I posted this in another thread, but here goes. The salinity of the water in which the brine is living is EXTREMELY high, too hight for C. irritans to live. I can't remember off the top of my head, but it's like 1.036 or something like that. Secondly, these shrimp are raised in cold water ponds here in California, with NO fish! You can't have fish parasites propogating themselves in an environment with no fish! It just doesn't work that way.
They are raised in a controled environment, not scooped out of the ocean.
Hope his helps.

Jim

 

[monkeyboy]

No way, no how. If you're worried, rinse the live shrimp under cold freshwater before feeding for peace of mind.

 

[Osama]

JIm: I read your post on the other listing That's where I came with my question?... Any other knowledgeable opinions. I am inclined to agree with the high salinity ich will not survive So no need to rinse & no need to worry. Any other thoughts....

 

[Terry B]

Actually, there are several different strains of ich and they have various tolerances for salinity levels. I think that you generally have to get the salinity above 40ppt to have any effect. 45ppt will probably kill all of the strains. Unfortunately HYPER-salinity is very stressful to fish and can kill them. HYPO-salinity is much, much safer for reef fish. It has generally been assumed that fish can only tolerate a salinity similar to that in which they are found. This is proving not to be true. An example is a study done with Emperor angels that determined that a salinity of 7ppt was not stressful, nor harmful to the fish. However, no fish survived more than three days at 5ppt so there is a limit.
It is possible but not probable for fish to get ich from being fed live adult brine shrimp. The water would have to contain the free swimming stage of the parasite (theronts). Theronts can only remain infective for a few hours once they hatch from the tomont stage. A fish would also have to be sharing water with the brine shrimp or the ich parasite wouldn't survive in that environment for very long without a host. A definative answer would depend greatly on the salinity. Overall the odds of getting ich from feeding fish live adult brine shrimp is low.
Terry B

 

[Anonymous]

As you stated, a fish must share the same environment. :wink: They do not. So...as it turns out, it's not only improbable that feeding live brine will indroduce ich into a system, it's damn near impossible! These shrimp are raised in ponds right here in Newark Ca., about 10 minutes from my house. Believe me, there are no fish in these ponds!
So, salinity aside, ich does not live in brine water.

Regards
Jim