Cryptocaryon Irritans (marine ich) tank transfer protocol

[snorvich]

Tank Transfer Method (often referred to in the forums as ‘TTM’) is a method for prophylactic treatment of Cryptocaryon irritans, (referred herein as just ‘Ich’) that is common to marine fish when held in captivity and is different than the freshwater equivalent Ichthyophthirius multifiliis. The method entails transferring a fish from one tank to another multiple times until the parasite eliminates itself because of the nature of the life cycle. When administered correctly, TTM is highly effective at eliminating Ich from the fish.

The following are the most important points for administering TTM properly:
+ Transfers need to occur every 72 hours OR less, never more
+ The total number of days for all transfer cycles is 12 or more.
+ A minimum of four transfers is required, with more required if doing transfers more frequently than every 72 hours
+ Time of day of transfers does not matter, provided no more than 72 hours elapse between transfers (ignore what you think you know or have heard about mornings being required)
+ Between transfers, the tank and equipment should be cleaned (with bleach or vinegar and water) and allowed to completely dry AND stay completely dry for 24 hours OR longer
+ The day you purchase your fish counts as a full Day in the 12-day counter, as long as you do not allow 72 hours to pass before your first transfer
+ You will need two or more of all your equipment, recommended:
* Tank or bucket/bin of an appropriate size
*Heater, plus thermometer (yes, even that you need two of)
* Hiding places (simply PVC elbows work great and they do not roll)
* Air tube & Air stone – should be thrown out after each use/transfer
* Tank cover (to prevent jumping)
*A square colander is recommended
+ Powerheads and HOB filters can be used, but may complicate the disinfection process due to the risk of incomplete drying. If powerheads/HOB filters are to be used, a thorough (24-hour) soak in bleach solution is recommended. Many people use an ammonia nullifier such as Prime (added on day 2 of each cycle) and do not bother with any type of filtration.
+ It is recommended you transfer your fish using a colander, however by hand or by net is OK with some considerations
+ As little water as possible should be transferred with the fish
+ Using Display Tank water instead of newly mixed water is OK if your Display Tank is guaranteed to be disease free
+ For best practice, you should keep your fish quarantined in an observation tank for at least 4 weeks after TTM completes, the longer the better; this will allow any other parasite masked by a low level of copper in the fish source to exhibit symptoms.
+ You can dose PraziPro for Flukes along with TTM or after
+ It is not advised to couple TTM with other treatment methods involving chemicals except Prazipro
+ Do not put your TTM tanks within 10 feet of your Display Tank due to the risk of disease transmission via aerosol contamination. Preferably, keep your QT/TTM tanks in a separate room or location.
+ TTM only works on fish, since the parasite’s life cycle requires a fish host,
+ TTM does NOT work on anything else, such as hermits, snails, live rock, macro algae, ANYTHING WET!)
+ TTM only works with cryptocaryon irritans (ich) and not with any other parasite

Overview of Tank Transfer Method (Authored by Spar, snorvich, dmorty, humblefish, newsmyrna80, Deinonych)

[snorvich]

Logistics of Tank Transfer Method

Tank transfer is very easy to do. Once you have assembled the proper equipment, set up your first receiving tank/pail at the same level of specific gravity (SG) as the transfer water the fish is arriving in. Float the bag to normalize the temperature (15 minutes) then transfer the fish from the bag using a colander (so water is not transferred to the receiving tank/pail.

Set up your second tank/pail with the identical SG and temperature. Transfer the fish within the 72 hour window allowed using a colander to the second tank/pail. Dry the first tank/pail after cleaning it with a bleach/water rinse. Make sure it is totally dry before reusing it. Repeat.

Over the course of 12 days, every 72 hours (3 days) or less, you move/transfer the fish from its current tank to a new sterile tank with sterile/dried equipment and fresh saltwater (parasite-free). Upon completion, your fish is Ich free! Easy as that?

[snorvich]

• 72-hours rule: You can do transfers sooner than 72 hours, but you should not go over 72 hours; if you inadvertently go over the 72 hours when performing a transfer by more than even an hour, then you must start over again with TTM from Day 1 to be absolutely sure the treatment was effective.

• 12-days rule: The minimum treatment period for TTM is 12 days. This equates to 4 transfers total, every 72 hours. You can do more than 4 transfers within the 12 days as long as (1) the last transfer is performed after 12 days OR longer and (2) you first-and-foremost follow the 72-hours rule above. If you miss a transfer at any point in the process, you must start over at Day 1 to be sure the treatment is effective. Examples of day-combinations that work just fine:
•o 4 total changes – 3+3+3+3 = 12
•o 5 total changes - 2+3+2+3+2 = 12
•o 6 total changes - 2+2+2+2+2+2 = 12
•o Daily (24-hour period) changes are discouraged as it may not allow for sufficient time to disinfect the tank and equipment between transfers

•o Cleaned/Dried Equipment rule: You must clean and dry all equipment between transfers
•o Drying: Research has confirmed that simply allowing the equipment to dry AND stay remain completely dry for just 24 hours will kill any remaining Ich life-cycle stages. This means that you must allow time first for (a) all little remaining spots of water to evaporate and then (b) the equipment to then stay that way for 24 hours; this means you really should allow for no less than 48 hours total of drying to ensure this happens


•o Consider putting a small fan over the drying tank and equipment to speed up the drying process.
•o It is NOT a requirement (per research) to also clean with bleach or other disinfectants, unless you are paranoid (not a bad thing to be when dealing with Ich though). Drying is enough.
•o Cleaning/disinfecting: Simply rinsing with tap water and letting dry is all that is necessary; however, as stated above you may also prefer to take additional precautions to ensure Ich cysts are all dead in between transfers, and many people prefer to take this additional step. A bleach solution is the most commonly recommended disinfectant for assisting in killing Ich cysts. You can use as little as a 10% bleach-to-water solution to be successful.