Have you ever seen white spots on your freshwater fish before? if you have, then your tank must have been infected by ich.
These are parasites that affect mainly freshwater fish.
According to Britannica, ”ich, also called white spot disease, Is a parasitic disease that affects a variety of freshwater fish species and that is caused by the ciliated protozoan Ichthyophthirius multifiliis. These parasites cannot be on their own, they need the body of a living animal to survive, and they could ravage freshwater fish if not properly treated.
Related: Do Rabbitfish get Ich?
Knowing that freshwater fish could be infected by these parasites, the question is, can Aquarium Snails get ich?. In this article, you will learn all about it.
Can aquarium Snails get ich? Aquarium Snails can be infected by ich, but it is not harmful to them.
As matter of fact, yes, they do it, but they are immune to it, so it can’t harm them, that’s why they could spread it in your tank without you noticing they have it.
This parasite, although can’t harm snails, but they will disperse it to other aquarium animals that it could be able to harm, such as fish, etc.
Ich is parasites that earn their living or livelihood by attaching to animals.
They can’t survive without attaching themselves to an animal’s body, that’s why they are called parasites.
They don’t dwell in brackish or saltwater, but only in freshwater, and they don’t like high temperatures because it shortens their lifespan which is around 21-30 days.
Related: Can Lionfish get Ich?
These parasites could be transferred in many ways, such as putting plants that are already affected in your aquarium, touching animals that are affected and also touching your aquarium water, putting animals that are affected in your aquarium, such as snails, fish, etc, they can even be transferred to your aquarium via substrates.
This is why it is very necessary to first of all quarantine any animal or object you put in your tank so, your animals not be infected with diseases and parasites such as this one.
It could be very deadly to many aquarium animals, especially to fish, and could kill them if proper treatment is not given and those parasites eradicated from the tank.
How To Eradicate Ich From A Tank
I can’t tell you the possibility of aquarium snails getting these parasites without telling you how to eliminate them if you suspect they are in your tank.
To Eradicate Ich from your aquarium, here are the techniques:
1. Since these parasites are allergic to saltwater and can’t survive in it, evacuate your animals and put as. much salt as you can in the tank and allow it for some days.
Once this is done, trust me, they will all die in a matter of hours or even minutes because their body doesn’t tolerate salt, and that’s why they don’t attack brackish water animals nor dwell in brackish water.
Related: Can Butterflyfish get Ich?
Although salt can be harmful to freshwater animals such as Snails, frogs fish, etc, but if your particular specie could tolerate some amount not salt, then all you need to do is to put some salt in there and that’s all.
2. Evacuate your animals and treat them separately while leaving their tank empty.
If you don’t want to kill them with salt, then the alternative is to get your animals out and leave the tank empty. This technique works because these parasites don’t last long without hosting themselves to live animals.
So, once you evacuate them, turn off your heater and air pump and let the temperature rise.
They will die in a few days when you do this because their lifespan is just a month or even less, and without a host, they can’t last more than a few days to a week.
3. Quarantine anything you put in the aquarium, be it animals or plants or even substrates, etc.
This is highly recommended because they are often dispersed or transferred to tanks via all these objects.
Some animals like Snails could carry it, but it won’t show because they are immune to it, so, placing such animals in your tank that contains fish will only end up troubling your fish. After all, they are the most vulnerable to these parasites.
To quarantine them, first of all, dip your plants, substrates, etc into saltwater for up to eat minutes or buy some suitable medications which could kill the. instantly.
Related: Can Blennies get Ich?
You can also ask your vet for advice on how to disinfect your animals or cure them, or better buy medicine that could kill them without harming your animals.
Can Saltwater Snails Carry Ich?
No, Snails Saltwater Snails can’t carry ich because ich can’t tolerate saltwater. They will die instantly if they have contact with salt.
As I mentioned above, one of the easiest ways to eliminate ich is to get some salt into an infected tank, and they will die in a matter of minutes or hours, depending on how resistant they are.
So, there is no way a brackish water Snails could be infected with these parasites.
How Long Can Ich Last Without A Host?
Ich cannot survive on their own, without a host, they will not last up to a week.
Even with a host, their normal lifespan is just a month or less, so without a host and if the temperature is high, they will die in a matter of hours or days, depending on how resistant they are.
As I mentioned above if you notice them. to be in your tank, just remove your animals and leave the tank at a temperature high, they will die on their own.
Do Mystery Snails Get Ich?
Mystery snails are freshwater dwellers, and they can be infected with ich, although it will not harm them, but they can disperse is to other animals that it could harm, such as fish.
Apart from Mystery Snails, all freshwater aquarium snails could get these parasites, but the only difference is, that it doesn’t seem to harm them in any way, but they will help the parasites by hosting them for a while till they find other suitable hosts such as freshwater fish.
Do Snails Eat Ich?
No, Snails don’t eat ich, but they can host them till they die or find better hosts.
I haven’t heard or researched that they could eat them before, so I don’t think they can, because if they can, then they will deplete their population and won’t be able to disperse them as they use to do.
Conclusion
Ich should be a very serious concern of yours once you keep freshwater animals.
Aquarium Snails can get ich, nu they can’t be affected, but only spread it.
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