Jack Schiffer

Water question
I keep a 5gal bucket with a mixture of tap and distilled water to keep
my pH around 7.0 to 6.4 because my PH in the tap water is 7.8
can ICH form in the water if it's not heated.

Thank you

Lucy

To the best of my knowledge, ich cannot live without a host for a certain amount of time.
I'm sorry, I forget how long that is.
Maybe someone else will chime in.

ray_sj

Ich won't spontaneously appear out of nowhere. But it can be transferred by contaminated water when you work on your tanks, and then touch or splash water on your bucket.

Ich's lifecycle depends on the temperature. At temps around 75 degrees, the lifecycle is just a few days. Here's a useful link on ich:

Ich infections

aquarist48

http://www.fishlore.com/Articles/CuringIch.htm
Above is another link on ICH. ICH is always present in your tank. When the fishes immune system is weekend or the fish is stressed, it makes your fish susceptible to the parasite. Sudden changes in water temperatures, stressing your fish can can trigger it as well.

Yes, ICH can survive and cause damage to your fish regardless if your water is heated or not. Gold Fish for example require cooler waters and they are susceptible to it as well.
Ken

Jack Schiffer

Thank you all great information
Jack