Copper Treatment
- Thread starter molly05
- Start date
sepulatian
Moderator
Originally Posted by GeriDoc
The free-swimming ich organisms die promptly in copper, but it takes about 3 weeks for all of the ich in the tank to go through their life cycle and become free-swimming so that they can die of copper poisoning.
This is false. Copper makes ich unable to reproduce. What fish do you have? Some fish are indeed copper sensitive and copper should NEVER be used in the display.
The free-swimming ich organisms die promptly in copper, but it takes about 3 weeks for all of the ich in the tank to go through their life cycle and become free-swimming so that they can die of copper poisoning.
This is false. Copper makes ich unable to reproduce. What fish do you have? Some fish are indeed copper sensitive and copper should NEVER be used in the display.
treblehook
Member
When you folks talk copper ..... is there a specific product you refer to?
sly
Active Member
It sounds like you are wanting to use copper BEFORE the fact... That is not necessary. Fish stores use copper because they get in shipments and have to drop the fish in their tanks rather quickly. They don't have a month or so to isolate them. Copper is not good for ANY fish. They can tolerate it better than inverts but it is not good for them.
Just put your fish in a quarantine tank and do water changes as needed to keep the levels (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate) low.
Just put your fish in a quarantine tank and do water changes as needed to keep the levels (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate) low.
molly05
Member
Originally Posted by TeresaQ
why, are they sick. I would not use any med on fish unless they are sick, and there are better ways to treat ick if they have it. please read in archives and Disease & Treatment for qt procedures.
The successful rate for hypo is low for me. So far, all fish I bought will show ich the next day or two. Low salinity only help fish reduce stress but not get rid of ich for life. I have been in hypo my DT for almost 4 months. No sign of ich for 2 weeks then suddenly ich come back. I even lowed my SG to 1.006 or 10 ppt but ich are still there. Not much, 1 or 2 spots on the fin of this fish or that fish then gone for a while. Now, I am thinking about copper treatment but I don’t know the successful rate or side effect of copper treatment.
why, are they sick. I would not use any med on fish unless they are sick, and there are better ways to treat ick if they have it. please read in archives and Disease & Treatment for qt procedures.
The successful rate for hypo is low for me. So far, all fish I bought will show ich the next day or two. Low salinity only help fish reduce stress but not get rid of ich for life. I have been in hypo my DT for almost 4 months. No sign of ich for 2 weeks then suddenly ich come back. I even lowed my SG to 1.006 or 10 ppt but ich are still there. Not much, 1 or 2 spots on the fin of this fish or that fish then gone for a while. Now, I am thinking about copper treatment but I don’t know the successful rate or side effect of copper treatment.
geridoc
Well-Known Member
I have used copper for over 30 years as a preventative in my QT, and have never had an outbreak of ich or velvet in my DTs. I always use a chelated form of copper (or cupramine) since the copper levels remain more stable that way. Be sure you have a copper test kit for the form of copper you will be using, and check levels frequently. My usual QT procedure is 3 weeks in copper, followed by 2 weeks of observation without copper in the water in the QT before putting the fish into a DT. I have to admit that I have tried hypo with no success. I think one of the problems with hypo is that it works well for ich, but not necessarily for other parasites, some of which may look like ich. OTOH, copper will eliminate all invertebrate parasites (and all other invertebrates in the tank, hence the advice not to use it in your DT).
treblehook
Member
i am gonna get me some of that copper
bkvreef
Member
Originally Posted by Sly
Fish stores use copper because they get in shipments and have to drop the fish in their tanks rather quickly. They don't have a month or so to isolate them. Copper is not good for ANY fish. They can tolerate it better than inverts but it is not good for them.
.
I have a DT that unfortunately I think has been treated with copper in the past. The fish seem to be fine, even the hermits. Will they remain ok?
Fish stores use copper because they get in shipments and have to drop the fish in their tanks rather quickly. They don't have a month or so to isolate them. Copper is not good for ANY fish. They can tolerate it better than inverts but it is not good for them.
.
I have a DT that unfortunately I think has been treated with copper in the past. The fish seem to be fine, even the hermits. Will they remain ok?
sly
Active Member
Has everything in the tank been replaced including the substrate and live rock? If so then you are probably ok... If not then I would just wait and see. If everything seems to be doing ok then maybe the trace copper levels in the tank are low enough to not harm them. Putting copper in the tank, IMO, is not a guarantee that everything will die... Every tank is different. You will probably be fine.