Ich? Velvet? Copper NOT helping! WTH!?!?!

crabbychris

crabbychris

Member
Alright about a week ago I put my blue tang in QT and have been treating him with copper and the spots aren't going away and he is getting worse. His eyes are cloudy now too.
I have no idea what to do now other than try and treat him with melafix and pimafix and maybe put him in hypo. If it was ich the spots would be gone by now right? It looks like dusty white spots, I thought about velvet but copper is supposed to treat that too. Does velvet take longer?
I have decided to remove all fish from the DT and treat them all to hopefully eradicate whatever is in the tank. Any suggestions on what to do now?
 
lkgrenegade22

lkgrenegade22

Member
You really need to post some good pictures.
If it was ick hypo seems to be the way to go, but remember you can't use hypo along with the other treatments.
From what I understand copper is ineffective unless the level is properly maintained the entire time.
 
crabbychris

crabbychris

Member
I know you cant treat with copper while in hypo but melafix and pimafix should be safe. I cannot get pictures, I dont have a camera good enough to show the tiny white spots! Heck who does? Also the copper levels are exactly what the bottle says they should be.
 
sepulatian

sepulatian

Moderator
Don't add anything else. Pima and Mela fix will do nothing but foul your water. What kind of copper are you using and what is the test reading?
 
crabbychris

crabbychris

Member
I am using coppersafe which is chelated copper the bottle says it should be maintained between 1.5 and 2.0. It is right at 2.0 according to the test kit.
 
sepulatian

sepulatian

Moderator
2.0-2.5PPM is required but you are close. I would keep going with the treatment. If this fish was in the display then they all need to be treated.
 
crabbychris

crabbychris

Member
A few minutes ago I put the rest of the fish in the QT also. I guess I will raise the levels a bit and hope for the best. But I am concerned about the coral beauty being in copper treatment. I was told before that they are severly sensitive to copper.
 
sepulatian

sepulatian

Moderator
Originally Posted by CRABBYCHRIS
http:///forum/post/2880339
A few minutes ago I put the rest of the fish in the QT also. I guess I will raise the levels a bit and hope for the best. But I am concerned about the coral beauty being in copper treatment. I was told before that they are severly sensitive to copper.
You put the rest of the fish into a copper level of 2.0? That was not a good idea. They should be acclimated into that copper over a few days. That is why it takes a few days to bring the copper to that level.
 
sepulatian

sepulatian

Moderator
Originally Posted by CRABBYCHRIS
http:///forum/post/2880349
OOps should I do a water change and reduce the levels now?
Well, don't make it drastic. They have already endured a drastic change in a short amount of time. You can do a small change to reduce the amount of copper and bring it back up after the fish are in there.
 
crabbychris

crabbychris

Member
I will follow what your signature says from now on "Quarantine Everything!!" I introduced a fish about 4 weeks ago and I have had problems with ich since then.
The blue tang died after I gave him a freshwater dip and the yellow tang is looking bad too. I said to hell with it and I dipped all of the fish and put them in my 29 gallon tank which I removed all the rock and inverts from. I'm going to start hypo (on the 29) in a few days and try to eradicate ich from my 90 DT. No fish in the 90 for 6 weeks should kill off the ich right? Can hypo be achieved with a floating hydrometer? I just don't have the money for a refractometer right now.
I know i made a drastic move but I am tired of fighting this crap, I just wanted to take care of it once and for all.
The QT that has the copper in it is going to be re-cycled without any copper. I will never use copper or freshwater dips again. From now on hypo ONLY!
 
lkgrenegade22

lkgrenegade22

Member
Originally Posted by CRABBYCHRIS
http:///forum/post/2880390
I will follow what your signature says from now on "Quarantine Everything!!" I introduced a fish about 4 weeks ago and I have had problems with ich since then.
The blue tang died after I gave him a freshwater dip and the yellow tang is looking bad too. I said to hell with it and I dipped all of the fish and put them in my 29 gallon tank which I removed all the rock and inverts from. I'm going to start hypo (on the 29) in a few days and try to eradicate ich from my 90 DT. No fish in the 90 for 6 weeks should kill off the ich right? Can hypo be achieved with a floating hydrometer? I just don't have the money for a refractometer right now.
I know i made a drastic move but I am tired of fighting this crap, I just wanted to take care of it once and for all.
The QT that has the copper in it is going to be re-cycled without any copper. I will never use copper or freshwater dips again. From now on hypo ONLY!
Hypo can not be done with a swing arm or floating hydrometer, well not if you want sure fire results. They are inaccurate and if your SG does not go down to and stay around 1.009 the hypo treatment is no effective. That being said I am doing the exact same thing you are talking about as we speak. My DT is empty and my fish are in hypo. Go ahead and start the hypo now... I don't see any need in waiting. You can start dropping the salinity now.
 
crabbychris

crabbychris

Member
I know you say that the floating ones are inaccurate but alot of the people I have talked to said it was the same as their refractometers. Not that I don't believe you I am just hopeful I can do it that way since I am broke.
Yeah the swingarms are junk!
 
lkgrenegade22

lkgrenegade22

Member
Originally Posted by CRABBYCHRIS
http:///forum/post/2880410
I know you say that the floating ones are inaccurate but alot of the people I have talked to said it was the same as their refractometers. Not that I don't believe you I am just hopeful I can do it that way since I am broke.
Yeah the swingarms are junk!
I have not ever used a floating one. When I asked about proper hypo procedures on here I was told I had to get a refractometer to be sure I was at the correct SG, which I did. I did not want to spend the time doing hypo and not be at the correct SG.
 
beth

beth

Administrator
Staff member
The plastic swing arm hydrometers are useless and so inaccurate, I would not even use them for everyday use, let alone for hyposalinity. Hyposalinity requires precision to work. You've started copper, proceed with that. You will have to start over with the copper treatment, now that all fish are in the QT?
 
subielover

subielover

Active Member
Originally Posted by CRABBYCHRIS
http:///forum/post/2880732
the question is now will a floating hydrometer work?

Originally Posted by Beth
http:///forum/post/2880445
The plastic swing arm hydrometers are useless and so inaccurate, I would not even use them for everyday use, let alone for hyposalinity. Hyposalinity requires precision to work.

Originally Posted by LKGRenegade22
http:///forum/post/2880404
Hypo can not be done with a swing arm or floating hydrometer, well not if you want sure fire results. They are inaccurate and if your SG does not go down to and stay around 1.009 the hypo treatment is no effective.
I thought it was answered
 
crabbychris

crabbychris

Member
Beth didn't say a floating hydrometer wouldn't work
lkgrenegade22 said thats what he was told....still not a definitive answer
 
beth

beth

Administrator
Staff member
Ok, lkgrenegade has a floating hydrometer, if I remember that, and said he was ordering a refractometer.
Refracts are best choice for use in hypo. It give the most precise reading. And precision is what is needed for hypo to be successful. Saying that, I have used floating glass hydrometers, even two measured against each other, with success in hypo.
Refracts measure both salinity (ppt) and specific gravity. You want to aim at 14ppt salinity and 1.009 specific gravity.
 
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