Possible Ick Outbreak or Stress Reaction?

[2quills]

Quote:
Originally Posted by juliesfish http:///forum/thread/386687/possible-ick-outbreak-or-stress-reaction#post_3398381
LOL! Just had a Yoda flashback. Yes we are taking care of him. I think I'm very lucky he seems like a strong little guy. We now have all of the fish in the hospital tank being treated. He is already starting to look a little better. And yes, I do think he tore up his caudal fin scratching against the rock.
Just a quick question. Do I need to put an air stone or anything in the hospital tank to oxygenate the water? I'm not sure that the filter that's on it is enough.

And I have so learned my lesson. From now on when a fish is brought home it will go into quarantine. I am lucky to have a LFS not too far away with very healthy fish. But I guess it was bound to happen sooner or later. And I have to look on the bright side. We rearranged our rock into a nicer shape since we had to tear everything apart to get to the firefish.

What method are you using to treat the fish? If the tank is lacking a little bit in the flow department then an air tube without the stone would be helpful. Especially if you're using any type of formaldahyde treatment. I don't think the air stones are typically the big deal that people make them out to be but smaller bubbles seem to make more of a fizz on the surface and creats more salt creep IME.

 

[juliesfish]

That's my next set of questions. Here goes:
My LFS gave me something called Copper Power to treat the hospital tank. He told me to dose it once and leave it and it will be fine. I had already bought an API Copper test kit and I've been using it. The problem is that I have no idea what level the copper is supposed to be at to be effective. Flying by the seat of my pants here. It would really help if there were more detailed instructions for this medication.

Also, because I had to set up the hospital tank on the fly the ammonia levels are starting to creep up. I've heard that this is normal because the copper will kill off the helpful bacteria. True?

I have no idea. So, now I'm getting ready to do a water change to try to bring the ammonia level down. Earlier it was around .50. Nitrites are still 0 and Nitrates are 10. Also bought some Prime. My delimma is going to be messing with the copper level again after the water change. If anyone has helpful suggestions I would appreciate it. Or if someone can point me in the direction of more information on Copper Power that would be great too.