Run A Copper Tank

[normanknight]

Hi everyone:
I don't want to start a copper war, or an ich battle, but I have been losing fish for quite awhile now with ich. I understand the quarantine theory, but once a display tank gets it started, and since it is a fish only tank with live rock, has anyone had any experience running copper in their display tanks at all times. I understand that some fish stores do this, but what I am interested in is some real life experience doing this. Does anyone have any input. I have used coppersafe and am tempted to leave some in the tank at all times.

 

[unleashed]

I have used coppersafe in a main tank in the past however it will kill all living inverts in the tank and micro organisms that the live rock harbor such as good bacterias which are housed also in substrate .. as a full time thing I would not recommend this for marine tank..long term usage can cause harmful side effects to your fish in the long run shortended life span etc .. also be very sure you do not house fish that are considered copper sensitive ... once you add copper of any type to your LR or substrate it can no longer be used for inverts or corals .. something very serious to think about for future use ..ive used alot of things in my tanks in the past I wont recommend now.. that have worked for me.. this is one of them... before rushing to this concider what the pros and cons are ok? death of ich is a pro but the death of many other aspects of your tank may be a bigger con that you are willing to deal with in th long run.. i hope this answers your question.. can it be done yes.. is it advisable no.
please keep in mind fish are not kept for long durations in a store..

 

[normanknight]

Thanks for the reply. There are a lot of things to think about when trying to decide on some of these remedies. You have pretty much talked me out of keeping copper in the tank at all times. It seems that nearly all animals harbor some type of disease and even the quarantine method won't work for many of them because things don't show up sometimes for a long time. Trying to keep a healthy tank will help the problems a lot.

 

[ajer]

Most fish diseases only happen because of stress (e.g. Netting, poor water, under/over feeding). Normally the fish's immune system would open the door and boot the bug out. Stress makes the immune system less active allowing a bug to enter. By treating with copper, you are treating the symptoms of a unhealthy tank. Treat the core problem, not the symptoms. Do more water changes, more LR, less fish, less/more feeding. Medications should, IMO only be used to keep the fish healthy while you are correcting any problems with the tank. Now, there is one exception to the rule, when the fish are sick not because of you, but because of the prior owners. In this case, return the fish, and buy from a different supplier.
Good Luck Man!

 

[rotarymagic]

Take the live rock out of the display and put it in a rubber maid for 6weeks with powerheads running through it.. the ich will die in that time without hosts.
hypo your display tank for 6 weeks... bringing the salinity down to 1.008 over a few days time.
You may end up having to reseed the live sand though with some out of an established tank... if you're able to take that out of the display tank too, that would be best.

 

[normanknight]

I agree that stress is a major problem in fish health. But, I must find the source of the stress. All of my test readings were right on the money. Zero amonia, nitrite, ph 8.2, nitrate 10, temp 80. all the fish were eating normally, growing and had good color. All were in the tank about 4 months. There were no changes. What I am thinking though was that my salinity was too high. 10.25. The ppt were 35 by a refractometer. Whenever I have tested fish store water it is always much lower. I am going to try the low salinity cure and then bring it back up to around 10.21. I still have the feeling that too high a salt reading degrades the fish in some way.
All of these suggestions are a huge help and I really appreciate all your time and thoughts.

 

[kogle]

UV sterilizer would work as well.

 

[unleashed]

1.025 is a normal reef level for GS ..although fluctuation in temp could be a contributor if these do not remain stable temp at all times..some fish can be more easily prone to contracting ich more so than others IMO proper diet can alleviate more of that risk..that would always vary on what types of fish you house.I had a hippo tang for about 5 yrs ..she was emaciated when i purchased her .I purchased her from the LFS at discount due to her being housed with a very large hippo that would not let her eat..this fish was almost paper thin.. but she always would try to eat..this fish would contract ich at the drop of a hat continuously i treated and treated this fish every way i knew how each time placing her back in the tank she would get a spot again..i got tired of doing this continuously and realized that when she started to do her hiding routine other than bedtime she was stressing.. I found with this particular fish food was her stress relief..each time i noticed hr starting to hide i dropped a few pellets into the tank shed come out eat and be fine for a few hrs then repeat this all day long i was feeding her about 5 times a day, normally her feedings were 3 times a day..yes i may have had to do more frequent water changes due to feedings but it was worth it not losing the fish..
oddly enough this also seamed to work well for any timid fish i kept or keep such as foxfaces ..its like they forget to be scared while they are stuffing their faces lol

 

[al mc]

Originally Posted by normanknight
http:///forum/post/2851451
I agree that stress is a major problem in fish health. But, I must find the source of the stress. All of my test readings were right on the money. Zero amonia, nitrite, ph 8.2, nitrate 10, temp 80. all the fish were eating normally, growing and had good color. All were in the tank about 4 months. There were no changes. What I am thinking though was that my salinity was too high. 10.25. The ppt were 35 by a refractometer. Whenever I have tested fish store water it is always much lower. I am going to try the low salinity cure and then bring it back up to around 10.21. I still have the feeling that too high a salt reading degrades the fish in some way.
All of these suggestions are a huge help and I really appreciate all your time and thoughts.
The other source of 'stress' can certainly be the number and types of fish in your tank. Overcrowding/terrotorial wars can be a leading cause of stress even in a tank with pristine water conditions.