will copper kill LR?

fishcurse

fishcurse

Member
i dont know what is happening but i have lost 3 fish in the past 2 weeks in my 125gal, and now even though i havent had a new fish in months i have gotten an ich outbreak. can i use copper with live rock? also all my levels are normal my salinity is at 1.022 but i think the problem is that my uv sterilizer is hooked up to a magnum 350 filter and my husband was cleaning the glass and (ive been battling hair algae from using tap water since my ro/di is has a busted tube) clogged up my filter so water wasnt gettig through to my uv sterilzer good. anyway that has been straightened out but i have a huge outbreak of the ich and i need to know if i can use copper.
 
sepulatian

sepulatian

Moderator
Originally Posted by fishcurse
i dont know what is happening but i have lost 3 fish in the past 2 weeks in my 125gal, and now even though i havent had a new fish in months i have gotten an ich outbreak. can i use copper with live rock? also all my levels are normal my salinity is at 1.022 but i think the problem is that my uv sterilizer is hooked up to a magnum 350 filter and my husband was cleaning the glass and (ive been battling hair algae from using tap water since my ro/di is has a busted tube) clogged up my filter so water wasnt gettig through to my uv sterilzer good. anyway that has been straightened out but i have a huge outbreak of the ich and i need to know if i can use copper.
You cannot use copper in a display tank. Copper will kill everything on your LR besides the bacteria. Not only will copper kill any life on your rock, but it will soak into your rock, sand, silicone, ect. and leech out later. Your display will become FO with plain rock. Not a good choice. Can you pick up some rubbermaid tubs to place your rock into while you hypo the display? If you are set on using copper then you will have to set up a qt tank, cycle it, remove your fish, and treat in there. Please don't use copper in your display, it will ruin your tank.
 
fishcurse

fishcurse

Member
i had not done anything yet with copper. the one fish that died had gotten white patchy skin so i treated with maroxy when he died i didnt want anything else to get infected. usually i would put some meracyn in but the pet store didnt have any. i bought some quick cure ( which was the only ich medicine they had) but im leary about it.
 
sepulatian

sepulatian

Moderator
Originally Posted by fishcurse
i had not done anything yet with copper. the one fish that died had gotten white patchy skin so i treated with maroxy when he died i didnt want anything else to get infected. usually i would put some meracyn in but the pet store didnt have any. i bought some quick cure ( which was the only ich medicine they had) but im leary about it.
What fish died. Please explain what has happened. White and patchy is not ich, the LS may have recommending meds that are not needed. Quick cure is for FW tanks. I know it says that it is for both but there are only three things that kill cryptocaryon irritans that is hypo, copper, and no fish. Copper needs to be done in a qt and some fish cannot be exposed to copper treatment, hypo can be done in the display or qt but rocks and inverts have to be kept seperate, and No Fish = No Host. Ich cannot live without a host. Choose your option and let us know what you want to do. We will walk you through it.
 
fishcurse

fishcurse

Member
ok a bi color blenny died about 2 weeka ago dont know why wasnt much of anything left after my eel got him. a high hat drum went missing 3 days ago havent found a body or anything i think the eel got him too. but i did have a clown trigger that lost most of his body color and and kinda white patches. i found him about a week ago. but now i have a purple tang and a niger trigger that have full blown ich. (little whitle spots everywhere) my porcupine puffer is scratching but i cant see spots on him but then again it would be hard to tell since hes very light colored. i have 2 black damsels that have lost most of thier color (almost white). blue damsel, lunar wrasse, and snowflake eel dont seem to be affected at all. i was so baffled as to why things were getting sick since my levels were all normal, then realized my uv sterlizer wasnt getting water through as it should. which i though was first why they had gotten sick. but its my running great now for a week and things arent getting better and now ich outbreak.
 
sepulatian

sepulatian

Moderator
Originally Posted by fishcurse
ok a bi color blenny died about 2 weeka ago dont know why wasnt much of anything left after my eel got him. a high hat drum went missing 3 days ago havent found a body or anything i think the eel got him too. but i did have a clown trigger that lost most of his body color and and kinda white patches. i found him about a week ago. but now i have a purple tang and a niger trigger that have full blown ich. (little whitle spots everywhere) my porcupine puffer is scratching but i cant see spots on him but then again it would be hard to tell since hes very light colored. i have 2 black damsels that have lost most of thier color (almost white). blue damsel, lunar wrasse, and snowflake eel dont seem to be affected at all. i was so baffled as to why things were getting sick since my levels were all normal, then realized my uv sterlizer wasnt getting water through as it should. which i though was first why they had gotten sick. but its my running great now for a week and things arent getting better and now ich outbreak.
Well first, a UV sterilizer is great but does NOT kill all ich. It gets the ones that are free floating waiting for a host. Most fish get infected while they are at the bottom of the tank. Ich spends very little time in the water column. I see a few things going on and I haven't gotten your water readings yet. The paleness on your fish could be from stress from the eel. Regardless, you have ich in your tank and every one of your fish need treatment. Can you get some rubbermaid tubs to put your rock and inverts in?
 
wfd1008

wfd1008

Member
i was thinking about getting a uv, and was to believe that at the right exposure time, that it would kill parasites, mainly ich. maybe i was wrong in this thinking, but i understood the longer the exposure thime, the better. Ill try to find the article where i read this and get back on it.
 
sepulatian

sepulatian

Moderator
Originally Posted by wfd1008
i was thinking about getting a uv, and was to believe that at the right exposure time, that it would kill parasites, mainly ich. maybe i was wrong in this thinking, but i understood the longer the exposure thime, the better. Ill try to find the article where i read this and get back on it.

A UV does kill some, but the timing method is inacurate being that all ich does not drop of and reproduce at the same time. It is staggered out. The UV can only kill what crosses it's path in the water. It does not kill the parasite once it is imbedded.
 
wfd1008

wfd1008

Member
Originally Posted by sepulatian
A UV does kill some, but the timing method is inacurate being that all ich does not drop of and reproduce at the same time. It is staggered out. The UV can only kill what crosses it's path in the water. It does not kill the parasite once it is imbedded.
true that, true that. i did read that, but it does kill what travels thru the filter, correct? it's the same with algae isn't it? (i.e.-slime algae, it kills the "spores" that travel thru it)
 
sepulatian

sepulatian

Moderator
Originally Posted by wfd1008
true that, true that. i did read that, but it does kill what travels thru the filter, correct? it's the same with algae isn't it? (i.e.-slime algae, it kills the "spores" that travel thru it)
If it travels through the light then it will be killed. Algae is a whole different ball game. The algae does not develop a protective shell once it is embedded within a fish. Please don't post the names. That part may or may not be deleated by the mods.
 
wfd1008

wfd1008

Member
Originally Posted by sepulatian
If it travels through the light then it will be killed. Algae is a whole different ball game. The algae does not develop a protective shell once it is embedded within a fish. Please don't post the names. That part may or may not be deleated by the mods.
k. sorry
 
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