Copper treatment question

[Fountainhead]

I'm using Mardel CopperSafe in a Q tank to treat a Powder Brown Tang. The directions suggest using a secondary antibiotic (like Maracyn 2) along with the copper, presumably to help ward off a secondary infection. Good idea? Bad idea? I don't want to add to the stress of the proceedings if it's unnecessary.

Tang is showing a few Ich spots, but is still eating. How long should I keep him in copper? Should he remain in there full strength until he's ready (4 to 6 weeks I'm guessing) to go into the display? Of should I gradually phase the copper out via water changes in advance of his exit? How can you tell how long is long enough?

 

[Lake75]

I treated a hippo a few weeks back using CopperSafe. I didn't add any other medication except Selcon for vitamin supplement.

The hippo was a new purchase and he showed ich just one day after going into the QT. So, I started CopperSafe treatment right away at that point and it took only two days for every single white spot to disappear. He never showed any new sign of ich since then and he's eating very well and his body became thicker. So, after 3 weeks in QT with full strength of copper, I started to phase out by doing water changes w/o fresh copper added and by using activated carbons. This is because some people believed that a prolonged exposure to copper may cause too much damage to the special bacteria within tang's stomach which is used to digest food. This phase-out took me about 1.5 weeks and his color seemed to become more vibrant. After seeing no bad signs, I transferred him into my display. He's been there for 10 days now and didn't have any problem with ich or whatever.

This is just my experience. I general, I think if you keep the QT temperature high (e.g. 80), then 3 weeks of copper treatment should be enough to kill ich. Then, you should continue the quarantine w/o copper for another 3-4 weeks to make sure that the fish is OK. I was just not patient enough...

Does this help?

 

[Triggerfish]

Re: Copper treatment question

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8225396#post8225396 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Fountainhead
How long should I keep him in copper? Should he remain in there full strength until he's ready (4 to 6 weeks I'm guessing) to go into the display? Of should I gradually phase the copper out via water changes in advance of his exit? How can you tell how long is long enough?

i don't use that brand, but what does the manuf recommended treatment duration state?
for cupramine it's 2-3 weeks.

i would treat for the later part of what they recommend and then monitor for an additional 4 weeks or 6 weeks after the last spot was noticed.