Cupramine Question

[DylanF1]

I am going to begin to treat my first few fish with Cupramine and I have question. The instructions state that treatment should last for 14 days. After reading some stickies and other articles it is my understanding that the copper only affects the parasites in their free swimming stage which last around 24 hours. It will not affect them in the cyst stage where they could possibly be for up to 28 days. That is twice the treatment period recommended by the manufacturer. If I'm understanding the life cycle correctly, and the Cupramine effectiveness, then I should be treating for a minimum of 28 days so that the parasite has been eradicated, correct?

 

[snorvich]

I always recommend 30 days if using copper. I prefer tank transfer.

 

[DylanF1]

I always recommend 30 days if using copper. I prefer tank transfer.

Another question after doing some more reading. If treating A fish with copper, after 7days the fish should be free of the Trophont stage of ICH and any Theronts free swimming should have been killed before reinfecting the fish. So why couldn't the fish be transferred to a "clean" tank and be considered cured and safe from reinfecting?

 

[snorvich]

Everything you ever wanted to know about cryptocaryon irritans can be found here. It will also explain the predictability of the front end of the life cycle and the variability of the back end.

 

[DylanF1]

Everything you ever wanted to know about cryptocaryon irritans can be found here. It will also explain the predictability of the front end of the life cycle and the variability of the back end.

I have read that, along with others. That particular sticky is what made me ask the question.

 

[snorvich]

I have read that, along with others. That particular sticky is what made me ask the question.

If you employ tank transfer instead of copper or other chemical prophylactic, you will be done in 12 days since the front end of the CI life cycle is so predictable. If you are looking for quick, TT is the way to go. However you will want to observe any fish after TT to insure that no other parasite is present; if your quarantine time is 5 weeks or longer, you will be "good to go".

 

[DylanF1]

If you employ tank transfer instead of copper or other chemical prophylactic, you will be done in 12 days since the front end of the CI life cycle is so predictable. If you are looking for quick, TT is the way to go. However you will want to observe any fish after TT to insure that no other parasite is present; if your quarantine time is 5 weeks or longer, you will be "good to go".

Thank you for the suggestions, I have read extensively about the TTM and sterilization of equipment, which seems like a good process. I'm not necessarily looking for something quick, or a short cut; I want my tank to be successful and done properly. It just dawned on me while reading, that if a fish was in water with the proper concentration of copper it could not be re-infected by ICH Theronts because they would be killed and the Trophont would be gone after about 7 days. Then I thought "what if you moved it to a "clean" tank after those 7 days?". I have not seen this talked about before so I'm sure there is some reason it wouldn't work, I was just looking for an experts explanation of why.

 

[ebond009]

I always recommend 30 days if using copper. I prefer tank transfer.

out of curiosity, is there a write-up on the proper way to do the TTM? would be great to have on hand in the future.thanks!

 

[Deinonych]

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2388428

There's also a lengthy thread in this forum with users sharing their experiences as well.