Cupramine Treatment Length

[Deinonych]

I recently had cryptocaryon infest my DT via a piece of coral. I've pulled out my fish and am running the DT fallow for 11 weeks. I am treating the fish in two 20g HTs with Cupramine @ 0.40mg/l. I used water from the DT to fill the QTs as well as some seeded filter floss and ceramic rings that I had in my sump.

Given that there is a chance some tomonts are in my HTs (since I used water and seeded media from an infected system), how long should I treat with Cupramine? Can fish tolerate Cupramine for the full fallow period? I want to make sure the parasite is eradicated completely.

 

[Zoodiver]

I would do at least 30 days - but yes, they will tolerate it for the entire 11 weeks. It won't hurt them (assuming that they aren't fish species that are extra sensative to copper).

 

[Deinonych]

Thanks! I was already planning on doing at least 30 days, and likely 6 weeks. I don't have any fish that are sensitive, I don't think. I may just go the full 11 weeks just to be sure. I don't want to go through a tank tear-down again.

 

[HumbleFish]

i would do at least 30 days - but yes, they will tolerate it for the entire 11 weeks. It won't hurt them (assuming that they aren't fish species that are extra sensative to copper).

+1

 

[lagatbezan]

I personally treat for 4 weeks and then 4 more weeks to observe and make sure they are parasite free. I would not expose the fish to 11 weeks of copper straight. Although many fish tolerate it, frim what I have read in other threats, using it for extended period of time could cause health issues like live liver and kidney damage.

 

[Deinonych]

Thank you. I guess my primary concern is ensuring there are no more infectious tomonts. I agree with the notion that putting them through extended copper therapy is not good for them. Would 6 weeks be a suitable compromise?

I will contact SeaChem to get their input as well.

 

[HumbleFish]

Thank you. I guess my primary concern is ensuring there are no more infectious tomonts. I agree with the notion that putting them through extended copper therapy is not good for them. Would 6 weeks be a suitable compromise?

I will contact SeaChem to get their input as well.

FWIW, back when I did aquarium maintenance sometimes certain fish got lost in the shuffle and wound up spending months in one of our HTs (which were treated with Coppersafe). I noticed almost all of these fish developed HLLE down the road.

 

[Deinonych]

Thanks Humblefish. I posed the question to Seachem and they said 3-4 weeks minimum, with six weeks posing no problem. I'm going to proceed with 6 weeks followed by a 5 week observation period. By that time, I'll know if I killed all the crypto, and my DT will have finished its fallow period.

 

[HumbleFish]

Thanks Humblefish. I posed the question to Seachem and they said 3-4 weeks minimum, with six weeks posing no problem. I'm going to proceed with 6 weeks followed by a 5 week observation period. By that time, I'll know if I killed all the crypto, and my DT will have finished its fallow period.

Sounds like a good plan! :thumbsup:

 

[Deinonych]

OK, so I'm about 1 week into treatment at 0.40mg/l and my foxface has decided to stop eating. He was eating like a pig up until last Thursday (8-Aug), then gradually got disinterested in food over the weekend. He didn't seem copper sensitive when I treated him back in QT a few months ago, but maybe getting crypt has changed his sensitivity? I also noticed my firefish starting to flash against the PVC over the weekend (he's in a separate HT). I'm not too worried about the firefish as he is still eating, and he may just have a lingering set of parasites from before I got the tank up to full strength.

I'm thinking about switching to chloroquine phosphate to get the foxface eating again. If I were to do that, what is the best way to switch? Can I use Cuprasorb to remove the copper and immediately dose CP, or should I remove all copper first before dosing? Really would like to save the foxface, as he's one of my favorite fish - he used to eat from my hand when he was in my DT.

 

[HumbleFish]

Since all your other fish seem to be handling the copper well, why not just treat the foxface separately? You could treat him with CP in another tank. I actually used 2 10 gals to do TT on a medium-sized foxface not too long ago.

 

[kv2wr1]

Are the fish at a heathy weight? I had a puffer that I kept at 0.40 ppm that stopped eating on week 3. I was only going to go 1 more week with cupramine and then observe for 4 weeks. I just let him ride it out for 1 more week and just kept an eye on him to make sure there was no labored breathing or anything. Then I observed for 8 weeks since I went fallow for 12 weeks. He went back to eating after the copper was removed through carbon and large water changes.

 

[Deinonych]

Since all your other fish seem to be handling the copper well, why not just treat the foxface separately? You could treat him with CP in another tank. I actually used 2 10 gals to do TT on a medium-sized foxface not too long ago.

That would be my plan. Right now, he's in a tank with my two clowns who are doing really well. The other tank has my firefish and wrasse. I would move the clowns into the other tank and keep the foxface in his current tank. I have to order the CP, so it will likely take a week or so to get here. I'm just trying to plan ahead and figure out the best procedure to transition from copper to CP. I don't want to start a fresh tank as I have a pretty good biofilter going in the tank now (and I don't have any more seeded media in my sump which is infected anyway). Any thoughts on how I should plan to remove the copper and get CP treatment going?

Heck, he might even turn around by the time the CP gets here. I just like having a backup plan.

Are the fish at a heathy weight? I had a puffer that I kept at 0.40 ppm that stopped eating on week 3. I was only going to go 1 more week with cupramine and then observe for 4 weeks. I just let him ride it out for 1 more week and just kept an eye on him to make sure there was no labored breathing or anything. Then I observed for 8 weeks since I went fallow for 12 weeks. He went back to eating after the copper was removed through carbon and large water changes.

He's nice and fat, and his respiration is normal. Aside from disinterest in food and a bit less activity, he's acting relatively normal. I'm not overly concerned about his health at this point in time, but I don't want him to waste away. I still have 5 weeks of treatment to go, and I want to get ahead of his potentially getting worse over time.

 

[HumbleFish]

Any thoughts on how I should plan to remove the copper and get CP treatment going?

Poly filter would be your best bet. Running carbon helps, but it doesn't take it all out. Or you can do a 100% WC while the foxface sits in a bucket.

 

[Deinonych]

Poly filter would be your best bet. Running carbon helps, but it doesn't take it all out. Or you can do a 100% WC while the foxface sits in a bucket.

LOL

OK, I take it from your response that removing all copper before dosing CP is best. I have some CupriSorb, so I'll use that. CP has been ordered, so hopefully by early next week I can get him on his way back to normal.

 

[Deinonych]

An update - I move my clownfish into the other HT on 17-Aug. The same day I did a 50% water change on the foxface's tank and put CupraSorb in the filter to start removing the copper. He started eating again the same day. By 21-Aug the copper had been removed (undetectable using Salifert, at least). I started his CP treatment (40mg/g) on 22-Aug. He is still eating, which is great. He seems more skittish/shy than before I started the CP, but as long as he continues to eat, that's fine. I'm going to continue the CP treatment for 4 weeks just to make sure all the crypt is killed. That will give me another 4 weeks of observation before he and the other fish go back into the DT.

Will definitely be glad when this odyssey is over.

 

[Dmorty217]

I would treat with cupramine for 5 weeks and then monitor for the last 3 wks to make sure there are no other signs of disease

 

[Deinonych]

Thanks. I'm doing chloroquine phosphate for the foxface because he stopped eating when I tried Cupramine (even with slowly ramping up the concentration over 5 days). The other fish are in a separate HT with Cupramine for 6 weeks, followed by a 4 week observation period.

 

[Deinonych]

So, I noticed my clownfish glancing against one of the PVC pieces a couple of times today. This is after being in Cupramine @ 0.40mg/l for three full weeks. I can't imagine any fish would have parasites remaining at this point. I did a water change yesterday, but I added the appropriate amount of Cupramine to the fresh SW before I put it into the aquarium.

Levels have not dropped below 0.40 during treatment and I test daily. Any thoughts from the experts on this?

Edit: I am still treating with Cupramine for another 3 weeks for a total of six. Just trying to figure out why my clownfish would be glancing at this stage. Also noticed the firefish doing it a couple of times.

 

[HumbleFish]

So, I noticed my clownfish glancing against one of the PVC pieces a couple of times today. This is after being in Cupramine @ 0.40mg/l for three full weeks. I can't imagine any fish would have parasites remaining at this point. I did a water change yesterday, but I added the appropriate amount of Cupramine to the fresh SW before I put it into the aquarium.

Levels have not dropped below 0.40 during treatment and I test daily. Any thoughts from the experts on this?

Edit: I am still treating with Cupramine for another 3 weeks for a total of six. Just trying to figure out why my clownfish would be glancing at this stage. Also noticed the firefish doing it a couple of times.

By "glancing" I assume you mean the same as scratching. IME; sometimes fish still exhibit symptoms even after the trophonts are gone. I think it's because the trophonts have irritated the fish's skin/gills by feeding on it and it still itches/bothers them. It takes a while for the tissue to fully heal.

I also don't believe in some cases that copper kills all of the theronts right away, especially during a heavy infestation. I know in a perfect world the copper should zap them all instantaneously. But I think sometimes a few make it onto the fish before the copper can do it's thing. Kinda like bug spray not killing every single roach that crawls over it. You just gotta hope the copper zaps them all the next time around. Which is why treating for 4-6 weeks is a good idea IMO.