first battle with ich

[BigRedSpecial]

First of all, I want to say I've read endlessly on ich and it's treatment, I just want people to critique my method in case they catch something I'm doing wrong.

After running for 8 months, I finally added fish to my 10g nano. Being such a small tank, and knowing I'd only be able to fit 2 or 3 fish max, I didn't think Q/T was necessary:rolleye1: . I know, I know. Anyway, now I've got a Green Clown Goby and Purple Dottyback (Odd match, but it works since the goby spends most of his time sitting on the rock or substrate) with mild ich, and I want to rid the tank of it forever.

I don't own a hydrometer, so I decided on copper; Today I placed an order for cupramine and a test kit.

Question 1: will the goby, being a scaleless fish, survive copper?
2, what concentration is recommended? Seachem suggests up to .5mg/L, while everything I've read says .115 to .3 mg/L. Is cupramine different than chelated copper in dosage?


I plan to put the fish in rectangular buckets I have(2g each) with an Aqua Clear 30 on there(will the copper kill the bacteria?).

I've read that Maxi jets can be used as in-line pumps, is this true? If so, I'll place the fish in separate buckets, with a siphon hose and the powerhead flowing water from one to the other; this will simplify dosing and temp control and prevent aggression.


does this plan sound good to everyone?

 

[BigRedSpecial]

No one on Reef Central knows if a clown goby is copper safe, if Maxi Jets can be used inline, or the dosing concentration/duration of cupramine???

 

[Freed]

There are a few questions remaining here:
If all you have is fish in the tank then hyposalinity would be your best bet in the main tank. I assume you will be putting the fish back in the nano when you are done with the treatment? Ich will still be in the main tank unless you take the fish out for no less than 4-6 weeks. During this time the ich will die off without fish to feed off of. Are there any corals/inverts in the main tank? If so you then can't do copper or hypo on the main tank. You would still have to leave the main tank fishless for 4-6 weeks to rid the main tank of the ich parasite.

 

[BigRedSpecial]

yeah the main is fully stocked with things I'd rather not treat(14lbs LR, inverts, hitch hiker corals). I plan to remove the fish to a hospital tank for 8 weeks to kill the ich in the display.

My biggest concern is the Goby's tolerance for copper.

 

[Freed]

Hypo is much easier and less chance something could go wrong and kill what you are trying to save.

 

[LargeAngels]

Cupramine is a very affective copper treatment tolerated by almost all fish. I've treated gobies and copper sensitive angels with no issues. It is much less toxic to the fish than any other copper on the market. Copper treatment levels with Cupramine are different so rely on Seachem's recommended dosage (0.5) and disregard everything else.

If it is ich then hypo will also work. Just make sure it is ich and not velvet. Velvet cannot be treated with hypo. Also if doing hypo do not rely on a hydrometer as they are not accurate enough.

 

[BigRedSpecial]

Alright that's what I was looking for, thanks for the replies. LargeAngels I had read exactly what you said about Cupramine, which is why I decided to go with it. It's also reassuring to get confirmation of the dosage.

As for Hypo, I wouldn't feel comfortable trying it with a hydrometer; mine only goes down to 1.012(Coralife deep six), so it would be useless even if they were dependable.

As an aside, my birthday is coming up soon and I've asked the girlfriend for a refractometer, so maybe I'll do both treatments.

Thanks again for the replies, I'll keep you posted.

 

[Freed]

You can't do copper AND hypo at the same time. Deadly results.

 

[BigRedSpecial]

I meant one then the other; I wouldn't be brave enough to try both at once!