NLS Powder vs. copper?

[Breakthecycle2]

My main tank came down with something. I've had velvet before and the fish dropped like flies. This time around, only new additions would come down with something and die. Some of the older fish came down with symptoms but seemed to fight it off. I took out all my fish yesterday and put them in QT. It could be brook, but I'm leaning toward velvet, due to the quickness new fish came down with it. Is this powder "better" to use in QT over copper?

 

[snorvich]

Yes

 

[Breakthecycle2]

Yes

And what if I started copper already?

 

[CoralsAddiction]

Sounds like velvet. As to your question stick with copper if you don't have any fishes that are uber sensitive to it. Velvet kills MUCH quicker than ich so really you don't have that much time.

 

[Breakthecycle2]

Sounds like velvet. As to your question stick with copper if you don't have any fishes that are uber sensitive to it. Velvet kills MUCH quicker than ich so really you don't have that much time.

I have 14 or 15 fish in QT, including some leopard wrasses a golden pygmy angel, yellow scopas tang, snow bass and about 8 fairy wrasses. I'm dosing a 1/4 of the dosage of copper every day until it reaches the therapeutic level.

 

[scooter31707]

IMO, I would maybe stick with the cooper. If I am not mistaken wrasses are known to be sensitive to CP. Maybe try a Formalin bath also.

 

[Breakthecycle2]

IMO, I would maybe stick with the cooper. If I am not mistaken wrasses are known to be sensitive to CP. Maybe try a Formalin bath also.

I've had success with coppersafe over cupramine. So far this has worked well.

 

[Dmorty217]

If your really dealing with velvet the level of copper needed to kill off the parasite is double the lethal level for fish, so I wouldn't suspect velvet if the fish are doing better in copper

 

[CoralsAddiction]

I've had success with coppersafe over cupramine. So far this has worked well.

Same experience here.

 

[ThRoewer]

I would first trying to positively identify what you are dealing with.

It seems your old stock is at least partially immune to whatever is killing new arrivals. At least from your initial post I gather that there are no losses of old stock.

My suggestion would be to get a few black mollies and acclimate them to saltwater. Then expose them to the water of the tank the old stock is in now and observe closely what happens. A microscope may be helpful.

Brook and velvet kill equally fast and can be confused with each other. Unfortunately they have no common cure so you need to know which one you need to treat against.

If your really dealing with velvet the level of copper needed to kill off the parasite is double the lethal level for fish, so I wouldn't suspect velvet if the fish are doing better in copper

For some velvet strains, not all.
I agree that CP is the better cure for velvet.
Unfortunately there are fish for which CP is even deadlier than the disease it is supposed to cure. For those fish copper is pretty much the only alternative.

Copper as an immune suppressant may of course endanger the immunity of the old stock if it is not a suitable cure.