Overdose of copper.

[andrewsmart]

i have 5 green chromis and a royal grama i purchased recently in my qt tank.

i noticed the gramam was not eating and the next day had white spot.

so i dosed the tank with copper hovwever i misread the dosage and the copper level is now sky high off the scale.

i used like 4 times the dosage.

now the grama is fine and the chromis are not eating. they come to the surface when i open the top but when the food is in they swim about looking but ignore it.

almost as though they dont recognise it.

i have done a 30% water change yesterday and 50% today.

is there anything else i can do also what harm have i done.

 

[cmulawka]

ok i dont know what harm you did but i would chill on the water changes you might shock them from going from heavy med to nothing I would leave the water for awhile when you feed just try a very!!! little you dont want to fowl the water by putting in food they are not eating

 

[andrewsmart]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9300923#post9300923 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by cmulawka
ok i dont know what harm you did but i would chill on the water changes you might shock them from going from heavy med to nothing I would leave the water for awhile when you feed just try a very!!! little you dont want to fowl the water by putting in food they are not eating

the grama is getting the food boy can it eat i just want to get the copper level down.

wont do any more water changes today.

would changing some filter media helps i have an external cannister filter. with bio balls and filter wool.

i could run carbon to remove the copper but then the itch may return.

the fish seem fine look of and are trying to eat or at least interested.

 

[cmulawka]

i would wait a couple of weeks and try copper again but if ich comes back sooner dose again

 

[luke33]

If you want to remove the copper, run some carbon for a while.

 

[JHemdal]

Ummm,

"i would chill on the water changes you might shock them from going from heavy med to nothing "

There is absolutely no basis for that. If the water changes are done properly, they will only help reduce the amount of copper in the water. This is akin to accidently putting your hand on a stove's burner and then deciding to just turn it down one notch at a time rather than pulling your hand away at once<grin>.

You need to find out where your copper level is. If it still tests off the scale, try mixing a small amount of tank water with an equal amount of distilled water. Run the test on that and multiply the results by 2. If it is still off the scale, dilute the sample further.

A combination of water changes and a good grade of activated carbon is what most people do to quickly reduce the copper levels in a tank. The amount of water that you've changed amounts to an effective amount of about 75%, so that should drop the copper level to what is a normal dose (assuming a 4x dose to start with).

Jay Hemdal

p.s. - some people have reported that raising a copper level too fast can cause toxicity in some fish....however, if they have an active disease, and you raise the level slowly, the fish may end up dying from the disease itself.

 

[andrewsmart]

i have the level back to a theraputic level now.

1 of the chromis died and the others are eating only sporadically but are eating.

on thursday the copper treatment period of 2 weeks is up is that right so i will run carbon and do a water change.


how long should i leave them in quarantine now to ensure no ich infection.

 

[andrewsmart]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9347832#post9347832 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by andrewsmart
i have the level back to a theraputic level now.

1 of the chromis died and the others are eating only sporadically but are eating.

on thursday the copper treatment period of 2 weeks is up is that right so i will run carbon and do a water change.


how long should i leave them in quarantine now to ensure no ich infection.

just to let you know the ich is goe i lost 1 of the chromis but the other 5 are fine appetite returned once the copper was gone.

that has been about 8 weeks now.

oh and read the instructions on bottles very carefully.