Proper use of Cupramine

[mjdf]

Hi everyone,
I have a purple tang in quarantine now for like 3 weeks. He broke out with ich the first week, so I decided to treat with cupramine. The problem I have is I'm not sure if I'm following or understanding the cupramines directions.
The tank is 23g long. I dose 2ml then wait 48 hrs and dose another 2mls. That should give me a reading of 0.5 with test kits( seachem/red sea.) I barely get a reading at all. Directions say to remove chemical filtration, does that include protein skimmer ? Is my skimmer pulling the cupramine out of the water ? My fish looked great for about a week after treatment but appears to have it again now. Thinking of trying hypo at same time but worry that might be too much for the fish to deal with. He still eats like a champ though. Please help, what am I doing wrong ?

 

[geaux xman]

You have any LR or sand that might be absorbing the copper?

Skimmer is okay to use, but I wouldnt bother in a QT.

the first 2mls should get you close to .25ppm and the 2nd dose to .5ppm.
if you dont have anything that might be asorbing out the copper, i would double question the test kit.

DO NOT do hypo and copper together, it'll be very toxic and stressful for the fish.

 

[Tat2demon]

You MUST turn off the skimmer with Cupramine. Cupramine is copper bound to an ammonia protein. Your skimmer will take out that protein and the copper bound to it.

Thats from Seachem support.

 

[coralreefdoc]

Agree. Cut the skimmer ... Also, most people dont realize this but copper treatment is a carcinogen to humans. Medicate carefully

 

[RegalAngel]

From Seachem, maker of Cupramine:

Q: I am treating my 90 Gallon tank with Cupramine. I've removed the activited charcoal and carbon and I turned off the UV and the Ozonizer. Shoud I turn off my Protein Skimmer?

A: It is perfectly acceptable and recommended to leave your skimmer on during treatment.

 

[MrTuskfish]

Take the skimmer out and you don't have the worry. A skimmer serves no real purpose in QT; skimming has long term benefits, not short-term. Use the SeaChem test kit, its made by the same company as the Cupramine. Don't hesitate to call SeaChem if you need to, they have great tech support. Oh yeah, watch ammonia and be sure not to use any ammonia-neutralizing products like Ammo-Lock, Prime, etc. Its a deadly combination.

 

[MrTuskfish]

You MUST turn off the skimmer with Cupramine. Cupramine is copper bound to an ammonia protein. Your skimmer will take out that protein and the copper bound to it.

Thats from Seachem support.

Really? Cupramine is the copper of choice of many wholesalers, online dealers and LFS. They commonly run Cupramine and huge skimmers continually. I'm no chemist, but I've never heard of an ammonia protein. However, I have heard that skimmers will remove Cupramine---like I said above, there is absolutely no reason for a skimmer in QT. There shouldn't be much to skim anyway.

EDIT: Found this on the SeaChem site. the same site says to leave skimmer on if you want.

"Will the Cupramine kill nitrifying bacteria in the filter? I used it to treat the parasite problem in a 20g quarantine tank. Three days later, I tested the ammonia level, and it was about 0.5 ppm. The copper level was about 0.25 ppm, and the nitrite level was about 0ppm.

A: Cupramine may slightly retard the bacteria but overall it is safe to use and won't adversely affect the nitrifying bacteria. The reading of ammonia you're getting is most likely a false reading because Cupramine contains an organic amine which is very similar to ammonia in structure and the test kit is likely not able to distinguish between the two. You could try our MultiTest: Free and Total Ammonia test which does not have this issue and will not give a false positive... or you can use our Ammonia Alert which works on the same principal and will show only free ammonia.

 

[Tat2demon]

Really? Cupramine is the copper of choice of many wholesalers, online dealers and LFS. They commonly run Cupramine and huge skimmers continually. I'm no chemist, but I've never heard of an ammonia protein. However, I have heard that skimmers will remove Cupramine---like I said above, there is absolutely no reason for a skimmer in QT. There shouldn't be much to skim anyway.

EDIT: Found this on the SeaChem site. the same site says to leave skimmer on if you want.

Strange. I wonder what the correct answer is then. Guess it depends on who is taking the questions that day

 

[MrTuskfish]

Strange. I wonder what the correct answer is then. Guess it depends on who is taking the questions that day

Scroll down to the skimmer question. They just added FAQ to their web site. There always is some difference of opinion with tech people (IME & IMO); but this is their "official answer.
http://www.seachem.com/support/FAQs/Cupramine.html

 

[geaux xman]

MJDF,

how the treatment going with the PT? i have a PT thats on its 3rd day of .5 cupramine also. he never showed any signs of ich. i'm just treating prophylacticly for 3 weeks prior to putting it in the DT.