Quarantining a Powder Brown Tank. Medicate or no?

[bureau13]

If we were just dealing with ich I would probably agree with that last statement, unfortunately we get velvet too. I'm overly sensitive to that as it recently wiped out most all of my fish, in my naive pre-quarantine days. I know of no other cure for that one.

Supposedly Cupramine has been found to be less harmful to fish than some other methods of delivery, but I can't offer any proof that this is so.

jds

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8119696#post8119696 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by EdKruzel
I have seen a few studies on this topic, but more-so have witnessed a large percentage of tangs wither and die after full and recommended dosages of copper.
Back in the day the explanation was that (all guess work) the ich was too much and the treatment was too late.

I do recall sitting with Albert Thiel when he lived in New Mexico while he discussed the effects of copper being more toxic to the fish than to the parasite.
Copper works as an irritant removing the parasite and breaking the life cycle as opposed to just killing it and having it fall from the fish.

There are too many better cures (to include natural ones) than for me to risk using a toxic material.

Ed

 

[Steven Pro]

I have seen a few studies on this topic

If you can recall any of these, could you please list them? I would love to read them for myself.

Copper works as an irritant removing the parasite and breaking the life cycle as opposed to just killing it and having it fall from the fish.

Copper works the same as all the proven treatment, by killing the stages of the parasite when not attached to the fish.

 

[EdKruzel]

Steve,
Where Ya Been?
I do have an article on this somewhere amongst this mess of a library; I'll post the information when I find it.
I imagine you'll be at the upcoming MACNA; this can be a good topic to discuss with Scott Michael or maybe Frank Marini or one of the other "Smarter than me" people.

It doesn't look like I can get away this year, but if I make it, the first round is on me.

Ed

 

[EdKruzel]

This was a lead in study identifing the microbes:

Occurrence and characteristics of unusual protistan symbionts from surgeonfishes (Acanthuridae) of the Great Barrier Reef, Australia
Journal Marine Biology
Publisher Springer Berlin / Heidelberg
ISSN 0025-3162 (Print) 1432-1793 (Online)
Subject Biomedical and Life Sciences and Earth and Environmental Science
Issue Volume 102, Number 3 / September, 1989
DOI 10.1007/BF00428493
Pages 403-412
Online Date Saturday, December 11, 2004

K. D. Clements1, D. C. Sutton2 and J. H. Choat1
(1) Department of Marine Biology, James Cook University of North Queensland, 4811 Townsville, Queensland, Australia
(2) Sir George Fisher Centre for Tropical Marine Studies, James Cook University of North Queensland, 4811 Townsville, Queensland, Australia

Accepted: 26 April 1989
Communicated by G. F. Humphrey, Sydney
Abstract The occurrence of unusual symbiotic microorganisms was examined in the intestines of a range of fish from the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. The fish taxa examined included 26 species of the family Acanthuridae, as well as representatives of phylogenetically related and herbivorous taxa. The microorganisms, referred to as protists, were only found in herbivorous and detritivorous members of the Acanthuridae. Protists were not found in planktivorous acanthurids, nor in any members of the families Kyphosidae, Pomacentridae, Scaridae, Zanclidae, Siganidae and Bleniidae we examined. In addition, protists were absent from the herbivorous acanthurids A. xanthopterus and A. nigricans. A range of protist forms, characterized by differences in size (8 to 417 mgrm), shape and mode of cell division (daughter-cell production and binary fission), was observed. The occurrence of these forms appeared to be correlated with host feedingecology. Large forms (>100 mgrm) of the protists were only found in acanthurids which fed over hard-reef substrata. Smaller forms were found in sand-grazing and detritivorous species. One of the protist forms appears identical to protists previously reported from Red Sea acanthurids.

I still need to find the study on the effects of chemical compounds and there reaction to the host organism.

Ed