Treating ich with cupramine
- Thread starter byrdman81
- Start date
Here are some good FAQ's to read from seachem. There is one about dosing.
http://www.seachem.com/support/FAQs/Cupramine_faq.html
http://www.seachem.com/support/FAQs/Cupramine_faq.html
byrdman81
New member
Well just my luck and i kind of figured this would happen. I tested for copper today and its showing 0. I bought a salifert copper test kit. I removed the carbon . so i just have filter running with no carbon power head and pvc. I do have sand in there because while i was just monitoring the fish in qt the last time i was changing water in this 30 gallon like crazy to keep ammonia down. So im assuming the sand bed if absorbing the copper. I added the recommended dosage and retest after 45 min and still nothing so my question is this can i just keep adding the drops until the copper starts to show up in my test or should i wait 24 hours before i add more copper?
limitdown
New member
Good thing that you removed your carbon cuz carbon will remove chemicals (including copper) from the water. Also, you have to add cupramine in the same proportion that you do your water changes. Your sand bed is probably absorbing some of the copper, but it shouldn't be absorbing so much that you're testing zero.
You might have a problem with your test kit. I had serious problems with my API copper kit when testing Seachem's Cupramine. I ended up getting Seachem's copper test kit. Make sure that the Seachem kit you get is the one with a small dip stick and white powder.
To keep ammonia down in your QT, put in a piece of LR from your display. If you have live bioballs or ceramic rings in your sump, you can throw that into a hang-on-back power filter.
You might have a problem with your test kit. I had serious problems with my API copper kit when testing Seachem's Cupramine. I ended up getting Seachem's copper test kit. Make sure that the Seachem kit you get is the one with a small dip stick and white powder.
To keep ammonia down in your QT, put in a piece of LR from your display. If you have live bioballs or ceramic rings in your sump, you can throw that into a hang-on-back power filter.
Yes, keep treating. Read this article and you will see why.
http://atj.net.au/marineaquaria/marineich.html
A lot of the guys on here treat for 3 weeks to make sure.
http://atj.net.au/marineaquaria/marineich.html
A lot of the guys on here treat for 3 weeks to make sure.
limitdown
New member
I don't think you need to change water that often. Half of the tank per 5-7 days should be fine. Most fish can tolerate very high levels of nitrates. Many FO/Fowler keepers here reportedly run 50ppm+ without problems. Personally I've run much higher levels than that for extended periods without any problems.
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byrdman81
New member
OK so been treating with the cupramine for 2 weeks now and i dont see any more signs of ich. My emporer angel eats like a pig and comes to the front of the tank when i come up to it. Sometimes i notice when i first walk into the room or while im at computer that he is swiimming under where the water comes out from my filter and in the power head stream. I have noticed him once or twice in the last day or two rubbing up against pvc. He has only done this once or twice and havent saw him all day today. He looks fine really. I dont see anythink visable wrong with him is this something to be worried about or no?
limitdown
New member
This could be a sign of flukes. Especially if he's also twitching. Either way, continue treating with cupramine for a total of 4 to 6 wks. Copper is effective against flukes, but you can consider adding Prazi-Pro (praziquantel) made by Hikari. Prazi-Pro and Cupramine can be safely used together.
Quoted from Seachem's website
http://www.seachem.com/support/FAQs/Cupramine_faq.html
Q: Can you tell me if Cupramineâ"žÂ¢ is effective against gill fluke?
A: Yes, Cupramineâ"žÂ¢ effectively eradicates ectoparasite of both freshwater and marine fish. Please be sure to follow all directions on the product, make sure that you do not mix with any other medications and turn off your UV sterilizer. Please let me know if you have any further questions.
LargeAngels
Premium Member
I wouldn't be without Cupramine and truly believe in their product for treating ich and velvet, but IME I have found that Cupramine has not worked for flukes. Like limitdown stated Prazipro is really affective against flukes.
Do a FW dip on the emperor in a clear container. If you find "jelly" like things in the container then it has flukes. FW dip removes the adults, but doesn't kill the eggs.
Do a FW dip on the emperor in a clear container. If you find "jelly" like things in the container then it has flukes. FW dip removes the adults, but doesn't kill the eggs.
flameangel88
New member
I treated the DT with Cupramine back in July for 13 days and decided to take out copper after seeing 3 butterflies with heavy breathing and no sign of ich but what a mistake that was. Within 2-3 days ich came back and I just finished with another treatment of 25 days. If I were you I would at the minimum to treat for another week. Over the course of 6 weeks I'd to add cupramine everyday because of LRs and sandbed absorbing most of it and I used up 2 med, 1 sm bottle and partial use of another med bottle. I test twice a day with the Seachem Copper test kit once in the morning and once at night. I know its a pain but with such a struggle with maintaining 0.5 level I'd to do it.
The ammonia spiked due to die-off of inverts and worms and had to perform 2 WCs but my challenge was holding the PH from falling below 7.6. Check your PH when dosing copper.
The ammonia spiked due to die-off of inverts and worms and had to perform 2 WCs but my challenge was holding the PH from falling below 7.6. Check your PH when dosing copper.
