What fish are sensitive to copper?

[LobsterOfJustice]

I am in charge of maintenance on a few tanks and I am treating a small system with copper (cupramine). Are there any particular fish which can not undergo treatment? I am particularly wondering about any elasmobranchs (sharks/rays) or scaleless fish (mandarin, etc).

Also, cupramine instructions do not mention protein skimming, but should the skimmer be run during treatment?

 

[spsgtr]

IME i've lost flame wrasses and tangs even at a 1/4 of the cupramine dose. The concentration was not even detectable on the test kits. you have to watch the fish to see how irregular their behavior is. it you start to notice this, do a large WC and add carbon quickly. The fish can die with an hour. Some people say they use cupramine on everything.. i don't think that's a good idea unless your fish is having symptoms/signs.

 

[LargeAngels]

Never used Cupramine on sharks/rays but I believe Cupramine states it is ok at 0.25. Never had an issue with other fish, including flame wrasses and tangs.

spsgtr: What test kits were you using? Cupramine does NOT interact well with some meds and water conditioners as it can become 10x more toxic.

 

[roktsintst]

Im not sure what you had going on but i've treated many fihs with cupramine. The thing that gets them in my opinion is ammonia. I run HOB filters on all 4 of my QT tanks. I also have carbon in them. Well when im ready to dose cupramine, i pull the carbon and add cupramine. When i see the fish hiding more/ not eating/ acting strange, I know it is an ammonia problem. I do a large WC and add carbon to pull the cupramine or just do a large WC and replace the correct dosage of cupramine i pulled out w/ the WC.

I have had trouble with Moorish Idols and Flame Angels... Anyone else have trouble with Flame Angels?

 

[MrTuskfish]

Call SeaChem tech support ( a very under-used resource, IMO)...they're great. If a company doesn't have good tech support, I don't buy their stuff. 888-732-2436. I call them whenever I have a new fish and I'm not 100% certain of the copper sensitivity. I've used Cupramine in QT on every fish for years and never had a loss that I could blame on the Cupramine. I don't keep sharks or rays, but know they are sensitive. Some dwarf angels are too, but I've used a minimal dose and they did fine. Can't help with the skimmer question, I don't use one in QT; but ask SeaChem.
BTW: almost all collectors, holding facilities, wholesalers, shippers, online dealers & many (if not most) use copper all the time. (On most fish.)

 

[MrTuskfish]

I have had trouble with Moorish Idols and Flame Angels... Anyone else have trouble with Flame Angels?

Flame Angels are copper-sensitive; I've used Cupramine on a couple of dwarf angels at .15 I think, whatever SC said to do. My 2 Idols, and one I had before moving, got the full dose.

 

[spsgtr]

I've used the Seachem test kits and used the Salifert test kit to confirm the concentration. Ammonia was not a problem since the QT tanks were set up for many months with a HOB filter/biowheels. The wrasses/tangs were doing fine until the copper was added. Ammonia tests and Ammonia badge detector were stone cold normal. Obviously, everyone's experience is different. I guess I've just had bad luck with cupramine so I've been wary. I've never had any problems with cupramine and angels FWIW.

 

[spsgtr]

Forgot to add that I wasn't using any other treatments or conditioners with the cupramine and I wasn't running hypo.

 

[MrTuskfish]

Im not sure what you had going on but i've treated many fihs with cupramine. The thing that gets them in my opinion is ammonia. I run HOB filters on all 4 of my QT tanks.

I use a HOB on my 55 gal QT too. I like Aqua-Clear, because the sponge is so big. I keep a new sponge in the flow of one of my DTs and when i need a QT, just put the sponge from the DT into the QT. This instantly cycles the QT, the Aqua-Clear sponges are perfect for culturing aerobic bacteria. I've never had an ammonia problem in QT since I started this procedure. When done, toss the QT sponge, they're cheap. Just an air driven sponge filter will also work, if you only QT a fish or two at a time.