Best Copper med for nano fish?

[SauceyReef]

I added a biota mandarin to my fluval evo without quarantine as I thought it would not be wise to QT such a fish. I removed all the water in the container the fish was in before addition but sadly my tank got a bad case of ich after 3.5 years no problems.

I’m currently pulling out a blue neon goby and setting up a QT for the little one. What’s a good copper med to buy for such a small fish? Need something small or for better words low quantity as this is the only one showing problems and is smaller than my pinky.

Any suggestions?

 

[fishguy242]

#fishmedic

 

[Sharkbait19]

Coppersafe or copper power would be best

 

[SauceyReef]

Coppersafe or copper power would be best

Thank you ! Are you from Ohio? We have a store called shark bait

 

[Sharkbait19]

Thank you ! Are you from Ohio? We have a store called shark bait

No - I’m in NJ.
Sounds like a good store though (I hope).

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

+1, coppersafe or copper power. You’ll need a way to test it though, like a Hanna tester.

Have you thought about hyposalinity?

 

[SauceyReef]

So many people have recommended CopperSafe I am definitely going to get it.

I thought Hyposalinity was just to keep the physical effects at bay? Not an actual treatment.


Big question: Is testing copper a necessity? Or can I just follow dosing instructions.

 

[Sharkbait19]

If you are very careful and accurate with your measurements, it should get you to the right dosage. That said, it’s still good to have a numerical value to know for sure.

Hyposalinity at 1.009 will kill ich given that you maintain it for 30 days after the last spot disappears (similar to copper). It also controls for flukes.

 

[JayM]

Big question: Is testing copper a necessity? Or can I just follow dosing instructions.

You might get away with that if you had an extremely hardy fish. Mandarin's are known to be very sensitive to copper. I would strongly advise a Hanna checker. It will be worth every penny.

 

[SauceyReef]

If you are very careful and accurate with your measurements, it should get you to the right dosage. That said, it’s still good to have a numerical value to know for sure.

Hyposalinity at 1.009 will kill ich given that you maintain it for 30 days after the last spot disappears (similar to copper). It also controls for flukes.

Thank you! Wouldn't salinity that low kill the fish??

You might get away with that if you had an extremely hardy fish. Mandarin's are known to be very sensitive to copper. I would strongly advise a Hanna checker. It will be worth every penny.

I will ask my local reef club if anyone has an extra I can borrow. If not I will have to purchase one. Thank you.

 

[Sharkbait19]

Thank you! Wouldn't salinity that low kill the fish??



I will ask my local reef club if anyone has an extra I can borrow. If not I will have to purchase one. Thank you.

I’m sure there are some that are super sensitive, but any of the common fish we keep will handle it fine.
Jay could better comment on what won’t do well in hypo.
A goby would be fine.

 

[Tonycass12]

So many people have recommended CopperSafe I am definitely going to get it.

I thought Hyposalinity was just to keep the physical effects at bay? Not an actual treatment.


Big question: Is testing copper a necessity? Or can I just follow dosing instructions.

You need to pull and treat all this fish and let your tank go fishless for a while. Ive done 60 days in the past, some say shorter or longer amounts of time depending on tank temp.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

So many people have recommended CopperSafe I am definitely going to get it.

I thought Hyposalinity was just to keep the physical effects at bay? Not an actual treatment.


Big question: Is testing copper a necessity? Or can I just follow dosing instructions.

Properly done, hyposalinity wil completely cure ich and flukes. It does not work on other diseases. The benefit of hypo is that it doesn’t contaminate your sand and rocks like copper will.
Copper is effective against ich and velvet, but nothing else.

Here is my article on hypo:

Hyposalinity

Hyposalinity Jay Hemdal 2024 This term refers to a long-term bath treatment for marine fishes in which the salt content of the water is lowered and held below the point that certain parasites can survive. The salt level reached, and the time of the treatment are the two variables...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[SauceyReef]

Properly done, hyposalinity wil completely cure ich and flukes. It does not work on other diseases. The benefit of hypo is that it doesn’t contaminate your sand and rocks like copper will.
Copper is effective against ich and velvet, but nothing else.

Here is my article on hypo:

Hyposalinity

Hyposalinity Jay Hemdal 2024 This term refers to a long-term bath treatment for marine fishes in which the salt content of the water is lowered and held below the point that certain parasites can survive. The salt level reached, and the time of the treatment are the two variables...

www.reef2reef.com

Copper is going to absorb into the glass and silicone also and the tank will be useless other than for QT - right?

 

[SauceyReef]

Amazing most saltwater fish can handle under 1.010 long term. Almost unbelievable!

 

[Sharkbait19]

Copper is going to absorb into the glass and silicone also and the tank will be useless other than for QT - right?

It won’t absorb into glass and silicone. It only becomes a problem with (calcium based) rock and sand.

 

[SauceyReef]

It won’t absorb into glass and silicone. It only becomes a problem with (calcium based) rock and sand.

Good to know!

 

[Sharkbait19]

It won’t absorb into glass and silicone. It only becomes a problem with (calcium based) rock and sand.

Though to add, I’d still give any tank that was a qt a good cleaning before making a reef again.

 

[SauceyReef]

Though to add, I’d still give any tank that was a qt a good cleaning before making a reef again.

Certainly. I think I will never use this tank again other than QT, but if I do will definitely let it soak a couple times before I do.

 

[JayM]

Copper is going to absorb into the glass and silicone also and the tank will be useless other than for QT - right?

Copper will not absorb into the glass, and I'm 99.9% sure it won't absorb into the silicone either. Tank should be fine for something other than QT after a good scrubbing with a splash of bleach and water.