Can you use copper on a mandarin dragonet

[fishywishy]

I was going to put copper in my whole tank because one of my fish had a parasite so will copper kill my dragonet and if so what alternatives can I use that are as good as copper for killing most parasites

 

[lulubap]

Issues with dosing copper into your whole tank is that it’ll get absorbed by the rock and sand. What kind of parasite does your fish have? Your mandarin won’t respond to copper due to their slime coat. I’m not sure if copper is lethal to them to begin with. You’re better off setting up an emergency QT and leaving the mandarin in your DT so they don’t run out of live food.

 

[Beau_B]

My singular experience suggests no… I lost one in QT inside 24hrs with copper, but it was visibly infected with ich and may have been too far gone.

Further problem is you will kill all food source, pods, and unless your dragonet eats prepared food it’s a death sentence.

 

[fishywishy]

Issues with dosing copper into your whole tank is that it’ll get absorbed by the rock and sand. What kind of parasite does your fish have? Your mandarin won’t respond to copper due to their slime coat. I’m not sure if copper is lethal to them to begin with. You’re better off setting up an emergency QT and leaving the mandarin in your DT so they don’t run out of live food.

I think it had velvet

 

[Dave1993]

you will never be able to have inverts in ur tank again that includes copepods = bye bye mandarin

 

[nereefpat]

The conventional thinking is that mandarins can't handle copper. I suspect chelated copper products (Coppersafe/Copper Power) are safe, but I haven't experimented with dosing a mandarin yet. I would avoid dosing a display tank with copper, if at all possible. Better off with a bucket and an air stone and a heater as a makeshift QT.

Velvet is a quick killer. I would get every fish out quickly into a QT. Petco has cheap Aqueon tanks, or you could even use a rubbermaid.