Copper power and general cure?

Cherie cook · Jun 14, 2018

My fish are in QT and I've been using copper power...is it safe to dose them orally with General Cure mixed with food? I've never seen any problems with them...just trying to round out my QT time.

Big G · Jun 14, 2018

General Cure is usually dosed into the water so that the praziquantel can disperse to eliminate flukes on the external of the fish; simultaneously the metro is ingested from the water to treat the internal parasites (worms) of the fish. So you probably would not be getting the external fluke treatment benefits of the praziquantel if ingested with food. But you would be giving the fish's internals the double whammy of praziquantel & metro, as some worms are praziquantel resistant and some are metro resistant. So the fish's internals would really get treated. Yet the external would not. Did you give the fish a freshwater dip before treating with copper to check for flukes?

Cherie cook · Jun 14, 2018

Big G said:
General Cure is usually dosed into the water so that the praziquantel can disperse to eliminate flukes on the external of the fish; simultaneously the metro is ingested from the water to treat the internal parasites (worms) of the fish. So you probably would not be getting the external fluke treatment benefits of the praziquantel if ingested with food. But you would be giving the fish's internals the double whammy of praziquantel & metro, as some worms are praziquantel resistant and some are metro resistant. So the fish's internals would really get treated. Yet the external would not. Did you give the fish a freshwater dip before treating with copper to check for flukes?

No I didn't. So would it be safe to use General Cure in the water with copper? Or should I get the copper out?

HotRocks · Jun 14, 2018

I agree with @Big G, I would add that you will want to bind with focus if you do mix into food.

I use metroplex and focus for internal parasites (during copper)

I also recently used GC (dosed into water column) during therapuetic copper to treat flukes with no issues. A bacterial bloom is possible.

Anytime you add/mix medications, you will deplete the oxygen from the water faster. So it is CRITICAL to have additional oxygen exchange. Power head aimed to the surface with ample agitation, and a good Air pump/Airstone.

Cherie cook · Jun 14, 2018

HotRocks said:
I agree with @Big G, I would add that you will want to bind with focus if you do mix into food.

I use metroplex and focus for internal parasites (during copper)

I also recently used GC (dosed into water column) during therapuetic copper to treat flukes with no issues. A bacterial bloom is possible.

Anytime you add/mix medications, you will deplete the oxygen from the water faster. So it is CRITICAL to have additional oxygen exchange. Power head aimed to the surface with ample agitation, and a good Air pump/Airstone.

Great...thanks so much!