Fresh water dip

Billy .M · Oct 19, 2018

hey guys so I just started this hobby 6 months ago and I got a blue tang 2 months ago put him in my qt tank and treated him with cupramine copper and about 2 and a half weeks later I saw the ich coming back I tested the copper and it was at the 0.5 level I made sure to keep it there but somehow the ich came back so my LFS told me to fresh water dip the blue tang for 4 minuets and dip in in hydroplex right after for 11 minuets so I did and put him in the main Display that was maybe a month ago and blue tang has been doing great in the main display so I recently just got a yellow tang yesterday and put him in my QT thank and noticed that he is scraping up against the PVC pipe in the tank so my question is should I just do the freshwater dip and skip the copper since it didn’t work the first time or should I give the copper a second chance

Crabs McJones · Oct 19, 2018

How long did you have the blue tang in copper? Treatment is generally 30 days of therapeutic. If at anytime the copper level drops out of the therapeutic range, or a new fish is introduced, the 30 days restarts.

Billy .M · Oct 19, 2018

Well I had the blue tang in there for close to 3 weeks and it was doing fine until the last few days leading up to the fresh water dip and the ich was getting bad the blue tang wasn’t swimming anymore and it was struggling to breath and after the fresh water dip she went back to normal and has been good ever since

mike werner · Oct 19, 2018

Welcome,Always great to hear from a new member.
Your in good hands with crabs mcjones always.

Crabs McJones · Oct 19, 2018

Billy .M said:
Well I had the blue tang in there for close to 3 weeks and it was doing fine until the last few days leading up to the fresh water dip and the ich was getting bad the blue tang wasn’t swimming anymore and it was struggling to breath and after the fresh water dip she went back to normal and has been good ever since

What copper treatment were you using, and what test kit were you using to determine your copper levels? Could possibly be a copper resistant strain @HotRocks @Humblefish

Billy .M · Oct 19, 2018

I used seachem cupramine copper and I used the seachem multitest copper test

Humblefish · Oct 19, 2018

A freshwater dip is somewhat effective against Marine Velvet Disease and other parasites/worms, but useless for treating ich because the trophonts burrow in under the outer skin layer.

Instead of using Cupramine, I recommend switching over to Copper Power + Hanna copper checker for testing.

Billy .M · Oct 19, 2018

So you saying I should move all my fish back into quarantine ;Nailbiting

4FordFamily · Oct 19, 2018

Billy .M said:
So you saying I should move all my fish back into quarantine ;Nailbiting

Yes. I agree with @Humblefish.

The proper timeframe is 30 days if you’re not transferring them to another completely sterile quarantine 10 feet or more away after 14 days. You’ll also need to run any tank the fish were in fallow for 76 days or it’ll come back upon reintroduction, unfortunately.

Also, welcome home to R2R, you will love it here!

JumboShrimp · Oct 19, 2018

You have top-notch mentors with @Crabs Mcjones , @4FordFamily , and @Humblefish !!

Billy .M · Oct 19, 2018

4FordFamily said:
Yes. I agree with @Humblefish.

The proper timeframe is 30 days if you’re not transferring them to another completely sterile quarantine 10 feet or more away after 14 days. You’ll also need to run any tank the fish were in fallow for 76 days or it’ll come back upon reintroduction, unfortunately.

Also, welcome home to R2R, you will love it here!

Ok well I’ll get the copper power and the test and start the process over again thanks for the help guys