Help! Praziquantel and Cupramine

[VJV]

Very happy [emoji4][emoji4][emoji4][emoji4]! This morning the PB is no longer flashing nor scratching! He is eating pellets well, and picking at the objects in the tank. Here is the video:

 

[VJV]

And one of him picking at the pellets (hikari marine formula S).


And a full tank shot

 

[Humblefish]

Sounds good! I would leave him in Cupramine for a full month.

 

[VJV]

I plan to! That is my normal quarantine protocol.

Week 1: acclimation
Day 7: treat with Tremazol
Day 14: repeat Tremazol
Week 3: observation
Week 4 through 8: Cupramine

What happened this time was that at the end of the first week (last Friday) the fish was showing those flashing and scratching signs. I did not see any white spots but was afraid that if I followed my normal procedure of treating with Tremazol and it turned out to be ich or velvet it might not last the whole week. So I decided to change the protocol and tear with Cupramine. However, since after two days the symptoms continued I wondered if it was indeed flukes.

Of course, at this time I can not be 100% sure if it was indeed flukes and the Tremazol worked or if it was ich and it took 2 days for the copper to work. I am inclined to believe that it was flukes because the fish stopped flashing once I put him into the Tremazol bucket and never saw him flash throughout the 6h he was in there (the bucket only had Tremazol, no Cupramine).

If this was the case I should repeat the Tremazol 7 days later but I may have a problem. By now the Cupramine concentration is already at 0,375 and I am afraid that removing the fish into a bucket with no copper and 6h later put him back in the 0,375 solution might be too much of a sudden change in copper concentration. Any thoughts?

 

[Humblefish]

If this was the case I should repeat the Tremazol 7 days later but I may have a problem. By now the Cupramine concentration is already at 0,375 and I am afraid that removing the fish into a bucket with no copper and 6h later put him back in the 0,375 solution might be too much of a sudden change in copper concentration. Any thoughts?

I think you'd be fine. Just don't raise the Cu level any higher until after the Tremazol treatments are done. 25 years ago I worked in a LFS as a teenage and we maintained copper (Coppersafe) in every tank. When our shipment came in, we just drip acclimated all the fish into full chelated copper (2.0ppm). None of the tangs ever seemed bothered by this - we always kept PBT in stock. Even most of the angels seemed unaffected. It was the little guys - like firefish, gobies, blennies - that we would lose.

 

[VJV]

Thanks again humblefish! What i may dobis the same that i did yesterday, which is so a 50% water change in the QT while the fish is in the tremazol bucket, thus bringuing the copper concentration down. After I put it back in i would than raise tje concentration again. My only doubt is if by doing so i wpuld need to reset the copper treatment.?

 

[Humblefish]

Thanks again humblefish! What i may dobis the same that i did yesterday, which is so a 50% water change in the QT while the fish is in the tremazol bucket, thus bringuing the copper concentration down. After I put it back in i would than raise tje concentration again. My only doubt is if by doing so i wpuld need to reset the copper treatment.?

For copper treatment to be successful, you must reach the minimum therapeutic level (0.35 ppm for Cupramine) and keep it there for 30 consecutive days. I would get mine up to 0.5ppm to allow for some wiggle room. Cu is not entirely stable in SW and will fluctuate a little.