Help with copper

Stuman192 · Mar 9, 2022

Hey guys so I started a fish only tank that has now pivoted to fish and anemones only my other 45g cube had ich and I’ve battled for 3 weeks now with polyp lab medic and it’s worked great however now I’m seeing the beginnings of ich in my fish only tank. Don’t know and don’t care how the ich got there wether it was a new fish or transferred some how from the other tank but it’s there. I started this tank because I hated not being able to use copper on my 45g cube to really fight ich but now I have two small rainbow anemones in this tank and I’m wondering how tough they are with copper? Is it even feasible? Could I do it and kick some ich butt at like 3.0ppm of copper? Or will it for sure kill my anemones and they need to be transferred to my other tank if they’re gonna survive will I do copper in my fish only tank? You should know too my 45g tank is basically full of torches and other Lps stuff and I’m worried about the anemones moving around stinging and causing havoc with my coral in that tank is that gonna happen if I move them over?

Idoc · Mar 9, 2022

The copper will kill the anenomes. You will need to remove them prior to dosing copper AND then make sure there is no residual copper in the system before returning them. Your other option is to remove the fish into a quarantine tank, treat them there, and let your main tank run fallow for 72 days before reintroducing the fish.

Jay Hemdal · Mar 9, 2022

Stuman192 said:
Hey guys so I started a fish only tank that has now pivoted to fish and anemones only my other 45g cube had ich and I’ve battled for 3 weeks now with polyp lab medic and it’s worked great however now I’m seeing the beginnings of ich in my fish only tank. Don’t know and don’t care how the ich got there wether it was a new fish or transferred some how from the other tank but it’s there. I started this tank because I hated not being able to use copper on my 45g cube to really fight ich but now I have two small rainbow anemones in this tank and I’m wondering how tough they are with copper? Is it even feasible? Could I do it and kick some ich butt at like 3.0ppm of copper? Or will it for sure kill my anemones and they need to be transferred to my other tank if they’re gonna survive will I do copper in my fish only tank? You should know too my 45g tank is basically full of torches and other Lps stuff and I’m worried about the anemones moving around stinging and causing havoc with my coral in that tank is that gonna happen if I move them over?

The general consensus is that copper, at a level that will control ich, will kill anemones. If you move the anemones out of a tank that has an active infection, they will likely carry ich to the tank you move them into.

Jay

Rtaylor · Mar 9, 2022

Your other option is ich management. Healthy fish can typically fight off ich and adding a UV sterilizer can keep ich populations very low. Decreasing salinity in fowlr will also help. You’ll need to keep an eye on the anemones as you decrease salinity to ensure it remains at a level the will tolerate. Even without a uv sterilizer, thousands of reefers keep tanks with ich successfully. I’ve had ich in my tank for years and never had a fish show distress.

Sharkbait19 · Mar 9, 2022

Best bet is to move clowns to a qt tank (simple 10 gallon will work), treat with copper, and keep the display tank fishless for at least 45 days, 76-90 being best.
And quarantine all new fish to ensure no more disease makes it into the dt.