Ich after 14 day cupramine treatment?

[WandaMay]

After being out of hobby for several years, we decided to jump back in and our eagerness led to a few over excited mistakes. We bought a used 75 gallon tank with coral and fish. The blue tang looked a mess from the beginning but they stress easy and we wondered if she had a run in with the large carpet anemone that had been in the tank. After about 3 weeks it was clear that we had a major ick infestation. We decided to set up a hospital and treat with cupramine and go fallow. Blue tang also had lateral line and her fins are torn up. I tested copper daily and maintained .5 levels for 14 days then worked on lowering copper. We lost several fish including a incredible long nose butterfly and a Sailfin tang We still had a firefish (lost 2), lawnmower (who has not eaten since copper started and is emicated now), an oscellaris, cleaner wrass, hawkish and the blue tang. White spots disappeared after day 2 of copper treatment. So after 3 weeks after being removed from husbands DT. I decided to move fish to my brand new tank (Never had fish in it before I had just started cycle and has minimal live rock) because it is larger than hospital and has better filtration. I figured I would give the survivors a better home until after fallow period for original DT. After moving fish the blue tang is covered in white spots within 2 hours. I put her bank in original hospital tank which is still reading .2 copper. Spots quickly disappeared. I left remaining fish in my tank, they show no signs of illness although not eating as well as they did before treatment and lawnmower is thin. I am beginning to wonder if blue tang has more than just ich. Could ich have survived the 14 day treatment? Is the lateral line and ragged fins trying to tell me something else? Should I trust the other fish are healthy?

 

[Brew12]

After being out of hobby for several years, we decided to jump back in and our eagerness led to a few over excited mistakes. We bought a used 75 gallon tank with coral and fish. The blue tang looked a mess from the beginning but they stress easy and we wondered if she had a run in with the large carpet anemone that had been in the tank. After about 3 weeks it was clear that we had a major ick infestation. We decided to set up a hospital and treat with cupramine and go fallow. Blue tang also had lateral line and her fins are torn up. I tested copper daily and maintained .5 levels for 14 days then worked on lowering copper. We lost several fish including a incredible long nose butterfly and a Sailfin tang We still had a firefish (lost 2), lawnmower (who has not eaten since copper started and is emicated now), an oscellaris, cleaner wrass, hawkish and the blue tang. White spots disappeared after day 2 of copper treatment. So after 3 weeks after being removed from husbands DT. I decided to move fish to my brand new tank (Never had fish in it before I had just started cycle and has minimal live rock) because it is larger than hospital and has better filtration. I figured I would give the survivors a better home until after fallow period for original DT. After moving fish the blue tang is covered in white spots within 2 hours. I put her bank in original hospital tank which is still reading .2 copper. Spots quickly disappeared. I left remaining fish in my tank, they show no signs of illness although not eating as well as they did before treatment and lawnmower is thin. I am beginning to wonder if blue tang has more than just ich. Could ich have survived the 14 day treatment? Is the lateral line and ragged fins trying to tell me something else? Should I trust the other fish are healthy?

I'm sorry about the problems you are having.

14 days in copper should have been enough to completely clear the fish of Ich if the fish were moved to a clean system before lowering copper levels below 0.35ppm.
Also, with the life cycle of Ich, you would not get a major infestation immediately after transfer to a clean tank. Where did the live rock in the new tank come from? Either your new system has Ich in it, in very high levels, or you are dealing with something that isn't Ich.

Any chance you can post photos of what it looks like with the white spots?

 

[melypr1985]

Agreed. The 30 days in full therapeutic copper is important to fully eradicate ich. The concerns Brew mentions are good ones especially regarding the new tank and the source of the live rock. Another concern is that this new tank was only just starting it's cycle. Ammonia can cause more harm than the smaller confines of the QT will. Pictures would be a great idea.

 

[jsker]

May I suggest to also incorporate antibiotics and vitamins to help with the immune systems along with the copper. Sorry about the losses that can be a bummer. The usual follow is 76 days I would also suggest waiting the total 76 days.

 

[WandaMay]

Thank you Sorry for the confusion I was not real clear the DT the fish got sick in was a used system the LFS sold is and moved but prior to us purchasing was set up in another person's home. It was already stocked with fish coral and live rock. Since removing fish from this system it has been fallow (I did not return fish to this tank) This is my husbands tank. Before we had all these problems I had ordered a brand new tank that I was going to set up to be my tank. We don't share well LOL. I know the new tank not being fully cycled is not good but the hospital tank was not cycled either and was just running sponge filter and HOB. My new tank has a sump, twice the water volume and a small amount of live rock. I am just putting my tank build on hold so I can care for these fish. I was extremely careful about making sure copper levels remained therapeutic and it never dropped below .4 I feel pretty confident that my problem is not from inadequate treatment. I must be dealing with something else but the blue tang seems to be the only one affected. I will post a picture but the white spots are gone now. When they appeared after treatment they were about the size of 3 or 4 grains of sugar stuck together, they were definitely raised,most were white but some spots remained the color of the fish, they seemed to be mostly on the top half of her body and appeared and disappeared within a few hours.

 

[WandaMay]

 

[WandaMay]

Here is a picture of her now, you can't tell in picture but her fins on her sides are very jagged and damaged. She does not act sick other than hiding in hospital tank and not swimming around alot. I am considering leaving her in a tank by herself because I don't want her to make other fish sick. I am not real excited about maintaining a tank just for her

 

[WandaMay]

May I suggest to also incorporate antibiotics and vitamins to help with the immune systems along with the copper. Sorry about the losses that can be a bummer. The usual follow is 76 days I would also suggest waiting the total 76 days.

Just started vitamins not sure what to do for poor lawnmower though Going to try some sea weed today

 

[Tanggirl12]

The tomont stage of the lifecycle can live up to 28 days, 30 day treatment is a more sure option.

 

[WandaMay]

I have had sw tanks off and on for over 12 years original outbreak looked just like typical ich but was spreading fish to fish quickly and when they showed spots there was 100s of them not just a few I suspect that this tank had been having ich problems for awhile before we bought it. The coral look great though. It is a struggle but we will stay fallow full 76 days, we have come this far so we want to do it right

 

[WandaMay]

So I should treat for 30 days? All the fish back to hospital and do 30 more days?

 

[Humblefish]

So I should treat for 30 days? All the fish back to hospital and do 30 more days?

I probably would, just to be on the safe side.

 

[Brew12]

My new tank has a sump, twice the water volume and a small amount of live rock.

Where did this live rock come from? If your Hippo does have ich, this live rock would be a possible source.

 

[WandaMay]

The live rock in new tank is from fish store could have ick but I think the blue tang has something else that I am missing that maybe was not killed by cupramine Dark spots on face, pectoral fins look like they are coming aparr at fin rays and white spots that appeared and disappeared within a few hours (After stress) Could an internal parasite do this

 

[Humblefish]

The live rock in new tank is from fish store could have ick but I think the blue tang has something else that I am missing that maybe was not killed by cupramine Dark spots on face, pectoral fins look like they are coming aparr at fin rays and white spots that appeared and disappeared within a few hours (After stress) Could an internal parasite do this

The dark spot on the face looks like it could be HLLE: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/hlle-head-lateral-line-erosion.259916/

The pectoral fins coming apart sounds like a secondary bacterial infection: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/bacterial-infections.191511/

The white spots coming and going could just be stress spots; Hippo Tangs are infamous for getting these white splotchy marks on them sometimes.

However, it could also be flukes crawling over the fish's body: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/flukes-–-general-guidelines.224423/

 

[WandaMay]

Thanks I am going to research and just do the best I can I am going to continually chant "you got this" I don't have any scientific reason or any personal experience to justify it but I think I am going to keep hippo tang by herself I think she may be carrying illnesses and make other fish sick -idk but thanks everyone for the tips

 

[WandaMay]

 

[WandaMay]

Fallow tank is doing well sorry about window glare its not as bad as picture picks it up lol

 

[Brew12]

Nice looking tank!

In my opinion Hippo Tangs are one of the most sensitive fish you can get. If you have any issues in your tank they will almost always be the first to show it. I think of them as the canary in the coal mine. As long as they look good, everyone else in the tank almost has to be doing good.

 

[Tanggirl12]

Tank transfer method would be an option, less days and not another copper Regieme