Ich not shifting with Copper

[Nathan80]

OK - so I got Ich in my DT (no - I didn't quarantine, lesson learnt!), came back from holiday early May to find everything dead apart from 1 fish. Tried to manage it with UV, Ozone etc - added 4 more fish and 36 hours later they were all covered.

I pulled them all out into a large QT, followed the cupramine instructions - hit them with it for 14 days and it seemed to clear. I then added a few more fish as the QT has capacity and have had them on copper for about 2 1/2 weeks now (was aiming for 4 weeks as I have a second new DT, display that had Ich is fallow now for 90 days) - problem is it isn't shifting properly off the 2 clowns, there's still spots; everything else has cleared fine - even the tangs.

I've got a copper test kit and according to that I am at the right concentration (I've ordered another one from a different manufacturer to be absolutely sure).

I pulled the 2 clowns out last night and put them in a smaller QT on their own - I FW dipped them both before they went in and overnight most of the spots have dropped off them.

I've started the copper medication on them again from scratch but am torn now - do I persevere with the copper or try something else with them such as Hypo Salinity or TTM?

What is people's experiences with Hypo and TTM - how effective is it?

 

[HotRocks]

OK - so I got Ich in my DT (no - I didn't quarantine, lesson learnt!), came back from holiday early May to find everything dead apart from 1 fish. Tried to manage it with UV, Ozone etc - added 4 more fish and 36 hours later they were all covered.

I pulled them all out into a large QT, followed the cupramine instructions - hit them with it for 14 days and it seemed to clear. I then added a few more fish as the QT has capacity and have had them on copper for about 2 1/2 weeks now (was aiming for 4 weeks as I have a second new DT, display that had Ich is fallow now for 90 days) - problem is it isn't shifting properly off the 2 clowns, there's still spots; everything else has cleared fine - even the tangs.

I've got a copper test kit and according to that I am at the right concentration (I've ordered another one from a different manufacturer to be absolutely sure).

I pulled the 2 clowns out last night and put them in a smaller QT on their own - I FW dipped them both before they went in and overnight most of the spots have dropped off them.

I've started the copper medication on them again from scratch but am torn now - do I persevere with the copper or try something else with them such as Hypo Salinity or TTM?

What is people's experiences with Hypo and TTM - how effective is it?

Can you upload pics of the clowns? They might have something else going on like brook. Brook in the early stages can appear ich or velvetlike.

 

[Nathan80]

For some reason its not letting me upload the video - its managed to add it to an album somewhere! Here's the link: https://www.reef2reef.com/media/img_0454.5681/

I am pretty sure that is ich though

 

[HotRocks]

For some reason its not letting me upload the video - its managed to add it to an album somewhere! Here's the link: https://www.reef2reef.com/media/img_0454.5681/

I am pretty sure that is ich though

Do you have any metronidazole (Metroplex) on hand? I would dose in the QT for 10 days following instructions and see if it clears up. I think its brook. The other thing is if ich was getting though copper you would be seeing it on your tangs as well I would think.

@4FordFamily @Big G @ngoodermuth

 

[Nathan80]

Nope - and I can't get it in the UK either annoyingly! Closet I can get is paraguard - https://www.seachem.com/paraguard.php

I now need to find out if I need to filter the copper out first and/or if I can keep the copper in at the same time

 

[Paul Sands]

Nope - and I can't get it in the UK either annoyingly! Closet I can get is paraguard - https://www.seachem.com/paraguard.php

I now need to find out if I need to filter the copper out first and/or if I can keep the copper in at the same time

I’ve cured brook before using paraguard. Best to do a bath for 1 hour with a transfer to a sterile tank. I’d probably repeat after a few days.

Ruby Reef Rally might be a better choice these days and I think that’s available for you.

 

[HotRocks]

I’ve cured brook before using paraguard. Best to do a bath for 1 hour with a transfer to a sterile tank. I’d probably repeat after a few days.

Ruby Reef Rally might be a better choice these days and I think that’s available for you.

Rally will definitely work. It will take a series of baths, and as mentioned by @Paul Sands you definitely want to move them to a clean sterile QT after each bath.

 

[Nathan80]

I've just had a look at the brook photos on here as well - https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/fish-disease-index-pictorial-guide.199/ and also online - the challenge is the video isn't brilliant and I'm really not convinced its Brook. This is the same fish today.....

the second pic is the Kole tang that brought it into the tank in the first place - yesterday in real life the clown looked more like this which was definitely ich

 

[Paul Sands]

Looks clearly like brook on the clownfish to me, and has already been stated, brook can look an awful lot like ich in early stages, especially in fish that are less susceptible to it.

I think a bath in ruby reef rally would be beneficial either way and life saving for the clownfish...

 

[Nathan80]

I can't get that in the UK either! I can get JBL Punktol - I used to use that one my discus tank for the clown loaches and the instructions reckons it covers ich and Brook. I'll give that a whirl and see what happens!