Should I start copper?

Cment · Jul 7, 2017

So heres a quick run down of my QT...currently I have a starcki damsel, potters angel and a female short tail pencil wrasse. They have been in QT for 5 weeks now and been through 2 rounds of prazi and TTM. So heres the issue, yesterday I noticed the potters staying in one area of the tank near the bottom when in the past he would constantly cruise around the tank. He's eating but not as aggressively as before. He has no visible signs of anything yet but velvet is in the back of my head bc of the high frequency in the hobby right now. The other fish are acting normal eating like champs. I isolated the starcki from the other two bc he was becoming a little aggressive at times. The potters and the wrasse follow each other around and seem to be pretty good buds with no aggression what so ever. (They love sharing the same PVC actually) How should I proceed? Should I start copper, CP, wait? If it matters I do a 50% WC every other day.

@Humblefish @melypr1985 @eatbreakfast @4FordFamily

4FordFamily · Jul 7, 2017

Without any typical ich or velvet symptoms with wrasse I like to wait as long as possible before treating. On the other hand, 5 weeks is a good length of time. If you want to keep these parasites out entirely, perhaps it's not a bad idea. I'd do very very small increases throughout several days many times per day.

Humblefish · Jul 7, 2017

I would wait a little bit longer before acting; maybe the Starcki was being aggressive?

Cment · Jul 7, 2017

Humblefish said:
I would wait a little bit longer before acting; maybe the Starcki was being aggressive?

He was in the beginning but they have now be isolated for 4 weeks at this point. Oddly enough the potters is staying in an area near the divider where the starcki hangs out at on the other side...

Cment · Jul 7, 2017

4FordFamily said:
Without any typical ich or velvet symptoms with wrasse I like to wait as long as possible before treating. On the other hand, 5 weeks is a good length of time. If you want to keep these parasites out entirely, perhaps it's not a bad idea. I'd do very very small increases throughout several days many times per day.

How many days is "slow" when raising it to 2.o? 5-7 days?

4FordFamily · Jul 7, 2017

Cment said:
How many days is "slow" when raising it to 2.o? 5-7 days?

Without any obvious symptoms I would say even slower is OK. But that should theoretically be OK. Add multiple tiny doses daily for best results.

Cment · Jul 7, 2017

Thanks Gents!

Cment · Jul 8, 2017

Update: There seems to be a growth on his dorsal fin area which does not resemble lympho. I also don't know if I'm imagining it or not but the area right before his caudal fin looks like its white. Any idea what Im dealing with? I started kanaplex incase of a infection and Ill go grab furan 2 tomorrow. I have metro on hand should I add that as well? Not sure what to do at this point. He doesn't seem to be breathing heavy but the behavior is not normal...

Cment · Jul 8, 2017

@Humblefish @4FordFamily @melypr1985

4FordFamily · Jul 8, 2017

I cannot see the growth in question, but color loss is a very common thing with these guys as they go out. Unfortunately, as said, they're a tough fish to get acclimated oftentimes. I hope I'm wrong but the behavior being anything but normal is a really bad sign

Cment · Jul 8, 2017

Just really odd bc he's been eating really well and been active. No idea what changed in a 24 hr period. I understand that they can be a tough fish but man I've had leopards and tamarin easier than this guy...