Suddenly sick tang

[Big G]

This makes me sad too. It is the 2nd fish in a row for me.

I've always fallen squarely in the "don't treat prohylactically" camp because ALL drugs have negative effects as well as positive and I have always believed it unfair to subject our fish friends to harmful effects unless absolutely necessary. But this past few weeks has me rethinking a lot of things :'(

Been there. One month ago. Sorry for your loss.

 

[Brew12]

I understand why they treat, but not why they wouldn't treat appropriately (ie at correct levels).

Several reasons. Copper costs money so it is cheaper to maintain lower levels than the correct levels. Not all of the fish in their systems will tolerate the appropriate levels of copper very well. By keeping copper low they reduce this risk. Their goal isn't to cure fish it is to sell fish. They want them looking good even if they aren't parasite free. Since copper can cause stress and make the fish look less colorful they use the minimum they can to keep parasites in check while minimizing the impact on the fish.
At least those are my theories.

A month ago, I had a yellow tang doing beautifully for the first 3 days of placing it in the QT. And then a very rapid downward spiral very similar to the OP's. By the time I realized what was going on, it was already too late. As well for the other 4 fish that came along with him. Each one seemed to have differing externally appearing resistance to the velvet. But, internally they were all incredibly damaged. Sad. Really sad. So now the conundrum. What do you all suggest. No waiting for the fish to adjust to the QT, but rather to immediately begin prophylactically treating all incoming fish? And specifically, suggestions on how to ramp up the copper. Is it wise to slowly ramp up or dose as if there is full on velvet evident, even if not apparent at the time?

Transferring the fish during shipping should buy you a 2 or 3 days if not longer. I think the most important thing is to get a fish eating. It doesn't matter what is wrong with the fish if it isn't eating. I have started doing a FW dip on day 3 if they are eating to check for flukes. This will also buy time if they have Ich or Velvet. If they don't have flukes I will start adding coppersafe. 1.8mL/g is where you want to end up so I add 3mL every morning and evening for 3 days in my 10g QT.

 

[savetheocean]

Several reasons. Copper costs money so it is cheaper to maintain lower levels than the correct levels. Not all of the fish in their systems will tolerate the appropriate levels of copper very well. By keeping copper low they reduce this risk. Their goal isn't to cure fish it is to sell fish. They want them looking good even if they aren't parasite free. Since copper can cause stress and make the fish look less colorful they use the minimum they can to keep parasites in check while minimizing the impact on the fish.
At least those are my theories.


Transferring the fish during shipping should buy you a 2 or 3 days if not longer. I think the most important thing is to get a fish eating. It doesn't matter what is wrong with the fish if it isn't eating. I have started doing a FW dip on day 3 if they are eating to check for flukes. This will also buy time if they have Ich or Velvet. If they don't have flukes I will start adding coppersafe. 1.8mL/g is where you want to end up so I add 3mL every morning and evening for 3 days in my 10g QT.

You are right. I had a couple issues with my powder brown tang (It wasnt eating and had a belly bulge), I legit saw it release so much waste the tank clouded and he started eating again and the bulge was gone within hours.

 

[Humblefish]

I understand why they treat, but not why they wouldn't treat appropriately (ie at correct levels).

Like Brew said, their objective is to keep parasites at bay so the fish looks good enough to sell. As you noted, ALL drugs have negative side effects and full therapeutic copper can be especially harsh on certain species. The fish may be parasite-free, but it's colors will be faded, appetite will likely be suppressed, copper is an immunosuppressant so a secondary infection is possible, etc. Not exactly appealing to buy & sell.