Treating copper to not all inhabitants

[Kynzo]

I've got 2 fish in a hospital tank because they showed signs of what I thought originally was velvet but I now think is ich. They appeared to be struggling for oxygen and I thought I lost them but after having been moved for about a week now they seem to be eating and breathing fine again. However, I still have fish in my display that have showed no signs of any issues. My question is should I continue to treat with copper and move the 2 back to the display after the treatment. I know some may say I should have moved all the fish to the treatment tank but didn't want to stress them out since they're a more delicate wrasse species. I was considering pulling all the fish and going fallowless for 76 days but opted to not. Any guidance on next steps would be appreciated.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

That's a tough call. If the fish in your DT were exposed to ich, but didn't develop clinical signs, they could be harboring a latent infection. This can "break" in the presence of stress down the road. Something as simple as moving the currently treated fish back to the DT could trigger an infection. There is a technique called "ich management" where you keep stress low, use a UV sterilizer and feed the fish very well in order to keep the disease sub-clinical. It works well for some folks.

Jay

 

[Kynzo]

That's a tough call. If the fish in your DT were exposed to ich, but didn't develop clinical signs, they could be harboring a latent infection. This can "break" in the presence of stress down the road. Something as simple as moving the currently treated fish back to the DT could trigger an infection. There is a technique called "ich management" where you keep stress low, use a UV sterilizer and feed the fish very well in order to keep the disease sub-clinical. It works well for some folks.

Jay

Yeah I know it's not an ideal situation to begin with. I appreciate the advice, I haven't heard that before. Thanks Jay