Wrasse QT

[Tyler Erickson]

My royal gramma recently got crypto, so I was gonna move all my fish to quarantine for 8 weeks so it’ll die off in my tank. I have two clowns, Randall’s goby, and a Lubbock's fairy wrasse. I was gonna use seachem cupramine, but a lot of people said it’s too rough on fairy wrasses. Not sure what to do. I also have metro and prazi on hand as well.

 

[Big G]

Better to use a chelated copper like Copper Power.

If you absolutely have to use an ionic copper like Cupramine. Do not use the dosage suggested on the bottle. Figure out the total number of drops needed (4 drops per gallon of saltwater) to get to therapeutic level and spread out the doses over 5-7 days, and further dose a bit in the morning and evening. This slow approach can work better with fish that are usually not so good with Cupramine.

Plus it gives you more time to observe if the fish is one of the sensitive ones before a big dose does damage to the fish's liver and other internals.

 

[Big G]

Fallow period for crypto is 76 days and suggest you stir the sand a bit. See the link below:

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/why-a-fallow-period-will-sometimes-fail.536167/#post-5546152

 

[Tyler Erickson]

The bottle says 20 drops/10.5 gallons and then another dose 48 hours later. This is suppose to yield a concentration of 0.5 mg/L. I’m using a 15 gallon so I’m looking at 60 drops total. So do you think I should do 10 drops, then wait 48 and dose another 10 and repeat until I reach the 60?

 

[Frtdrmrose7]

I would also recommend copper power especially with a wrasse

 

[Tyler Erickson]

I would also recommend copper power especially with a wrasse

Any specific brands? My lfs only has cupramine. What about treating with paraguard and metro?

 

[Frtdrmrose7]

Any specific brands? My lfs only has cupramine. What about treating with paraguard and metro?

You can get copper power on Amazon pretty quick.

 

[Frtdrmrose7]

 

[Tyler Erickson]

Ok I’ll give that a try. Should I add that slower than they suggest too?

 

[4FordFamily]

Ok I’ll give that a try. Should I add that slower than they suggest too?

Several doses in a few hours to get up to therapeutic works very well. The key is the ramp, it’s less important how long the ramp up takes, IME.

 

[Frtdrmrose7]

Ok I’ll give that a try. Should I add that slower than they suggest too?

With a wrassse I would ramp up over A few days just because they be sensitive to any copper. Cheleted is easier on fish though (copper power). I would also recommend the Hanna Copper Checker with two extra boxes of reagents. This makes copper a breeze.

 

[Frtdrmrose7]

Several doses in a few hours to get up to therapeutic works very well. The key is the ramp, it’s less important how long the ramp up takes, IME.

^^i agree 100%

 

[Tyler Erickson]

With a wrassse I would ramp up over A few days just because they be sensitive to any copper. Cheleted is easier on fish though (copper power). I would also recommend the Hanna Copper Checker with two extra boxes of reagents. This makes copper a breeze.

Got it covered. I work at my LFS and we test copper in our tanks so I’ll just have them test it or me.

 

[Tyler Erickson]

Several doses in a few hours to get up to therapeutic works very well. The key is the ramp, it’s less important how long the ramp up takes, IME.

What level is considered therapeutic?

 

[4FordFamily]

What level is considered therapeutic?

1.5. We always suggested 1.75. Measured with a Hanna checker, not the inaccurate color charts. A velvet strain that survives 1.75 is scary, honestly.

 

[Big G]

The bottle says 20 drops/10.5 gallons and then another dose 48 hours later. This is suppose to yield a concentration of 0.5 mg/L. I’m using a 15 gallon so I’m looking at 60 drops total. So do you think I should do 10 drops, then wait 48 and dose another 10 and repeat until I reach the 60?

One last thing to consider. A 15 gallon tank is probably not 15 gallons. Depending on the mfg the capacity can vary a bit. So if you can, measure the tank's capacity. It may be 14 to 13 actual gallons. Knowing the actual gallonage, will give you even more confidence treating your fish. I mark the glass every gallon with a permanent marker.

 

[Tyler Erickson]

1.5. We always suggested 1.75. Measured with a Hanna checker, not the inaccurate color charts. A velvet strain that survives 1.75 is scary, honestly.

Awesome. I’ll aim for that then. Thanks for the advice.