Cupramine Question...

I guess we all get to a point in the Hobby where our rookie mistakes finally catch up with us.. Needless to say when I first jumped into the Hobby I trusted my LFS and bought everything he deemed necessary (sadly the more I learned about the hobby the more I realized how much extra Junk I bought) anyway among the things he didnt deem necessary was a quarantine tank, so fast forward a year and I have a fully mature tank with happy corals growing, and ICH! So I said enough, I have to get rid of it once and for all, I bought a 40 gallon breeder and set it up as a quarantine tank, broke down all the live rock to be able to pull all the tangs and other guys from the tank and started treating with cupramine as per the manufacturers instructions and I planning to keep my DT fallow for 8 weeks just to be on the safe side.

Anyway sorry for the run around, the question is: cupramine says to dose the first day and then wait 48hrs and then dose once more and then hold you copper concentration for 14 days at0.5 i believe ( quoting from last night reading of instructions might be a bit off) so I guess the question is how do I perform water changes to keep the water parameters good without affecting the concentration?

 

You have to have a test set that can read the copper levels. Seachem and I believe salifert are the ones that work, API will not because of the type of copper cupramine uses (if memory serves me right its ionic copper). When you do a water change you will have to add the correct dosage for the amount of new water to equal a .50 copper concentration.

 

Thanks Mobalized that is what I was thinking... I have the Seachem one but reading that scale is even harder than what i am used to for water parameters

 

Its crazy hard with that test set which I also have, I usually used the reference solution beside what I was testing. I think saliferts set is better

 

You should have set the QT up with an established HOB filter, that way you would not need to do water changes. Too late now, but look into that for next time. You'll need to premix some water with a heater and predose the copper, or figure out EXACTLY how much copper you need per wc.

I have both the Seachem and the Salifert test kits, and prefer the Seachem. When you run the reference test, that will tell you whether you are reading slightly low or high. Usually it's pretty close. After getting used to the slight differences in the shades of blue, I actually prefer it over most testing methods. It's a little awkward at first, but the reference sample helped my confidence.

 

+1 Now that we have a solution to your existing problem lets explore how you got to this point. What size tank is this? Can you please list your occupants?
http://www.3reef.com/forums/new-hobby/simple-rules-avoid-ich-126326.html

 

Thanks everyone for chiming in!

Vinny: The tank is a 180, Reef Octopus 6 Skimmer, NextReef Reactor Currently Running GFO, a BRS reactor running Carbon, 40 gal Sump/refugium, 2X Mag 9 in line to run the retun, JBJ artica chiller, running Orpheks PR156W lighting. Running 3 Sicce Power Head ( saving up for Vortechs)

Livestock: Tomini Tang, Mimic Tan ( Still juvenile), Blonde Naso (About 4"), Sailfin Bleeny, Sandsifting Goby, Mandarin Goby, Filamented Flasher Wrasse, 2 firefish, Royal Gramma, Pair of Yellowstripe Maroon Clownfish, 3 Pajama Cardinals (A mated pair that breeds every other month). 2 RBTA, 1 Maxi Mini nem, 3 cleaner shrimp, 1 seahare , 1 emeral crab and a Decent size Derasa. Corals are mixture of SPS and LPS but more LPS than LPS. There is no aggression in the tank, but I decided to act once I saw my Naso ( my BABY, i had him since he was tiny) stopped eating.. He was a piggy, I tried every type of Nori, even macro-alagae, soaking everythign in garlic and even ENTICE by seachem and nothing.... So now I am on the Crusade to save these guys

 

That is a pretty large bioload. People often refer to Tangs as "Ich" magnets. While they are more susceptible to this parasite due to there small scales I am a firm believer that the real trigger for an outbreak is stress and aggresion. I have two Tomini Tangs. One in my 90 and one in my 120. They are both going on a year or so with no issues. My tanks are very lightly stocked (90 Tang,2Chromis,Mandarin,Barnacle Blenny,)(120 Tang,3 Striped damsels). While you say there is no aggresion keep in mind that aggresion is not always easily observed. Sometimes simple posturing and vocalized threats (inaudible to us) can be very stressful over time. In the long run having additional space and room to get away from other fish is the key to keeping Tangs healthy.Also keep in mind that most Tangs are schooling fish. I believe they are already stressed when we try to keep them singly, add more then one kind and you can see where this might be stressful for them.Good luck!!

 

Hey Vinny, thanks for the input.. now quick question for what I read i thought that once the ICH parasite is gone from the tank and u quarantine all ur fish and dont reintroduce it in your system, then u would be ich free no?

 

Hardcore quarantiner here. IMHO even with strict QT procedures a completely ich free system is not possible. Also, while treating with that copper make sure you have an ammonia test that compensates for the copper. Copper gives false +.