I used Cupramine..... Now what? help

[murphy01]

So I used this stuff to treat my fish that were showing signs of Ick. I pulled them out of the display tank to treat them but I think that I was a little too late.
I lost all of them. I set a quarantine tank to medicate them but they didn't do any better with that. My question is,,,,, now that I have the quarantine tank,
can I use that for new fish that I get for the new tank in the future. Not sure what the copper effects have on the equipment....

 

[JimWelsh]

First question: Do you have any fish at all still in the display tank?

 

[murphy01]

No, just some snails, crabs and shrimp.

 

[JimWelsh]

OK, so let the display tank run fallow for about 8 weeks. Meanwhile, do a big water change on the QT tank, to reduce the copper levels in it.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

As a QT for fish (not inverts), the residual copper after a full water change in the QT is not a problem.

I wouldn't bring any equipment from the QT to the main tank without extensive cleaning.

 

[murphy01]

There wasn't any copper introduced into the main display tank. Now that it is empty of all fish, how long should I wait before adding new fish. My local fish store said about three weeks should be fine.

 

[joefishUC]

If you wanted to use a product that removes copper, Triton makes something called Detox that will remove the copper down to undetectable levels. It is safe for inverts (coral, shrimp, etc) but will turn your water cloudy for a few days. It binds to the free copper, then fresh carbon and skimming will remove the chelating agent (the main ingredient in detox) along with the copper with it. It is what the guys use in Europe to remove trace amounts of copper. You can find it at uniquecorals.com here in the states.

 

[pecan2phat]

If you keep the QT running with some type of biological filtration then there is no reason why you cannot continue to use it as an active QT for any and all incoming fish.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

If you wanted to use a product that removes copper, Triton makes something called Detox that will remove the copper down to undetectable levels. It is safe for inverts (coral, shrimp, etc) but will turn your water cloudy for a few days. It binds to the free copper, then fresh carbon and skimming will remove the chelating agent (the main ingredient in detox) along with the copper with it. It is what the guys use in Europe to remove trace amounts of copper. You can find it at uniquecorals.com here in the states.

Does it bind cupramine?

 

[joefishUC]

I don't know if it does bind cupramine, which is the question on this thread. My thoughts are that if the cupramine is still in solution and of a threat to inverts, then it should show up as copper on an ICP test. From the threads I have read and the people I have spoken with who have used detox, whenever copper was detected on an ICP test, the product was able to bind to it for removal.

 

[joefishUC]

While on the topic of removing trace metals from aquarium water, there is another product being used called Panta Lith. It is made by Panta Rhei. It is some form of binding agent that people are reporting works quite well for removing things like Tin. The exact quote i read was that it removed tin and other nasties from the water. I have never used or seen the product so Im just passing on what I know at this point. I'll try to get my hands on some and give it a shot. One of our raceways has selenium, tin and copper at levels higher than I would like.

 

[GainesvilleReef]

Between new fish in my quarantine tank, I use cuprisorb and then a 100% water change. I think the cuprisorb treatment gives the copper that will leach back in the water column a chance to do so and thus be removed with the cuprisorb. It seems to zero out the copper enough that my cupramine dosage ends up with the correct level.

 

[miyags]

QT all fish from the start. Leave DT fishless for 12 weeks. Make sure you use proper amount of cupramine to be effective. SeaChem copper test kit. Copper shouldn't affect your QT equipment.