Best way to treat wrasse ICH?

Jeezy85 · May 23, 2019

hi all,

I have read that wrasses can’t tolerate copper so I am concerned treating my fish with it.

What is the best way to treat wrasses for ICH?

I have read about tank transfer method, but I am confused because I’ve read you have to dry out the tank completly when the fish has left the tank in order to kill off any ich in the system for 24 hours... so does that mean I have to cycle the tank again after 24 hours before the next transfer into the tank?

Please could someone clarify this?

Many thanks

Mjrenz · May 23, 2019

Jeezy85 said:
hi all,

I have read that wrasses can’t tolerate copper so I am concerned treating my fish with it.

What is the best way to treat wrasses for ICH?

I have read about tank transfer method, but I am confused because I’ve read you have to dry out the tank completly when the fish has left the tank in order to kill off any ich in the system for 24 hours... so does that mean I have to cycle the tank again after 24 hours before the next transfer into the tank?

Please could someone clarify this?

Many thanks

Most wrasses have an elevated risk when using copper, it depends on which type of wrasse. Hyposalinity can kill most strains of ich but not all, below is a link better explaining ttm
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/tank-transfer-method.192655/

ngoodermuth · May 24, 2019

I’ve treated all 7 of my current wrasses (and a few others over the years) with either copper or CP. I don’t recommend the latter (chloroquine phosphate) since the two I treated survived and were pest-free, but weren’t in the best shape after... they just about stopped eating completely by day 10.

I’ve had relatively little trouble treating wrasses in copper, personally. I’ve found the trick is to raise the level VERY, VERY slowly... I take up to a full week to bring it to therapeutic. That way they have plenty of time to adjust to the rising level.

Also, check the copper level frequently and make sure the tank is free of ammonia and adequately aerated.

rkpetersen · May 24, 2019

Also depends on the wrasse species, some do better in copper than others.
Fairy wrasses for example seem to do fine in copper.

Tank transfer method means the tanks are uncycled.
You can do things to help, like adding some bacterial booster to the fresh setup.
But mostly you need to watch the ammonia level carefully, use Prime, and do water changes when necessary.
Not a fan of the method, partly for this reason. Also, too much work.

Jeezy85 · May 24, 2019

Thank you all for the replies really appreciate it I think I will stick to copper method..

In terms of raising the levels slowly so does this mean I would do less drops per gallon instead to raise the levels up? Should the target level be 0.5 for copper?

PGT253 · May 24, 2019

I float and drop my wrasses into predosed 1.0ppm Copperpower, then spend the next 3-4 days to increase it to 1.75ppm using a dripping device. I keep them in Copper for at least 7 days

I set up my 10g QT at least a couple weeks before. I put a small piece of live rock from DT, a few spheres of marinepure balls for bacteria colony.