Copper power not working

Boomer763 · Mar 19, 2021

Possible ich on Hippo Tang so I pull all 4 of my fishes out and did 14 days 2.5ppm copper power, keeping it stable with Hannah checker. The Yellow Tang and clowns never had any signs of ich or spots, they've always been healthy even through/after this copper treatment. I also did 3 fresh RODI water dip for the Hippo Tang to check for possible flukes and yet still nothing. She's eating well, swimming and hiding normally but she does scratch the pvc occasionally. Any suggestions, should I treat prazipro or general cure once I remove copper in the water?

Wen · Mar 19, 2021

Boomer763 said:
Possible ich on Hippo Tang so I pull all 4 of my fishes out and did 14 days 2.5ppm copper power, keeping it stable with Hannah checker. The Yellow Tang and clowns never had any signs of ich or spots, they've always been healthy even through/after this copper treatment. I also did 3 fresh RODI water dip for the Hippo Tang to check for possible flukes and yet still nothing. She's eating well, swimming and hiding normally but she does scratch the pvc occasionally. Any suggestions, should I treat prazipro or general cure once I remove copper in the water?

IME, hippos can have a skin reaction after copper. Can you get better photos and have @Jay Hemdal take a look before you throw more meds at him?
In the meantime: low stress, vitamin laced nori and varied diet.

here’s pic of my hippo’s uncomfortable skin after copper...fully recovered now.

Jay Hemdal · Mar 19, 2021

I agree with @Wen - this looks like what I term "mucus plugs". I don't know what causes them in every case, but they are common in some tangs, especially this species. We see them after copper treatments some times. One important key difference between this and ich, is that these spots are far less common on the fins, mostly confined to the body.
That said, I can't be 100% sure that this is the issue here, so if the fish are stable in the QT, it would be best to wait a bit to see that it goes away.

Jay