Thanks Humble for emailing we all appreciate your time on this!To add to this conversation, below is a recent email exchange I had with Fritz about Coppersafe:
First my email to them:
To Whom It May Concern:
I have a couple of questions regarding two of your products.
The first issue regards Coppersafe; you state this right on your website: http://fritzaquatics.com/product/coppersafe/
From years of use I know the correct therapeutic level of chelated copper to be 1.5 to 2.0 ppm. The above "typo" is being recirculated all over the Internet causing confusion.
I'd also like to know what percentage of Formaldehyde is found in Quick Cure. In my experience 37% formaldehyde is usually required in order for the product to be effective for clearing Brooklynella, stubborn worms, and to provide temporary relief for Amyloodinium (velvet) & Uronema.
Kind regards,
Bobby
And now their response:
Good morning Bobby,
With regard to Quick Cure, yes, it is formulated with 37% formaldehyde.
Your question regarding Coppersafe is a bit more complex. Allow me to explain.
While Fritz was the private label manufacturer of Coppersafe for Sergeants from 2007 onwards, Fritz was not privy to their technical information or product history. Sergeants was purchased by Perrigo and they decided to discontinue all aquatic products. Fritz then acted to obtain rights to the Mardel product line including Coppersafe. When this was obtained Fritz had a formula, QC/QA process for raw materials and finished goods, a consumer usage database but no technical history or product development details.
In the absence of hard data, Fritz elected to utilize the standard recommended dosage for the public aquarium/zoo and aquaculture industries which is 0.15 -.20 mg/l or ppm (Noga E. 2010. Fish Disease: Diagnosis and Treatment. 2nd Ed. Ames (IA): Wiley-Blackwell. p. 391-393.) This was done to protect consumers and prevent overdoses. We also began a research program into chelated copper sulfate pentahydrate. We also examined the Customer Service databases provided to us by Sergeants; it is clear that this formulation, which has been unchanged for decades, is one of the safest products available on the market.
Our research has determined that when used per label directions Coppersafe will yield a copper level of 1.16 to 1.17 ppm. At this level there are no fish mortalities in controlled experiments. Gill damage is not observed in treated fish exposed to this dosage level. This is due to the sophisticated chelating agent used on the formula.
Coppersafe outperforms other brands of chelated copper on the market in several key areas:
· No other product matches its efficacy against a wide range of parasites
· No other product maintains stable copper levels for up to four weeks
· Few other chelated coppers remain stable when UV sterilization or Ozone are in use
We have also discovered that some of the lower end copper test kits on the market do not produce accurate results for either free or total copper with Coppersafe (and likely other brands of copper on the aquarium market).
At the current time a detailed technical data sheet is being written for Coppersafe detailing all the above information in a formal manner. I’m not sure when this will be released as it has several review stages to go through before publication on our website and release to the public.
Please let me know if you have further questions.
Andy
Andy Ternay / Technical Sales Manager Fritz Specialty Division / [email protected] / (972) 329-8878 / Fritz Industries, Inc.
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My follow-up email, which has so far gone unanswered:
Hi Andy,
Thank you for your response. That is great news about Quick Cure, and I will begin recommending that product for formalin use.
However, I am still confused about what the proper therapeutic range should be for Coppersafe. What is the minimum & maximum therapeutic dosages? You said when used as directed, Coppersafe will yield a concentration of 1.16 - 1.17 ppm. Has that concentration been tested on ich theronts and velvet dinospores? If so, what was the kill rate?
I promote Coppersafe quite a bit over Cupramine, because I believe it to be a safer form of copper. However, I have been telling people I advise that the proper therapeutic range for Coppersafe is 1.5 - 2.0 ppm. Am I telling them to overdose? Would a lower therapeutic level still be 100% effective?
Bobby