I wanted to write about copper treatment and clear up some of the misconceptions about using that chemical. First, the basics:
Below are some steps you can take to ease your fish into copper and notice signs of copper intolerance before it becomes fatal:
But just like trying to force a square peg in a round hole... you can't force a fish to "make it through copper" if his body just can't tolerate being in it.
- Copper only treats ich & velvet. It has not been proven useful for any other disease. Some mistakenly believe copper is a "cure all" for every disease encountered in this hobby and incorrectly use it to treat brook, flukes, bacterial infections, etc.
- Copper provides no immediate relief to your sick fish. It has only been proven to target the theront (free swimming) stage and possibly the protomont. What this means is your fish has to wait for the trophonts to drop off, and then copper shields them from reinfection. So in essence, you are using copper to eradicate ich from the tank itself - not treat the fish directly. Hyposalinity and Chloroquine phosphate work in the same manner.
- Copper must be maintained at therapeutic levels in order to be effective. Sub-therapeutic copper may zap some of the theronts, but a few will still get through and latch onto your fish. However, if the infestation is light you may never see symptoms. This is called "disease masking", and some LFS who claim to treat with copper are unwittingly passing along "lightly infested" fish with no obvious signs of disease. But once transferred into non-medicated water, symptoms soon become obvious, because there is no "shield" to slow down the next wave of free swimmers. The solution is to test your copper level each & every day to ensure it always remains at therapeutic levels. Don't half-treat and just rely on the instructions of the copper product you are using; fully treat and test the copper level yourself to ensure it is (and stays) where it is supposed to be.
- Anything porous can absorb copper, most notably rock & sand. It can also leach it back out into the water. This back & forth can make it difficult to maintain a stable copper level. It has the potential to drop your Cu below therapeutic or conversely leach it back out to raise the copper to dangerous levels. This is why you always want to treat with copper in a bare bottom, rockless QT; and avoid using it in a DT with rock & sand.
- Copper does not remain in the water forever. It will eventually dissipate, as all chemicals do.
- Activated carbon is only minimally effective at removing copper from the water. Products such as Cuprisorb or using a Poly Filter pad are much better options.
Below are some steps you can take to ease your fish into copper and notice signs of copper intolerance before it becomes fatal:
- Unless faced with an emergency situation (like velvet), ease your fish into copper treatment. Take 4-5 days to ramp it up to therapeutic levels instead of the 24-48 hour time frame in the "directions" found on most bottles of copper. :mad:
- While ramping it up, watch closely for signs of copper intolerance. These symptoms include: lethargy, heavy breathing and appetite suppression. If a fish stops eating entirely, stop raising the copper until he resumes. If he doesn't resume after a couple of days, start doing water changes to lower the copper concentration until the fish eats again.
- You can resume raising the Cu a day or two after the fish has some good meals inside his belly; BUT if the fish stops eating a second time after raising the copper you will know you have encountered a "copper sensitive" fish, and an alternative treatment should be used on him instead.
But just like trying to force a square peg in a round hole... you can't force a fish to "make it through copper" if his body just can't tolerate being in it.
