How does 14 days of copper work?

[dustin.emmanuel]

Hello! I place an order through Dr. Reef a few weeks ago and I would like to know how safe it is. I know they do 2 weeks of copper and 2 weeks of prazi while getting treated for internal parasites. I have quarentined most of my fish through 30 days of full dose copper power. Is 2 weeks of copper effective for killing ichs/velvets? Has anybody ever got problems from them before?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I’ve not gotten any fish from Dr Reef that later developed apparent disease.

 

[Fish Fan]

This is a good question for the R2R #fishmedic team

 

[christinna77]

I actually brought up this question before in this thread: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/current-quarantine-protocol.825055/post-13990987. Definitely an interesting read.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Hello! I place an order through Dr. Reef a few weeks ago and I would like to know how safe it is. I know they do 2 weeks of copper and 2 weeks of prazi while getting treated for internal parasites. I have quarentined most of my fish through 30 days of full dose copper power. Is 2 weeks of copper effective for killing ichs/velvets? Has anybody ever got problems from them before?

Typically, two weeks is not sufficient to cure active ich infections. The trouble is, copper does not kill ich trophonts or tomonts. You need to wait those out. The sweet spot for that is 30 days. I even go 45 days if the fish were very ill going in.

Now - is two weeks sufficient for asymptomatic fish? In most cases, probably - remember, not all fish will have ich, and 2 weeks works for those(grin).

If somebody absolutely wants to go with two weeks, it is much safer to then, after the prazi treatment, put them back into copper for 48 to 72 hours before moving them out of the QT. That way, any still living tomonts are left behind.

 

[dustin.emmanuel]

I’ve not gotten any fish from Dr Reef that later developed apparent disease.

So would you say it is okay after the fish arrived (who knows when) and do 2 weeks of observation to see any parasites then add to display?

Typically, two weeks is not sufficient to cure active ich infections. The trouble is, copper does not kill ich trophonts or tomonts. You need to wait those out. The sweet spot for that is 30 days. I even go 45 days if the fish were very ill going in.

Now - is two weeks sufficient for asymptomatic fish? In most cases, probably - remember, not all fish will have ich, and 2 weeks works for those(grin).

If somebody absolutely wants to go with two weeks, it is much safer to then, after the prazi treatment, put them back into copper for 48 to 72 hours before moving them out of the QT. That way, any still living tomonts are left behind.

On Dr. Reef's website says that it is not recommended to qt the fish again after being qt'ed.

 

[christinna77]

So would you say it is okay after the fish arrived (who knows when) and do 2 weeks of observation to see any parasites then add to display?

On Dr. Reef's website says that it is not recommended to qt the fish again after being qt'ed.

I believe 2-4 weeks of observation should be enough. I purchased a CB pipefish (kept it in a separate tank from WC fish in the store) and only did an observational quarantine.

I watch my fish closely several times a day to catch any possible signs though, like ich spots that might be gone by the end of the day. I also check my cameras at 16x speed for any signs of flashing, yawning etc., since they don't always do it when I'm at the quarantine tank. Basically, I'm a hawk :)

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

So would you say it is okay after the fish arrived (who knows when) and do 2 weeks of observation to see any parasites then add to display?

On Dr. Reef's website says that it is not recommended to qt the fish again after being qt'ed.

I don’t claim to be a fish disease expert, but I am comfortable adding them directly to my display.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

So would you say it is okay after the fish arrived (who knows when) and do 2 weeks of observation to see any parasites then add to display?

On Dr. Reef's website says that it is not recommended to qt the fish again after being qt'ed.

No, I meant it is safest for THEM to use the second short copper treatment, and then send the fish on to you.

I quarantine all new fish, even those from other public aquariums. The stress of transport can cause latent diseases to break. My existing collection is too valuable to risk a new fish bringing something in, so everything gets quarantined by me. I realize that isn’t practical for home aquarists, indeed, the majority of people still don’t quarantine new fish.