How long before cupramine takes effect?

[kingkai512]

i just hit .5-.6 cupramine dosage last week, but the ich is still around and starting to worsen.
how long before i can see some results from cupramine? i have some live rock and sand which i know will absorb some of the copper and give me some fluctuations in readings but still, isnt .3 good enough to offer some relief for the fish?

 

[Brew12]

i just hit .5-.6 cupramine dosage last week, but the ich is still around and starting to worsen.
how long before i can see some results from cupramine? i have some live rock and sand which i know will absorb some of the copper and give me some fluctuations in readings but still, isnt .3 good enough to offer some relief for the fish?

This isn't an easy question to answer.

The white spots we see on the fish are not the ich parasites but a mucus response from the fish. The actual parasites are much smaller. Copper mainly impacts the free swimming infectious stage so as soon as you get copper up to 0.4ppm with cupramine you should stop getting new infections. However, any parasite that landed on the fish before the copper will continue to grow and feed which can create new white marks. They feed for no more than 6 or 7 days before dropping off. It can then take another day or two for the entry areas to clear up.

The rate all of this occurs is also dependent on salinity and temperature, not to mention the species and health of the fish. Some times a fish will clear up in 2 or 3 days. It is possible that a fish will still show signs 7 to 10 days later.

But yes, the fish should be getting relief from new attacks even if it is still showing outward signs. The new attacks should be blocked by copper.

 

[kingkai512]

is there anything i can do to provide some relief for the hippo tang? he seems to have it the worst out of all of them. i was reading that a freshwater dip is debatable in helping with ich

 

[Big G]

A freshwater dip helps, especially on the fish's gills to remove feeding parasites. They spasm and drop off. Studies report that as much as 90% of the parasites can be removed. Sometimes though, the spasming can cause distress to some fish depending on how many parasites are actively feeding, again especially for those on the gills, the spasming can interfere with the fish's breathing. This is especially effective when dealing with marine velvet and the numerous parasites usually involved in an attack.

 

[Brew12]

is there anything i can do to provide some relief for the hippo tang? he seems to have it the worst out of all of them. i was reading that a freshwater dip is debatable in helping with ich

I am not aware of anything you can do other than maintain copper at the correct levels. A FW dip may have provided some relief early in the process but after this long in copper I personally wouldn't do it. Right now I would focus on healthy feeding, reducing stress, and monitoring for secondary infections.

 

[kingkai512]

so just a quick update, lost some more fish today even though i have been at .5 cupramine for about a week, and .3 for longer than that. what is going on here? isn't copper supposed to prevent the free swimmers from infecting the fish? i noticed an increase in spots go from "hey this might be just ich" to "yep its velvet" WHILE i was in the .5-.7 range

 

[HotRocks]

Honestly, I have experienced tangs get small bumps that are velvet like in high concentration of copper. Small bumps that appeared similar to velvet.

What test kit are you using?

 

[kingkai512]

seachem multi test copper

 

[GSnake]

seachem multi test copper

Hust wondering how it turned out for you