Observation, 14 day copper, then DT if no symptoms shown

[starypotter]

Hi everyone,
My latest fish have been in my QT for 8 weeks, with some clocking in at 16. It hasn't been medicated until last week with prazi and metro since one of the fish had suspected worms and has since passed. I am finishing up the treatment for all fish and after that plan to treat with copper power.

So if my fish haven't shown any signs of disease, and have all been eating behaving normally, etc in my tank for 8-16 weeks, do you think that I could manage a 14 day copper treatment followed by putting them into DT? I will of course ramp up slowly over a week, hold for 14 days at therapeutic levels.

Then all of the other threads I've read say to then transfer the fish to a sterile tank for another week or two for observation to make sure nothing else comes back. So my question is that if they're not showing symptoms before treatment, would the copper in some way weaken their immune system, stress them out, etc after treatment leaving them more susceptible to display something? Or do you think it would be okay to take them out after the 14 days and put them in DT? And then when I transfer them over to DT, do I need to worry about that water on the net having copper then going to my DT or should I net them put them in a specimen cup with DT water and bring them over that way to reduce any chances of copper in DT?

 

[GugsJr]

My treatment usually goes

1 week no medication just make sure they eat
2 week prazi
2 week copper
1 week observation to make sure they are eating and show no effects from the treatments.

If you already waited that long what's another week?

 

[Rython]

Yeah copper weakens the immune system. If the copper killed anything, like ich or velvet, there would be multiple tiny wounds on the fish from the parasites. Those can get infected, particularly in an immune depressed fish. Bacterial infection treatments are not reef safe so if one did pop up you'd have to catch the fish to treat.

Also depending on the type of copper you used and how you tested it, you might also be less than fully confident the copper level was therapeutic for 14 days. But if you used copper power with hanna that's pretty unlikely.