QT Treatment Advice

[Rocklin Mike]

I’ve had a diamond goby and a blue tang in my quarantine tank for a little over two weeks. I did dose prazipro for peace of mind however I’m wondering if I should run copper cuz of the tang. Visual observations indicate no issues at this time. Nothing exterior on the fish, they both appear healthy, eating well, swimming around, goby is digging, tang being a tang.

Should I dose copper because of the tang? I was going to move them to DT this weekend.

Thanks!

 

[code4]

I would not, just my personal choice. If you do not want to use copper you could try a couple of black mollies instead. Give it a couple more weeks and see how things go. The mollies should show parasites in that time period. Then if ich shows up you could switch to copper. I have learned the hard away about fish looking good and then not.

Shelley

 

[Rocklin Mike]

Are you saying you wouldn’t move them or wouldn’t dose copper? I have no issues with dosing copper if it’s necessary. Haven’t heard of black mollies before. I’ll look into that. Thx.

 

[evmibo]

I would as a prophylactic measure before they go into DT. If you’ve already got them in QT most of the work is already done. My understanding is that prazipro only eliminates parasites on the fish, but does nothing on ones that are in the water column. What copper are you using? Assuming chelated copper I’m confident you’ll be fine if you stay between 1.5-2.0ppm. What test kit are you using? The new high range copper hanna checker is the bees knees game changer.

 

[Rocklin Mike]

I have cupramine on hand with the seachem copper test kit. I typically just observe my fish as they all come from Live Aquaria but I had a yellow tang that wasn’t eating so I dosed prazipro. The yellow tang died over a week ago. I’m leaning towards copper just wanted to hear some opinions.

 

[HotRocks]

Did your deceased yellow tang have any symptoms other than not eating, or any spots on it?

 

[Rocklin Mike]

It had some spots on its fins which looked like lymphocystis. I had a cbb in the qt before these guys and he had it pretty good. It eventually went away and cbb is in the DT now. The yellow tang did not have any spots on his body.

 

[code4]

Are you saying you wouldn’t move them or wouldn’t dose copper? I have no issues with dosing copper if it’s necessary. Haven’t heard of black mollies before. I’ll look into that. Thx.

I have never used copper. I used CP once. I was suggesting the black mollies as a way of knowing it there is ich in the quarantine. If acclimated slowly, I did this in almost 24 hours. Lots of differing thought on how long one should take to do this. Since they have never been exposed to marine parasites they would show on them within a couple of weeks. And if they do you can still treat with copper. I have nothing against copper. I suggested the mollies since you seemed hesitant to use copper. Good luck no matter which way you go. And no, I would not move then unless I was really sure they were parasite free.

Shelley

 

[Rocklin Mike]

So I started copper a few nights ago. Goby seems to be fine however the blue tang has taken a turn for the worse. She was doing fine and eating however now she’s been on her side flopping now and then, breathing rapidly. I checked copper levels and they were good. She’s been like this all day today. Thoughts?

 

[evmibo]

Are you already at therapeutic levels of copper (1.5-2.0ppm for chelated copper)? You should ramp up to therapeutic levels over 5-7 days.

 

[USMC 4 LIFE]

Can you show a pic of your tang and QT setup?

Do you have an air stone in the QT?
Wheres your copper at right now?
What meds are in the QT?

 

[Rocklin Mike]

Are you already at therapeutic levels of copper (1.5-2.0ppm for chelated copper)? You should ramp up to therapeutic levels over 5-7 days.

I’m dosing cupramine and levels are at .5 mg/l currently.

 

[Rocklin Mike]

Can you show a pic of your tang and QT setup?

Do you have an air stone in the QT?
Wheres your copper at right now?
What meds are in the QT?

No airstone however I do have surface agitation and a flow pump running. Copper is at .5 mg/l per the cupramine instructions. Dosed prazipro before this but that’s all for meds.

 

[Rocklin Mike]

She does right herself now and then...sits there and then flips out.

 

[USMC 4 LIFE]

I would add an airstone. Copper can deplete oxygen within the water.

Hippo tangs can act weird sometimes. Mine liked wedging itself sideways like yours for the first week. Would swim like a champ when food was present and go right back into hiding once he was done.

 

[Rocklin Mike]

I would add an airstone. Copper can deplete oxygen within the water.

Hippo tangs can act weird sometimes. Mine liked wedging itself sideways like yours for the first week. Would swim like a champ when food was present and go right back into hiding once he was done.

Yeah she’s been hiding under the square stone pieces and the goby was nice enough to build walls of sand for her but she doesn’t go in there anymore and not responding to food at all.

 

[USMC 4 LIFE]

When did she last eat and what did she eat?
Did you slowly ramp up copper over a 5+ day period?

 

[Rocklin Mike]

When did she last eat and what did she eat?
Did you slowly ramp up copper over a 5+ day period?

I didn’t ramp...I followed the directions on the bottle. Lesson learned for me. I also have since found out that ionic copper is a bit more harsh on the tangs compared to chelated.

Last time she ate was yesterday I think. It was in the morning. Didn’t see her in the evening but that’s not uncommon. I usually feed them flakes or some mysis mixed with some frozen formula 2 or LRS.

 

[USMC 4 LIFE]

The full therapeutic dosage can cause her to stop eating and can account for her sudden “floppy” behavior.

I would completely remove the copper ASAP and get her eating first (soak garlic in food to entice the fish). Give her a couple of days to rebound and then slowly ramp up copper to therapeutic levels over the span of 5-7 days. Add an aerator as well.

I use chelated copper and always dose in the mornings so I can monitor the ramp up effects on the fish rather than dosing at night and praying the fish is still alive when I wake up.

Removing the sand and rock can also help maintain stable copper levels.

 

[Rocklin Mike]

The full therapeutic dosage can cause her to stop eating and can account for her sudden “floppy” behavior.

I would completely remove the copper ASAP and get her eating first (soak garlic in food to entice the fish). Give her a couple of days to rebound and then slowly ramp up copper to therapeutic levels over the span of 5-7 days. Add an aerator as well.

I use chelated copper and always dose in the mornings so I can monitor the ramp up effects on the fish rather than dosing at night and praying the fish is still alive when I wake up.

Removing the sand and rock can also help maintain stable copper levels.

Thanks for the tips. Hopefully it’s not too late.