Does Copper kill all ich in display tank?

[sal16cal1]

So I went ahead and took the plunge and dosed my display tank with copper on day 23. I’ve read all the reasons why this shouldn’t be done. I’ve had no ammonia spikes, the fish look great and are eating at a normal rate. I am using copper power and have a Hanna checker I’ve been dosing at 2.5.

how much longer should I continue treatment? Will copper completely kill all ich from the tank after a certain period of time?

 

[laezur]

The reason we don't do this is copper will leach into the rocks, sand, pipes, everything and slowly release back into the tank so you can't keep corals or inverts and you'll have to constantly monitor your copper levels

 

[Troylee]

All ich and everything else in the tank lol.. not gonna able to have any inverts or snails etc for a long time.. including corals..

 

[sal16cal1]

All ich and everything else in the tank lol.. not gonna able to have any inverts or snails etc for a long time.. including corals..

That’s the point I don’t care. I’m perfectly fine with fish only tanks.

I’m just wondering if copper kills all ich after a certain period of time in a display. I don’t want to stop too soon. I was planning on 35-40 days. I haven’t been able to find anything definitive on the internet

 

[vetteguy53081]

So I went ahead and took the plunge and dosed my display tank with copper on day 23. I’ve read all the reasons why this shouldn’t be done. I’ve had no ammonia spikes, the fish look great and are eating at a normal rate. I am using copper power and have a Hanna checker I’ve been dosing at 2.5.

how much longer should I continue treatment? Will copper completely kill all ich from the tank after a certain period of time?

Copper kills ich between 21 and 30 days with 30 being the safe period. However if treating a display tank, plan on No coral and inverts. With traces left over- Tank will have some level of continued protection. With each water change, level will continue to be reduced and you can verify with copper kit. I would hold with live rock until you are below level .03

 

[vetteguy53081]

That’s the point I don’t care. I’m perfectly fine with fish only tanks.

I’m just wondering if copper kills all ich after a certain period of time in a display. I don’t want to stop too soon. I was planning on 35-40 days. I haven’t been able to find anything definitive on the internet

35-40 days is acceptable - Just maintain water quality.

 

[sal16cal1]

35-40 days is acceptable - Just maintain water quality.

Thank you. The horror stories got to me I held off for a while. The ammonia spikes scared me the most. The fish have acted the same throughout. It’s honestly been great so far.

 

[MnFish1]

That’s the point I don’t care. I’m perfectly fine with fish only tanks.

I’m just wondering if copper kills all ich after a certain period of time in a display. I don’t want to stop too soon. I was planning on 35-40 days. I haven’t been able to find anything definitive on the internet

Copper SHOULD kill all ich - HOWEVER, in a display tank - where there are more potential anaerobic areas, it may survive longer. It's unclear what you meant 'I dosed my display tank on day 23'. I would treat for 45 days of copper with daily copper measurements. Then, would do large water changes. There is no way to guarantee that copper will 'kill all ich in the display tank'. (Which is another reason most people frown heavily on this method). Did one of your fish have Ich? By the way - the normal 'quarantine' period is 30 days of copper. Because my guess is that the levels are going to fluctuate - and the aerobic area issue - I would tend to do it longer.

In al honesty - if none of your fish (in your display) was sick - I would stop it entirely - and observe.

 

[sal16cal1]

Copper SHOULD kill all ich - HOWEVER, in a display tank - where there are more potential anaerobic areas, it may survive longer. It's unclear what you meant 'I dosed my display tank on day 23'. I would treat for 45 days of copper with daily copper measurements. Then, would do large water changes. There is no way to guarantee that copper will 'kill all ich in the display tank'. (Which is another reason most people frown heavily on this method). Did one of your fish have Ich? By the way - the normal 'quarantine' period is 30 days of copper. Because my guess is that the levels are going to fluctuate - and the aerobic area issue - I would tend to do it longer.

In al honesty - if none of your fish (in your display) was sick - I would stop it entirely - and observe.

I didn’t do the proper QT method when I added fish to my tank. I was a newbie. So I had a big breakout cured it. Then a month or so later I would notice spots on my fox. I then added my last fish QT him put him in the tank and he got ich all over I had enough. I hated waking up everyday and inspecting every fish . I started treatment on day March 15th. I was leaning towards 40+ days as well.

 

[LPS Bum]

That’s the point I don’t care. I’m perfectly fine with fish only tanks.

I’m just wondering if copper kills all ich after a certain period of time in a display. I don’t want to stop too soon. I was planning on 35-40 days. I haven’t been able to find anything definitive on the internet

I've treated my FOWLR display with copper a couple of times over the last 15 years. It can be done as long as you don't have any invertebrates and you don't plan to keep them in that tank going forward.

The main issue you're going to have is getting the copper to therapeutic levels and keeping it there. Unless you're dealing with marine velvet, I ramp up the copper level slowly. You'll need to test your level daily and you'll likely need to add more copper on a daily basis until the rock in your tank reaches saturation and stops absorbing it. You can then treat at therapeutic levels for a full 30 days (again testing the copper level daily) and it should take care of the parasite and their offspring.

Remove with cuprisorb or poly filter and a couple of large water changes. I also like to treat the food with Kanaplex to knock out any secondary bacterial infections that may arise. Good luck.

 

[sal16cal1]

I've treated my FOWLR display with copper a couple of times over the last 15 years. It can be done as long as you don't have any invertebrates and you don't plan to keep them in that tank going forward.

The main issue you're going to have is getting the copper to therapeutic levels and keeping it there. Unless you're dealing with marine velvet, I ramp up the copper level slowly. You'll need to test your level daily and you'll likely need to add more copper on a daily basis until the rock in your tank reaches saturation and stops absorbing it. You can then treat at therapeutic levels for a full 30 days (again testing the copper level daily) and it should take care of the parasite and their offspring.

Remove with cuprisorb or poly filter and a couple of large water changes. I also like to treat the food with Kanaplex to knock out any secondary bacterial infections that may arise. Good luck.

I have the Hanna checker the water is checked and redosed as needed. I’ve reached the point of the absorption stopping. Thank you for the insight!

 

[LPS Bum]

I have the Hanna checker the water is checked and redosed as needed. I’ve reached the point of the absorption stopping. Thank you for the insight!

Happy to help.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I didn’t do the proper QT method when I added fish to my tank. I was a newbie. So I had a big breakout cured it. Then a month or so later I would notice spots on my fox. I then added my last fish QT him put him in the tank and he got ich all over I had enough. I hated waking up everyday and inspecting every fish . I started treatment on day March 15th. I was leaning towards 40+ days as well.

I realized that why I said you can extend it. Copper contains bonding agent making them safe for fish and should not have impact unless you overdose subjecting it to be toxic

 

[Jrain904]

Idk if I have ever seen a salt water tank (besides a fish holding system at LFS) that doesn’t have any inverts at all. Copepods, snails, hermits, bristles, etc. I’d be curious to see how this tank runs long term. You should start a build thread to follow.

 

[sal16cal1]

Idk if I have ever seen a salt water tank (besides a fish holding system at LFS) that doesn’t have any inverts at all. Copepods, snails, hermits, bristles, etc. I’d be curious to see how this tank runs long term. You should start a build thread to follow

I’m a newbie do you mean continuing this thread or starting a new one at a different forum?