Treating Ick With Coppersafe?

[sjrose77]

Hi,

I posted earlier under multiple tank problems. I still cannot post in the emergency forum. I got my ammonia levels to safe/ideal (my tank is only 3 weeks old) and I am wondering if I can treat the fish for ick now. They look like it is driving them nuts. I have Mardel coppersafe medication. Any advice is sorely needed. Thanks.

 

[karin]

I would love to help but I've never used coppersafe and I would be worried about telling you something wrong. Here is the deal, you have to watch and test the ammonia and nitrite's daily because you have an uncycled tank. You do not have the bacteria you need yet to process ammonia and nitrite. These bacteria take time to set up in your filter. You should expect to do a fish-in cycle so please read about it in the BEGINNER RESOURCES at the top of this page.

Your challenge is that you need to do daily water changes and medicate for ich. Coppersafe, as I understand it stays stable in the tank so you have to guess what you are removing with water changes and add that back. Does that make sense?

Here is what I would do. Do a huge water change ASAP and add Seachem's PRIME as your dechlorinator, this will help with some of the ammonia short term. Do a full dose of coppersafe. Wait 24 hours and do a 50% water change with PRIME and dose 1/2 and continue this for 5 days past any symptoms of ich, so 10-14 days. Raise temps to 82F at first and if fish okay, try to bump this to 85F or 30C but raise temps slowly. This is bad to say, but in your case I would also expect to lose fish and be happy if I did not. You just have too many stressors going at once.

I hope other's respond who have used coppersafe.

Good luck.