copper or hypo

[i have crabs]

ive had ich for about 2 weeks or so its not going well lost 2 fish and have a very sick cowfish and lionfish and a couple not so sick others
ive started hypo its been down for mabey 2-3 days tops took a week to get thier used para guard for 3-4 days small signs of inprovement but still very worried
should i just go and copper the tank i will keep it fish only if it saves the fish i have how fast will copper inprove things or should i stick with the hypo and paraguard

 

[Phyl]

Please make sure that you're using a refractometer for checking your salinity. The +/-.04 error of the hydrometer makes it a dangerous tool at the levels that you need for treating fish with hypo. Your water needs to get to and be at 1.009 without wavering. It will take 3-5 days for all the spots to "fall off" the fish, but once they do your fish will recover quickly.

If you wanted to start copper right now you would have to spend 5 days getting your salinity back up to operating levels prior to beginning the copper treatment. That doesn't sound like a very good option right now.

Make sure to keep tabs on your PH and alkalinity while your tank is at hypo levels. You'll likely need to buffer top off and change water to keep the levels up high enough.

Paraguard is unnecessary when using hypo. Hypo works well all by itself. You just have to be testing accurately for your SG. Also watch your ammo in that tank. You may experience a lot of die off due to the change in salinity from your rock.

Good luck.

 

[steve-s]

Never use copper in the main system, it's a very limiting solution. If using hypo, you need no other treatment save an antibiotic if secondary infection becomes an issue.

Cheers
Steve

 

[Bang Guy]

I believe 14ppt is the correct salinity when using a refractometer.

 

[i have crabs]

thanks i have a refractometer and the sg is down enough ive just been stressing about the whole thing as im shure i should be
i notice today the domino damsil hase a very cloudy eye i cant get a look at the other side though is thier a antibiotic i should use he seems well other than that

 

[ZoozFishMaster]

Just a thought that I have never considered before...would it be possible to treat with hyposalinity and copper at the same time??

 

[steve-s]

...would it be possible to treat with hyposalinity and copper at the same time??

Generally no, both treatments together are very stressful on the animal and can often lead to a quick death. Copper is also greatly affected by pH levels, hypo having a lowering affect on the pH level within the tank if not carefully monitored which can make copper lethal.

Cheers
Steve