is coppersafe really safe?

[HorseyJesse]

ive recently bought 5 neon tetras and i believe that they have carried tail rot into my 10 gallon tank. Most of the other fish now seem to have it. i was told to buy coppersafe to get rid of the rot, but i am concerned about two other residents of my tank, a bamboo shrimp and a tadpole. will the coppersafe harm them in any way? i could use any help given to me..is there something else i can do? thanks

 

[Allivymar]

Don't use Coppersafe or any product containing copper, malachite green, victoria green, formulin in your tank; it will kill any invertebrates and the tadpole.

If the tail rot is not serious, you can try Melafix in the main tank. If it is serious, you'll need something stronger. I'd isolate the neon crew in a quarantine tank and try the Coppersafe, or even better, a broad spectrum antibiotic like Kanacyn.

 

[HorseyJesse]

alright thanks so much!...i think the rot is a bad case..one of the tetras is almost completely missing its tail...yikes

 

[HorseyJesse]

oh, and how long will i have to keep the tadpole and shrimp separated from the rest of the tank?

 

[Allivymar]

Don't remove the tadpole and shrimp; remove the sick fish, put them into a QT tank and treat them in there. This way you won't mess up the nitrifying bacterial colony in the main tank. Also, copper is near impossible to remove from the substrate, leaving it a threat to inverts.

 

[HorseyJesse]

ok so ill take out the fish and treat them....wont it stick around in the regular tank though?

 

[Allivymar]

If the fish in the tank are healthy (if there are any left) they are probably strong enough to fight the disease off by themselves. Good clean water will help their immune systems remain strong.

If there aren't any fish left in the tank, the disease will prob not remain as it won't have any hosts (tadpoles and shrimp will likely not be carriers as they affected by different diseases). I would be sure to keep the fish you are treating out in QT for a minimum of a week after the last signs of disease.

 

[HorseyJesse]

ok cool. thanks so much for your help! i really appreciate it