My 210 system has had 2 fish with hole in the head one Oscar didn’t make it my green terror is almost back to full health, but he’s in a qt tank. I know general cure helped with him. Now I still have 3 fish in the 210 and I’ve been doing a lot of water changes could I dose copper to help with any parasites that might still be in the water?
Copper?
- Thread starter brittlebonez
- Start date
I believe copper wont help. Hexemita are protected in the lining of the fish. Cont w/ water changes and ingested metronidazole if you want to try something. Just IMO.
Ok cool I was thinking if possible copper for the whole tank to be safe then start feeding with metroplex and focus food
Both the fish species you mention, are soft, to neutral water species (pH at or below 7), originally from the mineral free, acidic waters of S America.
If you have have hard, high pH water (anything above 7).... this could be the problem, and .......escpecially if you combine those parameters with a nitrate concentration above 5 ppm.
That is a chemical soup that soft water species, often have a hard time with.
Most natural waters contain undetectable nitrate. (even the hard water where I collect cichlids)
Soft water, low pH species have evolved to live with little resistance to bacterial species such at those that cause chronic diseases, like HITH bacteria that thrive in hard, high pH waters.
And adding more metallic compounds to that soup may even exacerbate the problem more.
These chronic maladies (like HITH) do not develop over night, so curing them is not instantaneous either, there is no magic bullet.
To keep infections from returning....frequent, large water changes that reduce nitrate to very low levels could help.
I try to do enough water changes, and use planted sumps that consume nitrate, enough, to keep my tanks nitrate levels, similar to the water I collect the cichlids in.
If you have have hard, high pH water (anything above 7).... this could be the problem, and .......escpecially if you combine those parameters with a nitrate concentration above 5 ppm.
That is a chemical soup that soft water species, often have a hard time with.
Most natural waters contain undetectable nitrate. (even the hard water where I collect cichlids)
Soft water, low pH species have evolved to live with little resistance to bacterial species such at those that cause chronic diseases, like HITH bacteria that thrive in hard, high pH waters.
And adding more metallic compounds to that soup may even exacerbate the problem more.
These chronic maladies (like HITH) do not develop over night, so curing them is not instantaneous either, there is no magic bullet.
To keep infections from returning....frequent, large water changes that reduce nitrate to very low levels could help.
I try to do enough water changes, and use planted sumps that consume nitrate, enough, to keep my tanks nitrate levels, similar to the water I collect the cichlids in.
IMO, Copper Sulfate is a last resort medication. Only to be used in an emergency situation such as an Oodinium outbreak.
There is a thin margin of error when dosing. A little too much Copper Sulfate usually doesn't end well for the patient.
There is a thin margin of error when dosing. A little too much Copper Sulfate usually doesn't end well for the patient.