CopperSafe (or other copper product): Opinions?
- Thread starter JakeH
- Start date
Anything is better than that Kordon "Ick-Attack". It smells like a diaper-genie that's been sitting in 100degree heat & hasnt been emptied out for years. Nasty. I dont even know or care if that crap works...
If you read my post, I did not say it is bad but because I keep inverts myself, I cannot use copper meds in any of my tanks.JakeH;3264764; said:
i have a ton of tiny snails in my 180 and i dosed the the tank once to try and kill them off, it didnt work (just slowed them down for a while) i was always hesitant on doing a second dose cause i keep 2 clown loaches, maybe this thread will change my mind
Lupin;3265238; said:If you read my post, I did not say it is bad but because I keep inverts myself, I cannot use copper meds in any of my tanks.
That wasnt directed at you Lupin. Dont throw your sippy cup at me!
I know you cant use it with your snails, but with your reputation I'd love to know how you feel about the product in general. If you've NEVER used it, just let us know what your other experience tells you. I really wish it wasnt so long-lasting or was able to be removed with Carbon like other meds.What about the Catfish guys out there? I dont use it in my Puffer tank (or my snail tank, Lup) because I heard they are sensitive to it, so Cats have to be sensitive to it too, right? I was shocked that my Loaches weren't.
I have used it repeatedly since I collect all my plants and fish locally. Inevitably I pick something up that has Ick. At the recommended treatment levels, It has never hurt my wild caught snails. My favorite TX Cichlid just died (of old age) and I had to go out and pick up a couple more. In the process, I picked up a few other spps as well along with some crayfish. I also picked up a very small yellow bullhead who (of course) has Ick. I have not noticed it on any of my other fish yet so I raised the temp tonight to 78 and treated the whole 110G tank with coppersafe. Hopefully the crayfish will survive, we'll see. I've never treated a tank containing crayfish so I don't know. I've read in some places that coppersafe may not hurt inverts with exoskels. I guess I'm experimenting and learning.
NOTE: I always take out the bio wheels from my two Emp. 400's and put them in a water storage tank. The importance of beneficial bacteria cannot be over stated and I don't want to loose mine.
NOTE: I always take out the bio wheels from my two Emp. 400's and put them in a water storage tank. The importance of beneficial bacteria cannot be over stated and I don't want to loose mine.
I just wanted to second the notion about beneficial bacteria and copper meds.. They dont mix!jpenney;3353529; said:
Also storing bio wheels in a bucket unless the bucket contains ammonia and plenty of water movement the BB will die anyways.
Dissolved copper will exist as bound (chelated), part of complex molecules or free cupric ion form (Cu++). Free copper is directly affected by temperature, pH, salinity, metal ions, organic matter (detritis and plants) and adsorbs directly to precipitate matter reducing effectiveness. You will need a copper test kit when medicating with copper because of this. Make sure your copper test kit can distinguish between free copper and bound copper since total dissolved copper levels itself is not helpful.
Fish species tolerance to copper toxicity varies greatly and even more so between saltwater and freshwater.
I do use copper frequently on all sizes of fish both for prevention and for cure。　I make up my own solution and add some citric acid which chelates the copper allowing it to be released　ｓｌｏｗｌｙ　．Ｃｏｐｐｅｒ　ｉｓ　ｈｅａｖｉｌｙ　ｕｓｅｄ　ｉｎ　ａｑｕａｃｕｌｔｕｒｅ．　
Fish species tolerance to copper toxicity varies greatly and even more so between saltwater and freshwater.
I do use copper frequently on all sizes of fish both for prevention and for cure。　I make up my own solution and add some citric acid which chelates the copper allowing it to be released　ｓｌｏｗｌｙ　．Ｃｏｐｐｅｒ　ｉｓ　ｈｅａｖｉｌｙ　ｕｓｅｄ　ｉｎ　ａｑｕａｃｕｌｔｕｒｅ．　
It's certainly true that copper is toxic to inverts. However, that aside, personally, I think that the negative claims against copper are largely exaggerated and unfounded As a matter of fact, copper is an effective ectoparacide (among other things) and can be used to treat a range of parasites (including ich), without staining silicone or acrylic as other medications will do. It is cheap, easy to deploy and will not harm biological filtration. Can you imagine spending several thousand dollars on a new acrylic tank and then seeing it discolored blue or green because you treated an ich infection?
Wow. I knew more people had opinions on this! Thats all great info, but I have never had any BB issues... My bacteria just kept on truckin!
