Fish in copper treatment , possible ich?

[Biddence]

i had an ich outbreak in my display, i pulled all my remaining fish and into qt. Where they have been for the past 3 weeks, my hippo started displaying all these ich like spots earlier this week and I’m concerned it looks like ich. Copper in the hospital tank has been maintained between 2.25-2.5 with copper power the whole duration. It is the only one that is showing any symptoms and is breathing a little heavy. There is also a another tang but, seems completely normal.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Biddence Welcome to the Fish Disease Treatment and Diagnosis Forum!

The #fishmedic team and other knowledgeable members of our community will do our best to help you resolve your questions. Please provide as much of the following as you are able:

• Brief description of the issue you are observing and answers to the following questions:
  • How long have you had the fish with the condition?
  • Did you quarantine with medication when you first acquired the fish? (If Yes, which medication?)
• Current water quality measurements
• Clear photos of the issue taken using WHITE light and/or a short video of any behaviors (post in your response or on YouTube).

If you can help us by providing as much of the above info as possible, it will make diagnosing and providing recommendations for treatment MUCH easier! The Fish Medic team will get back to you as quickly as possible. In the meantime, other members of our community may also share their experience with similar situations and advice that they may have regarding your situation.

You may also feel free to provide a more detailed description of the condition if you wish to share more info than the above list.

Additionally, these links may be useful while you await a response:

• CURRENT QT PROTOCOL LINK
• HOW TO ASK FOR DISEASE DIAGNOSIS HELP LINK

 

[MnFish1]

IMHO - keep what you're doing - recheck your copper level with a different test and wait. As long as it/and the rest 'look healthy' - these can be mucus cones that can form with ich - and seemingly more on tangs than others.

 

[Pufferlover95]

I agree with @MnFish1. Clean the vile real well with RODI to ensure accuracy with test results. If your copper level is TRULY therapeutic, you’re doing things right. Maintain the therapeutic copper level and that’s all you can do in regards to copper. You can also try a freshwater dip for the tang and anyone else still showing signs. But I think you’re doing it all correct, just need time.

 

[vetteguy53081]

i had an ich outbreak in my display, i pulled all my remaining fish and into qt. Where they have been for the past 3 weeks, my hippo started displaying all these ich like spots earlier this week and I’m concerned it looks like ich. Copper in the hospital tank has been maintained between 2.25-2.5 with copper power the whole duration. It is the only one that is showing any symptoms and is breathing a little heavy. There is also an another tang but, seems completely normal.

These are mucus cones mixed in with ich and may require extended treatment but assure level is 2.5 and Ammonia is the lowest possible

 

[Biddence]

I purchased a copper calibration fluid from Hannah, so i will await the results when it comes in. Aside from a malfunctioning tester how could ich still be present in the hospital tank after 3 weeks of copper treatment?

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I purchased a copper calibration fluid from Hannah, so i will await the results when it comes in. Aside from a malfunctioning tester how could ich still be present in the hospital tank after 3 weeks of copper treatment?

Copper Power and Coppersafe are both amine-chelated copper products. They are safer than ionic copper products, but are also slower to work, and their dose must be higher than 2.0 ppm (as yours is testing at). The Hanna tester is pretty accurate, but there can be some issues getting all of the test reagent out of the powder pillow, and that may affect the test results. One way to confirm the tester is working is to mix up five gallons of seawater, add a full five gallon dose of copper power, let it mix for an hour and then test it. If the results are 2.0 or above, then the Hanna tester is fine. IIRCC, Copper Power label instructions will give a 2.0 ppm reading, and IMO, that is a bit low.

That said, if only the hepatus is showing spots, (and since these spots look pretty large to me) I'd agree with @vetteguy53081 , these are mucus plugs, a reaction this species shows as a response to stress. There can often be some ich trophonts mixed in, but in this case, I think they are "idiopathic", that they don't have a direct correlation to the ich parasite.

Jay