Ich treatment and ammonia issues

[4babyblue]

So our fish got ich. We removed them all from the 110 gallon tank because of the corals so we could treat them. They are now in a 37 gallon tank and we have added copper aid, an eheim filter that will filter up to 160 gallon tank and a power head to give them more oxygen in the water but we are having problems keeping the ammonia levels down. We bought prime but it will remove the copper which is supposed to help the ich. Any suggestions? I feel we are fighting two problems

[ReefFresh]

following

[Jeff4777]

Yeah can't use prime with copper. Placing established biological filtration into your HOB filter from the main display could work. Of course anything that touches copper can't go back to the DT. I've heard of people doing water changes making sure to be very careful and match copper ppm and of course salinity, pH, temperature.

[whosurcaddie]

You really wanted to have your bio filter seeded before you started your quarantine. Your best bet now is to get a bottle of Biospira or Frytzyme 9 and dose that into your filter. it will speed up the cycle time and detoxify the ammonia straight away. I would lower the copper levels until your ammonia problem is resolved you don't want this many stressors on a fish at one time.

[A.Astore]

First off, what test are you using for Ammonia? Research I did found that API's ammonia test will not work when Cupramine is being used because the test will provide false positives due to the chemistry of Cupramine. Not saying you don't have an ammonia issue; however, it may not be as bad as you are thinking.

Do you have a copper test so you can monitor levels of copper? Copper is a difficult approach for Ich because you have to maintain the copper which can be a nightmare when taking into account water changes and evaporation.

Pulling the copper out now will not benefit the fish because you are putting them through another change. I would say make sure you are using a test that will read the correct ammonia level, make sure you are testing copper levels, do water changes regularly and dose the proper amount of copper to the new water prior to adding it, and do NOT use Prime! There is a sticky labelled something along the lines of hospital lethal or something that explains it. If you did add it already with the Cupramine you may want to do a rather large water change to remove the possible side effects of mixing them. Then use the copper test to determine how much Copper needs added to keep you in the correct level. A lot of people prefer tank transfer method to avoid all of this and that way Prime and other ammonia aid can be utilized if even necessary since the fish are only in water for less than 72 hours (well and there is not the stress of using copper.

You do have the intention of leaving them out of the display tank for 72 days so you don't introduce them into an environment with it possibly still in it correct?

[gone fishin]

I would not add prime to a tank with copper it can make a toxic soup.

If you want to continue using copper then I would suggest getting the seachem ammonia alert badge and if you want a test then seachem makes an ammonia test that works when copper is present.

I would also suggest looking into doing the tank transfer method (TTM) instead of using copper. IMO if done correctly it has a higher success rate than copper in treating ich

[A.Astore]

Originally Posted by gone fishin

I would not add prime to a tank with copper it can make a toxic soup.

If you want to continue using copper then I would suggest getting the seachem ammonia alert badge and if you want a test then seachem makes an ammonia test that works when copper is present.

I would also suggest looking into doing the tank transfer method (TTM) instead of using copper. IMO if done correctly it has a higher success rate than copper in treating ich

Funny story- I actually had the Seachem Ammonia Alert badge and it was reading 0 the whole time while API was reading some crazy amount even after water changes. I was frustrated which is the only reason I ended up digging long enough to find that API reads part of Cupramine's make up as Ammonia due to what it reads. So, I wonder how many people have thought they were killing their fish with ammonia when they in fact were not. I can at least say my fish had SUPER clean water!

[gone fishin]

Originally Posted by A.Astore

Funny story- I actually had the Seachem Ammonia Alert badge and it was reading 0 the whole time while API was reading some crazy amount even after water changes. I was frustrated which is the only reason I ended up digging long enough to find that API reads part of Cupramine's make up as Ammonia due to what it reads. So, I wonder how many people have thought they were killing their fish with ammonia when they in fact were not. I can at least say my fish had SUPER clean water!

LOL I am sure more than would admit it. The seachem test measures total and free ammonia. I can't remember off the top of my head which one the cupramine interferes with to give the false result.