Fish still flashing with Coppersafe treatment

[Newms118]

Ive had the following fish in Coppersafe for 3 weeks and 4 days:

 

Clownfish

Royal Gramma

2 blue yellow-tail damsels

 

I use the API copper test and its been reading between 2 and 4 ppm the whole time.  I haven't seen any signs of Ick (white spots) on the Royal gramma and the damsels.  The only issue is that the clown keeps flashing, swimming back and forth across the tank and has been a little bit aggressive.

 

My ammonia and nitrite are zero in the QT, but my nitrates are currently above 50 ppm.  I did a massive water change on June 18th to reduce ammonia, nitrite and nitrate, and re-dosed the tank to bring back the copper to the correct level.

 

So my question is why is the clown still showing signs of Ick (flashing) even though the tank has been treated for so long and the levels have never been below 2 ppm?

[Coral Hind]

To me the term "flashing" can have different meanings, are they rubbing on the rocks and sand? What part of the body are they rubbing, their gills/head or just their bodies?

 

Some fish will still rub on things even when ich or other parasites are not in the tank. They can have a loose scale that they are trying to remove or the skin is irritated from medications such as a high level of copper. How is the breathing rate? If ich is in the tank it normally affects the gills first and the fish breathes faster because of the gills are not functioning properly.

 

Your copper level is almost twice what it should if at 4ppm. High copper levels can cause internal damage so I would not keep it that high for long.

 

I would not worry about your current NO3 levels as they are not too high for the fish you have.

[gmerek2]

Clown is probably ok. I had one that rubbed like that in QT. I think he was just looking at reflection in glass and also was bored

[Newms118]

To me the term "flashing" can have different meanings, are they rubbing on the rocks and sand? What part of the body are they rubbing, their gills/head or just their bodies?

 

Some fish will still rub on things even when ich or other parasites are not in the tank. They can have a loose scale that they are trying to remove or the skin is irritated from medications such as a high level of copper. How is the breathing rate? If ich is in the tank it normally affects the gills first and the fish breathes faster because of the gills are not functioning properly.

 

Your copper level is almost twice what it should if at 4ppm. High copper levels can cause internal damage so I would not keep it that high for long.

 

I would not worry about your current NO3 levels as they are not too high for the fish you have.

 

What I mean is that the fish appears to rub his mouth/gills on the PVC elbows I have in the tank.  He seems to be breathing normally but when he was scratching I saw him swim to the top and take a gulp of air.  I say 4 ppm bc the API test is so bad in determining color that its hard to really say.  I put the recommended amount in the tank based off the instructions (5 mL / 4 gallons) and it really depends on the lighting as to what color it looks like (and I am reading the color by looking down through the top of the tube).  I worry that since the fish have been in the copper for 3+ weeks that it could be bc they've had enough.

 

Today I will be doing another complete water change, where I take the fish out and put them in a bucket of the water their currently in, and then drain the tank, wipe it dry and replace with new water that has been dosed.  I then use a net to transfer the fish to the new water in the tank.  

 

So after I do this, how much longer should I keep the copper in since I see the scratching continuing?

[Coral Hind]

I would not dose the copper again as the dose and duration you had should have killed ich and velvet by now. Just observe them for another two weeks. If no signs of ich or scratching then remove them from the QT. If they do continue to scratch then look closely as they might have flukes. Copper and hypo doesn't kill flukes so you need to dose Prazi for them but not with copper in the tank. Google "gill and skin flukes" to see what you should be looking for.

[monkiboy]

sound advice here. also, fish can flash for several reasons and even for months after a parasite has been ridden. the idea is to ensure that your process is as tight as possible and all actions are diligently followed to minimize confusion. i've never been a fan of most copper treatments outside of cupramine but have successfully used them. seachems product is great and their test kit much easier to read. if you are feeling really good about your process and the fish are still glancing and flashing after a while you may consider freshwater dips/baths to confirm flukes as they are easy to perform and make visual confirmation very easy. keep us updated and g'luck.