rain March 27, 2015 Share March 27, 2015 Hello! I have two small true percula clownfish and a small firefish currently doing well in a hospital tank almost done with their Cupramine treatment for an ich outbreak (which by the way, how long do you all recommend I keep them on the Cupramine? I've seen lots of variance on this from 2 weeks to 6 weeks). However, they seem to have gotten much pickier in the hospital tank than they were in the main tank on the food side. I was doing a mix of flakes, Rod's, frozen brine, frozen PE Mysis and frozen plankton in the main tank (different things on different days to mix it up) and they all seemed to eat fine as long as the pieces were small enough for them. Now in the hospital tank, they really are turning their nose up to everything except the brine shrimp. I realize Cupramine can affect their appetites and that I want to keep them well fed and healthy while in the hospital tank. They will eat the flakes a little bit, but begrudgingly...lol.... So, should I just let them eat flakes and brine shrimp only until they move back in to the main tank (not til Mid May at this point)? Should I maybe try something new like Rogger's or the LRS Nano Reef Frenzy? I've tried chopping up the PE Mysis very small, but they still give me the stink eye.... Thanks! Rain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Country March 27, 2015 Share March 27, 2015 Try the LRS, try some live blackworms Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rain March 27, 2015 Author Share March 27, 2015 Thanks Charles! I should add that they go nuts over the frozen brine shrimp and eat every last morsel.... so it's not that they aren't hungry. Just trying to get a more balanced diet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thakki March 27, 2015 Share March 27, 2015 Try garlic extreme with the food. My fish loved LRS with garlic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuffyGeos March 27, 2015 Share March 27, 2015 Try garlic extreme with the food. My fish loved LRS with garlic. +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rain March 27, 2015 Author Share March 27, 2015 Thanks thakki. I have the Kent's garlic extreme and put a few drops on all of it before I feed and let it soak in. It's just not doing the trick for anything but the brine shrimp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReefFrenzy March 27, 2015 Share March 27, 2015 Since a couple people mentioned LRS I don't feel so bad inserting a shameless plug. We have had many people claim great success with our Nano blend or the plain Fish Frenzy® which now has California blackworms and fish eggs. Both contain genuine PE mysis as well as a hint of garlic water to illicit a feeding response but no actual garlic pulp or meat (which can be harmful long term). The Nano is ground a little finer but you can easily shave or mince the Fish Frenzy chunks down for smaller mouths. Koji in Japan who sources and sells some of the rarest of the rare fish on the planet. Many are collected from deep waters and difficult to get eating. He orders LRS frequently to have on hand for getting these fish to eat. This video has a Narcosis angelfish at the end, which are not seen very often. I wouldn't think your clowns would be too difficult to keep eating during QT. I have always raised the Cu to .25 ppm slowly and then stopped it at .40 PPM and held it there for 14 days. I also advise using a Salifert test kit for copper since some of the others are difficult to read/test for Cupramine. Thats just my opinion. Good luck and hopefully all works well. https://youtu.be/vyshy0D8Ok4 This video was clipped together from a Facebook post on my page. https://youtu.be/6ELY_8om2AY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rain March 28, 2015 Author Share March 28, 2015 Thanks Larry! I have a package of the nano frenzy on hold at a LFS and picking it up tomorrow. My guys have been on the Cupramine since 3/7 so it sounds like I could take them off now. Do I just change out all the water or do I need to also run some sort of carbon in the filter? Appreciate the input!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmerek2 March 29, 2015 Share March 29, 2015 PIck up some live brine or hatch it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rain March 29, 2015 Author Share March 29, 2015 Well they love the frozen brine. Again it's not that they won't eat, they just aren't getting the most balanced diet. They have gotten better with the flakes though so I think if I do flakes and add brine as a treat or every other day that might be ok? Just didn't want to be feeding them candy the whole time... :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReefFrenzy March 29, 2015 Share March 29, 2015 Thanks Larry! I have a package of the nano frenzy on hold at a LFS and picking it up tomorrow. My guys have been on the Cupramine since 3/7 so it sounds like I could take them off now. Do I just change out all the water or do I need to also run some sort of carbon in the filter? Appreciate the input!! You can do a series of water changes to reduce the concentration of Cu in the water over a period of a few days. There are also various pads and filter media available that can strip copper and contaminants from the water. Just keeping them eating is the main objective while they make it through the QT process. I thought you may find this quote reassuring before you spend your hard earned cash on our product I recommended while trying to help your situation. I hope everything works out for you and the fish! Larry, "I wanted to give you a heads up about a recent turn of events on my reef, involving your food. I had an outbreak of a terrible parasite, infecting nearly all my species, but infecting a goldrim/Achilles tang hybrid the worst. I haven't diagnosed the parasite, but I know it's not marine ich, as I have spent a good bit of time studying the organism under the microscope. I took me a while just to find a medication that would kill it. Hypo-salinity didn't, formalin didn't, and finally studying it at the microscopic level, I found copper at a concentration of .8 mg/L does kill it, which doing so has cleaned all my marine fish. Regarding your food, I am confident that this Achilles hybrid would be dead without it. He was heavily infested with this parasite, breathing heavily, and I believed he was on his way out. Typically when an external parasite gets this bad, fish quickly stop accepting food. Believe it or not, he continued to accept the herbivore frenzy, right up until the copper finally started killing the parasite as it broke off his tissue. I am confident having a continuous diet of probiotic enhanced food greatly aided in this fish's recovery, and acted as his savings grace. I was pretty awe struck, when the fish was at its worst, still swimming into a cloud of herbivore frenzy eating. This event has made me believe that your formulas could be an important link, in aiding in the recovery of heavily infested marine fish." Thanks, Jeremy Gosnell Saltwater Question and Answer columnist Peer/Content Review Editor Tropical Fish Hobbyist Magazine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rain March 29, 2015 Author Share March 29, 2015 Hi Larry, I appreciate the info on reducing the cupramine. And, I have great update on my picky eaters! I offered them the LRS Nano Frenzy and they loved it! Yay! Now I feel much better that they are getting a nutritious meal while recovering. I'm thrilled! Woohoo! :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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