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Copper overdose???


Still_human

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(edited)

I just tested the copper level that my QT tank is at, to see if the fish are ready to come out, and for over the 14day period it's been at 1.10ppm, and when I converted it to mg/L(how the medicine refers to the levels), its 1.1, which is almost twice the recommended dose, and still WAY over the apparent maximum safe dose on .8 mg/L! Can this be right? I have relatively sensitive fish in it, and they have all been happy and healthy the entire time--Bangaii cardinals, firefish, cleaner wrasse, green chromis(by the way, why are they so extremely delicate these days? They used to be crazy hardy!). I'm using cupramine, and the dose I'm going by is on the bottle, so Its definitely referring to the correct type of copper.

this is similar to before when I was treating my main tank after the oodinium or brooklynella event last year, and when I got the Hanna copper test kit, it turned out just following the directions put the level over 1.5, with angels, tangs, and a butterfly, which I can't imagine would have all survived if the level was truly twice the maximum safe level. 

Whats the deal here, there's gotta be some mistake somewhere. Are the numbers and dose info all correct and my fish are just all from krypton, or are the number/dose info off, and im not treating with a high enough dose? 

Edited by Still_human
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How often have you used that particular tank for QT with copper? Did you test the water before the most recent dosing?

10-15 years ago, I was moving a lot of fish in and out and learned that my tanks were holding the copper.

First, it was the terra-cotta pots I was using that held the most, even after bleaching. Then when I threw out all the pumps, heaters and clay pots, I was still getting significant copper readings in the glass tanks after I cleaned them. I seem to remember the conclusion had been that the silicone was holding bound Cu.

Lesson I learned then was twofold. First, once a tank has been used for QT with copper, assume it will always have Cu. Second, run the tank for 3-5 days, test for Cu, then add fish if safe, dose Cu according to current Cu levels.

As far as how the fish are responding, I can’t say. It was once said that clownfish could take epic amounts of Cu, but would often sterilize them. It was thought to be one of the biggest hurdles in learning to breed clowns, especially for the “sensitive” varieties like Darwin occelaris that took up to 3 years to become sexually mature. 3 years is a long time to learn that the fish were shooting blanks.


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I just tested the copper level that my QT tank is at, to see if the fish are ready to come out, and for over the 14day period it's been at 1.10ppm, and when I converted it to mg/L(how the medicine refers to the levels), its 1.1, which is almost twice the recommended dose, and still WAY over the apparent maximum safe dose on .8 mg/L! Can this be right? I have relatively sensitive fish in it, and they have all been happy and healthy the entire time--Bangaii cardinals, firefish, cleaner wrasse, green chromis(by the way, why are they so extremely delicate these days? They used to be crazy hardy!). I'm using cupramine, and the dose I'm going by is on the bottle, so Its definitely referring to the correct type of copper.
this is similar to before when I was treating my main tank after the oodinium or brooklynella event last year, and when I got the Hanna copper test kit, it turned out just following the directions put the level over 1.5, with angels, tangs, and a butterfly, which I can't imagine would have all survived if the level was truly twice the maximum safe level. 
Whats the deal here, there's gotta be some mistake somewhere. Are the numbers and dose info all correct and my fish are just all from krypton, or are the number/dose info off, and im not treating with a high enough dose? 


Trust the readings from the Hanna. It has been awesome for me and many others.
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