Copper Based Meds Vs Live Rock

[1234-fishy-freind]

Hi guys, as some will know my fish have been a bit ill latley. And this morning I found my pinktailed trigger dead.
The treatment I have been using does not seem to be working so I need to know, can copper based medications be used in tanks with live rock, or will they kill the baceria in the rock. I need to know this asap so I can buy a stronger medication to treat my fish.

cheers in advance guys

josh

 

[ben1987]

pretty sure it can be used in a tank with live rock. Just you probably wont ever be able to keep a reef in that tank after. Id get them out and treated elsewhere as you never know what you will be doing with it in a few years.

 

[jtnova13]

pretty sure it can be used in a tank with live rock. Just you probably wont ever be able to keep a reef in that tank after. Id get them out and treated elsewhere as you never know what you will be doing with it in a few years.

+1 to this. I'd dose them in a QT tank if you can. If they're ill though, the move could stress them out even further.

 

[Musho3210]

The calcium based rock will absorb the copper, therefore preventing you from keeping most invertebrate, also, you will need to use higher doses because the rock will remove it from the water column. I therefore, would not suggest copper treatments in a tank with aragonite material (sand/rock).

What disease do your fish have anyway, there could be other alternatives than copper.

 

[VictorMeldrew]

Using copper based treatments in a tank pretty much renders the tank useless after, I have even read somewhere that the copper even gets into the seal of tanks making it impossible to keep inverts and other things later.

 

[1234-fishy-freind]

Im not really sure as to what the desease is, if you look in my other recent post you will see pics of the trigger and tang.

josh

 

[Musho3210]

Im not really sure as to what the desease is, if you look in my other recent post you will see pics of the trigger and tang.

josh

Do understand copper treatments can be very harsh on the fish, if it doesnt cure the disease, it will just further weaken the fish. Quarantine, ask more people in different places, and if you really want to do something, a hypo-salinity treatment MIGHT be easier on the fish than copper, but then again, not always.