# Mardel Coppersafe



## ashilli48 (May 14, 2006)

*is coppersafe detrimental to plants?*​
yes1100.00%no00.00%


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## ashilli48 (May 14, 2006)

Got a little ich problem and I recall a few years ago totally knocking it out with some copper sulfate product.

Now, having said that, I grabbed some Mardel Coppersafe. I noticed the directions say _may _ be harmful to plants. The other product that I did not get had nothing to say about plants. The products differed in doses. Coppersafe says 1 tsp/4gals. The other was 12 drops/10gals. Or maybe it was 12drops/1gal? Is it just a question of how much product is going into the water?

Next, just how harmful to the plants? what I have is 2 varieties of java fern, some java moss, a few vals (big and small), some unknown low growing/foreground plants, hair grass and a few moss balls.


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## ashilli48 (May 14, 2006)

no advice? No feedback? no experience? anyone? anyone? .....Beuller?


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## LSBoost (Jan 21, 2010)

Directions for Use:
Use 5 ml for 4 gallons of water. Loosen measuring chamber cap and squeeze bottle to fill to desired level. One application treats water for one month. DO NOT overdose.

Active Ingredients: Chelated Copper Sulfate.

Precautions: CopperSafe may be harmful to plants and some snails. If possible, remove plants and invertebrates without an exoskeleton from the aquarium. Otherwise, treat fish in a separate quarantine tank. Keep out of reach of children. For aquarium use only.

CopperSafe is intended for the exclusive use with ornamental fish and/or ornamental organisms and is not intended for use with humans or fish for human consumption.

Benefit: CopperSafe is a chelated copper compound that is used for the treatment of infections of Ick, Flukes (Gyrodactylus), Anchor Worms, Velvet/Protozoan diseases and other external parasites.

CopperSafe, when used as directed, maintains a total copper level of 1.5 ppm to 2.0 ppm in the water. CopperSafe remains active for over one month in the aquarium. Levels of 0.3 ppm free copper are recommended in the literature for therapeutic use, but with Coppersafe, the levels of free copper will be measured at 1.5 ppm to 2.0 ppm. This level of copper can be used in the treatment of fish due to Coppersafe's unique chelating agent. The chelating agent binds with the copper making it nontoxic to fish but effective against parasites. CopperSafe does not discolor the water and will not interfere with the biological filter

Use: CopperSafe should be used when a diagnosis of the fish's illness indicates the presence of Ick, Flukes (Gyrodactylus), Anchor Worms, Velvet/ Protozoan Diseases and other external freshwater parasites.

NOTE: CopperSafe may cause an adverse reaction with some sensitive invertebrates. Invertebrates without an exoskeleton such as jellyfish and anemones should be removed before treatment. CopperSafe may be harmful to plants, amphibians, and snails.

A chelated or total copper test kit is required to measure CopperSafe. Coppersafe may cause inaccurate free copper readings when using certain test kits. All readings should be based on the total copper or chelated copper results and not the free copper results.

Coppersafe is safe to use with UV Sterilizers, Protein Skimmers, Wet/Dry and Diatomaceous earth filters. After treatment, Coppersafe can be removed from the aquarium by water changes, fresh activated carbon or other chemical filtration resins/pads.


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## ashilli48 (May 14, 2006)

Yes, I read the directions on the carton. What I was seeking was any successful or unsuccesful uses of the product in conjunction with plants. I was curious to see if the warning was just a general catch all.


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## awilson0001 (Sep 2, 2010)

i would like to know the answer to this question as well... anyone?


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## AC (Jul 26, 2010)

I would go with extreme caution with the plants.

I would imagine it would wipe them out.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

There are ways of treating ich that are safe for plants, why not use one of them? The plant people among us may not have tried it due to the warning.


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## awilson0001 (Sep 2, 2010)

what ways are safe for plants and also for fish like clown loaches? i have tried heat


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

The one time I had ich I used heat/salt. Maybe post a topic with the heading about treating ich with loaches and plants? That way people will view and make suggestions.


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## triscuit (May 6, 2005)

Check out this thread- might have some good info:

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/view ... p?t=218865


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## awilson0001 (Sep 2, 2010)

tris, you actually responded to my other post on scaleless fish treatments. i already tried heat and salt and it got rid of alot of it but it still seems to be hanging on after like 1 month straight.

resistant strain maybe?

and this is a 125 gallon with a mix of peacocks, fire eel, loaches, and mbuna. to empty it and quarintine is probably not happening.

was gonna try coppersafe. any thoughts?


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## AC (Jul 26, 2010)

Can you move all the plants out to protect them?

The copper stuff stains everything.

It is absolutely going to be absorbed into the plant's pores if they are left in the tank.

I can't see that not being detrimental to the plants.

Yet, you could remove the plants and jam them all into a small area like a ten gallon tank and treat the 125.

The other thing is the scaless will have to be considered by doing half doses for double the time.


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## awilson0001 (Sep 2, 2010)

thats what i am leaning toward

i plan to move the plants to be safe then i am in no hurry


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## AC (Jul 26, 2010)

I think that is your best option.

I just used QuICK Cure, salt and heat to treat clowns succesfully using half doses of the med and 1 tbsp salt/gal.

They actually showed no signs of the ick after 2-3 days but I continued the treatment for 6 just to air on the side of caution.


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## awilson0001 (Sep 2, 2010)

sounds good, hope the fish can handle it.

thanks


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## AC (Jul 26, 2010)

Did you read the article in the library about ick?

It really helped me understand what I was dealing with.


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## awilson0001 (Sep 2, 2010)

the one mentioned in this discussion?

i did, but as i mentioned, i used heat and salt for over a month. it lowered the ick level but it never vanished completely.

i cant really quarintine all my fish as they have all been in the tank with the ick so they all need treated. for that reason i may as well treat the whole tank.

so what it comes down to is how to treat a 125 gallon with a mix of cichlids and loaches.

was there another article?


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## AC (Jul 26, 2010)

No, I think that is the only one.

Is the ick primarily affecting the loaches?


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## AC (Jul 26, 2010)

Here is something to think about...

Coppersafe - Active Ingredients: Chelated Copper Sulfate.

Quick Cure - Malchite green and formaline

Chaleted copper sulfate and malachite green are pretty much the same thing.

But, the addition of formaline may be the extra edge in kicking the ick's butt since it still lingered after using Coppersafe.

The addition of salt and heat is to shorten the life cycle of the ick so that it all gets destroyed.

This could have been your issue in reoccurance too.


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## awilson0001 (Sep 2, 2010)

well, i have yet to use coppersafe. i was just using heat and salt.

my next step was to use coppersafe at half dose.

it was mostly the loaches yes. but now it just pops up as one spot every so often then its gone.


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## awilson0001 (Sep 2, 2010)

had a quick question, i have been reading on this salt stuff and i guess i could try it again with more salt.

i have heard everything from 1 tablespoon/gallon to 3 tablespoons/gallon.

1 tablespoon would be like 8 cups total. that sounds like a lot of salt.

i never tried it to that extream. can the fish handle that?

anyway, i am gonna open a topic specific to treating loaches... :wink:


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Not sure how much plants or loaches like salt. You could try www.loaches.com as well.


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## AC (Jul 26, 2010)

awilson0001 said:


> it was mostly the loaches yes. but now it just pops up as one spot every so often then its gone.


Are you sure what you are seeing is ick?

Could it be that a small fragment of some substrate is on the fish's skin and you are just being paranoid about ick?

Are you sure it's not a minor skin abrassion?

Can you post pics of it?

To me, at least, it seemes that ick is not your issue since ick would attack a fish, stay there and spread not disappear.


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## awilson0001 (Sep 2, 2010)

i will post a pic if i can catch one.

you see, it is mainly the loaches, and more so if i lower the temp. with the temp raised, i see very little of it but i do still see some..

my substrate is gravel, river rock type gravel. i will be lowering the temp pretty soon after the salt has a chance. i will see then if it comes back again.

what else pretty much goes away with heat and comes back pretty hard when i lower the temp?

the loaches actually get lots of speckles when the temp gets lowered.


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