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Re: [APD] new here, and coppersafe



On Fri, 24 Sep 2004 18:00:49 -0700 (PDT), "S. Hieber"
<shieber at yahoo_com> wrote:

>Sorry to hear aobut the problem with your tetras.
>
>Malachite green is an aniline dye and relatively harmless
>to plants and most fish. Usually, dosing at half the
>recommendd dose is adequate.

Well, I've heard Malachite green is quite toxic to tetras, and also I
don't have a hospital tank and don't really want my main tank stained
green. :( 

I didn't know that about the charcoal, I will not bother with it in
the future. 

>Copper treatments are the last thing that I would want to
>put into a fish tank and I wouldn't use them in a planted
>tank. Btw, some people think malachite green has copper in
>it because there is a mineral by the same name that
>contains compper. But the malachite green dye has no copper
>in it.

Is the copper bad for the plants? Seemed to me that none of my options
were good, between the plants and the tetras. :(   I've heard of some
more 'naturally' based treatments with things like hot pepper oil in
them, does anyone have experience with those?

I do have a 0.075% malachite green solution on hand but I don't want
to kill my tetras, especially since they're the ones infected anyway. 

>One last point, try to keep about a dozen cardinal tetras
>together in one tank. A half dozen is too small for them to
>feel comfortable. With at least ten or twelve, you should
>notice the fish behaving less timid, and being more active
>-- well, active for cardinal tetras anyway.
>
>Good luck, 
>Scott H.


Yes, I was planning to add more cardinals as soon as these got
established, but didn't want to add too many fish at once due to
cycling. I think part of the problem these guys have - and could be
why they came down with ick after a week or two in my tank - is that
my pH is pretty high, but I think as soon as I have the chance to go
shopping again I should be able to start on a method to keep it low
effectively. 

I guess I have more time to do research since my dad wasn't able to
find coppersafe in any of the stores he went to, I will have to make a
separate trip tomorrow to a nearer city. 



~anna dunster


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