# coppersafe overdose, fin rot or what



## michaelj (Nov 18, 2007)

I had an outbreak of ich in some of my tanks, I didnt think my piranhas tank was affected, but one day I noticed 2 tiny white spots on his anal fin.

so I medicated MARDEL 'COPPERSAFE' he's in a 29G and it says 1teaspoon per 4gallons so I added 8 separate 1teaspoon doses equalling out to 28 gallons plus one extra dose since its a 29gallon not a 28gallon for good measure. 
one day later one spot went away. The next day the last spot went away. 
I was pleased and thought A) he had had an infection B) the mardel coppersafe had cured it.
On day 3 I noticed the tank water was a bit low so I decided to add a pail of water (about 5 gallons) 
I treated this water with water conditioner to remove the chlorine as usual and I added the 1teaspoon dose of mardel coppersafe to it before I added it to the tank. 
After looking at the tank I decided to add another 1 teaspoon dose just to be good and sure there was enough medication in the tank. 
Today, now Day 4 I come home and he looks perfect, he turns to his other side and theres a white irritation on his side, almost like a scuff mark on his flesh, not like ich, seems different, 
near his tail is a almost camoflaged shaped discolouration, looks like a chemical burn to me if I had to guess but I dont know much at all about chemicals, its just slightly discoloured from the rest of his body. 
upon closer inspection both his side fins are missing about 10% of fin, the ends are white as if theyre rotting off. I am scared sick seeing this. 
so if it was ich why did it go away and come back? dosent make sense to me..if I put too much medication in (that one extra 4gallon dose here for that extra gallon of water, and that extra 4 gallon dose there just for good measure with my water change) could that cause his skin to burn/irritate and make his fins rot away a bit? 
if thats it what do I do? 
and if its actually fin rot..now what? do I add fin rot medicine on top of the MARDEL COPPERSAFE thats already in the water for curing Ick, Protozan Velvet and Parasites? 
will it be okay to add 2 meds to his water at once?? he cost some serious dough, I love him alot and I am so damn confused with medicines and fish illness'es at this moment. 
I have had ich affect 6 out of 8 of my tanks in the last month. I added 3.5 tablespoons of sea salt to his water (first time ever he's had salt in his water) and have left him alone for now. he is swimming fine, acting perfectly normal and eating normal as ever.....


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## michaelj (Nov 18, 2007)

his side fins appear to be going faster than I thought, maybe 20% but the rest of his fins are untouched, just to confuse you some more.


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## NegativeSpin (Aug 1, 2007)

Meds that contain copper are not recommended for fish that have fine scales like most characins including piranhas. You should try something else out such as malachite green. I think it is safe to treat for more than one disease at a time in the case of fish. That would be my approach to handling illnesses that have tricky symptoms.


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## michaelj (Nov 18, 2007)

should I add the green malachite to the water which I already treated with copper safe?? do I do a 50/50 water change or 100% removal of the water before going green malachite, and do you think this reaction is due to the characin characteristic when subjected to coppersafe, I think thats what you mean, but I'm not sure.


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## Dr. Giggles (Oct 18, 2003)

I suggest Maracyn II for severe cases of fin rot. Works like a charm, especially if it is due to a bacterial infection.


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