Seachem Cupramine 20L (SC-561)

Seachem Cupramine 20L (SC-561)

Seachem Cupramine is a fish medication that effectively eradicates external parasites such as Oodinium, Cryptocaryon, Amyloodinium, Ichthyophthirius, and other ectoparasites that infect freshwater and marine fish.

It is safe for fish and does not pose any danger to the aquarium. Once Cupramine is no longer needed (i.e. infections have subsided), it can be easily and completely removed with carbon or Cuprisorb.

Indications

Cupramine is appropriate for treating a variety of ectoparasites of both freshwater and marine fish. Below are some of the more common infections treatable with Cupramine.

Be aware that many diseases and infections share similar physical and behavioral symptoms, e.g. clamped fins, lesions, loss of appetite.

Directions

• Before Treating: Remove all invertebrates - these are extremely sensitive to copper and will not tolerate treatment with a copper-based medication. Turn off UV filters, ozone filters, and remove chemical filtration like MatrixCarbon and Purigen. Do not use in conjunction with any other medication. Do not use any products which contain reducing agents (conditioners, ammonia binders, etc.) while using Cupramine.
• Treatment: If the bottle has a dropper cap, use 20 drops (1 mL) per 40 L (10.5 US gallons) the first day, wait 48 hours, then repeat. On non-dropper caps, each inner ring is 1 mL. In freshwater use half dose. Final copper concentration is 0.5 mg/L (0.25 mg/L in freshwater). Leave at this concentration for 14 days. Do not redose without testing (MultiTest Copper). If tank has ever been treated with an ionic copper (e.g. copper chloride, sulfate or citrate), test copper level after initial dosing. Although most fish tolerate Cupramine to 0.8 mg/L, it is not advisable to exceed 0.6 mg/L copper.
• Finish the Full Treatment: Ich, velvet, and many other parasites spend a large portion of their life cycle as a cyst that is immune to medication and hiding in the substrate of your tank. Remember that you need to finish the full treatment even if you cannot see parasites on the fish!
• After Treating: Cupramine can be removed using carbon or CupriSorb. Leave the copper-absorbing media in your tank for at least a week after the copper concentration has reached 0 to ensure all traces of the medication have been completely removed.

FAQ

How often do I need to treat with Cupramine?

A: Unlike ionic copper or copper citrates, Cupramine will not precipitate out. Once a level is attained it will remain there until removed by carbon, CupriSorb, or other material. You may see a lower than expected level if you have crushed coral substrate or live rock. It is recommended that you quarantine fish in hospital tanks before entering them into your display system and when treating with any medication. As with any copper medication, it is not safe for use in a reef tank.

I've been dosing with Cupramine and then I added Product X and everything died. What happened?

A: If Product X is a reducing agent such as ParaGuard (or other aldehyde based medications), or if you overdose with a dechlorinator, such as Prime then the Cu2+ will be reduced to Cu+. Cu+ is 10 times more toxic than 2+.

I've just started using Cupramine, although I had been using an ionic copper (copper sulfate) product several months ago. I find that when I dose as prescribed with the Cupramine I'm getting a higher level of copper than I should be. Why?

A: The ionic copper has been adsorbed onto your filter bed and is now being extracted and solubilized by the amine complex in Cupramine. You can either adjust your Cupramine dose accordingly, use our CupriSorb to slowly extract the copper from the filter bed (although this could take weeks depending on how much copper is adsorbed), or replace the filter bed.

I'm using Cupramine and my ammonia test kit is showing ammonia off the scale. What is going on?

A: Ammonia test kits can not distinguish ammonia from the amine based complex present in Cupramine and will therefore give a false high reading for ammonia while using Cupramine. Our Ammonia Alert and MultiTest Free & Total Ammonia test kit do not suffer from this problem as they utilize a gas exchange technology that can distinguish ammonia from amines.

Is Cupramine is effective against gill fluke?

A: Yes, Cupramine effectively eradicates ectoparasite of both freshwater and marine fish. Please be sure to follow all directions on the product, make sure that you do not mix with any other medications and turn off your UV sterilizer.

Does using Cupramine in saltwater affect the results of other test kits e.g. alkalinity and pH ?

A: Cupramine will not affect the previously mentioned tests as this product is buffered and will not negatively influence pH or alkalinity.

What's the shelf life of your Cupramine product?

A: Cupramine, like the rest of our line, is designed to have an indefinite shelf life (relatively speaking). The only way this product may not function properly is if something was purposely added to the bottle to contaminate the product or precipitate the ingredients out of solution.

Is there is any problem with using Formalin in concentration of 25 mg/L with Cupramine ?

A: YES! Do not use Formalin with Cupramine or any other copper medication. It will reduce the Copper +2 to Copper +1 which is highly toxic at even small doses.

What if I need to do a water change with tap water and use a dechlorinator like Prime during the Cupramine treatment?

A: You will need to prepare the water 48 hours in advance of doing the water change. Add the Prime to your buckets of replacement water 2 days prior to doing your water change. The water will immediately be dechlorinated, and 48 hours later the Prime will no longer be active and you can perform your water change safely. Remember, that you will also have to add Cupramine back to the replacement water to bring it up to the final concentration of the tank. This should be done just before doing the water change.