Freshwater fish/Ich

Question
Good evening,

I just recently bought some fish for my 10 gallon aquarium.  Just this morning, I noticed my two threadfin rainbows had ich on them.  The tank also has neon tetras, cherry barbs and those little albino catfish bottom feeders.  I've been reading on line to use Quick Cure for the Ich (but since I have neons, to only use half the dose).  The pet store I went to today, recommended Mardel's Copper Safe.  The instructions only say to add one teaspoon per 4 gallons of water.  Is that it?  I find it hard to believe that I shouldn't have to repeat the dose or do anything else.  I've just added a teaspoon to my tank (so far) because I'm worried that I'm supposed to do something else.  Every other medication (like Quick Cure) repeats the dose every few days or has you do some sort of water change, etc.  Any suggestions?

Also, the cherry barbs seem to be "flickering" around.  It's not really like "flashing", ir's more like they're shaking around a little.  One of my barbs even was looking a little depressed earlier (laying near the bottom, quivering, clamped fin).  Could this be the same problem as the ich?  Or might it be something else?

I keep testing my water quality constantly.  So far, I have zero ammonia, zero nitrites.  My nitrates are between 5 and 10 on the chart and the PH appears to be a little high.  (The pet store said it's fine, but I keep reading lower PH for these little guys.  It looks like my PH is over 8.3).  I'm not really sure what my problem is at this point.  The water quality overall appears ok, but a few fish don't seem too happy.  The others seem fine.  It's just the three fish I mentioned that seem to have problems.  I assume if they are having problems, the others will soon follow if I don't correct the problem.  Any ideas?

Thank you!

Natalia

Answer
Hi Natalia;

The instructions are quite correct. You don't need to add more because copper is a metal. It doesn't "wear out" or decay like other medicines do. It will stay in there until water changes over time remove it. I don't like to use it because it takes a very long time to go away. It absorbs into your sealant and decorations too. Keep that in mind in case you ever want to keep invertebrates such as snails or shrimp. They may not survive because they are very sensitive to copper. I really think the symptoms in your fish are related to the parasite. It makes them itch all over and they just generally feel uncomfortable.

Don't worry about the pH. Your fish are used to what they have right now. It really isn't that high. Trying to alter it causes fluctuations that cause a great deal of stress to your fish. The fish profiles with pH recommendations are referring to what the wild cousins of your fish lived in. Our fish we have now are generations in captivity away from those wild fish and are accustomed to higher pH values in commercial concrete breeding ponds. As your tank ages it will go lower anyway. Hoever, if you have shells, coral, limestone or marblestone decorations in there, take them out. They cause pH to naturally rise higher and higher as they leach their minerals out in your water.

I hope your guys feel better soon.....

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins