Seachem Cupramine can be used to treat a variety of aquarium fish diseases. If this product does not seem to be working as advertised, then you can take a look at this troubleshooting article from Aquarium Blueprints to see what steps you can take to make the treatment effective.
1. The first step we recommend taking is that you aren’t using an Ozone filter or UV sterilizer as these equipment aren’t compatible with Cupramine.
2. You should also make sure you aren’t using any activated carbon or copper-absorbing chemical filter media. If you are, then these will remove the medication from your tank water.
3. Cupramine is not compatible with reducing agents like the Seachem Prime. In fact, using both of these at the same time will make Cupramine extremely toxic to your pet fish.
4. Seachem also recommends that you don’t use Cupramine simultaneously with another medication.
5. Make sure you are following the treatment schedule correctly.
6. You can also try testing your tank water.
In order to do so, we recommend using the Seachem MultiTest Copper Test Kit, which you can find on Amazon via this link. (#CommissionsEarned)
For freshwater, the copper concentration should be at around 0.25 mg per liter for Cupramine to be effective.
For saltwater, the concentration should be around 0.50 mg per liter for it to work against diseases like Ich and Velvet.
If the concentration is way below the recommended level, then you need to dose more Cupramine to get the correct amount.
If the test kit shows a way higher amount of copper in your tank water, then you can check out this troubleshooting article to see how you can make your aquarium safe again after accidentally overdosing it with Cupramine.
7. If Cupramine still remains ineffective after trying all of the above steps, then you may want to try another product.
Before doing so, you need to remove all the copper in your fish tank. You can do so by using activated carbon or the Seachem Cuprisorb. Doing water changes will also help decrease the copper concentration.
Once your test kit no longer shows any traces of copper in your tank, then you should be able to switch to another product to treat your sick. If you are looking for an alternative, then you might want to take a look at the ParaGuard or PolyGuard, both of which are made by Seachem.