Medications to keep on hand

Humblefish

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These are the bare essentials I recommend for quarantining:
  • Anti-parasitic: Copper Power with a Hanna High Range Copper Colorimeter (HI702) for testing. Treats Ich & velvet.
  • Anti-parasitic: Metronidazole (e.g. Seachem Metroplex); treats brook & uronema.
  • Dewormer: Prazipro or API General Cure.
  • Antibiotics: AAP Spectrogram or Nitrofuracin Green Powder
  • Emergency bath treatments: Ruby Reef Rally and Formalin
  • Internal Issues: Seachem Focus can be used with General Cure if internal parasites/intestinal worms are encountered (more info).
These are highly recommended, but not always necessary to have:
  • Anti-parasitic: Chloroquine Phosphate is an alternative to using copper, and treats Ich + Velvet + Brook + Uronema.
  • Dewormer: Fenbendazole can be used to treat prazi resistant worms (internal & external).
  • Bath treatment: Methylene Blue treats ammonia burn, cuts, cyanide poisoning. Excellent “first response” treatment for a sick fish.
  • Internal Issues: Neomycin (e.g. Seachem Neoplex) + Metronidazole (e.g. Seachem Metroplex) will not get absorbed by the fish’s gastrointestinal tract, thus making both excellent antibiotics to soak in food to treat internal infections (more info).
These are alternative/optional medications to use:
  • Anti-parasitic: Cupramine with a Seachem or Salifert copper test kit. (Hanna HI702 Colorimeter will test this form of copper as well.)
  • Antibiotics: Combining Kanaplex + Furan-2 + Metroplex is an old standby for treating bacterial infections (more options).
  • Antibiotics: Erythromycin is the treatment of choice for eye infections.
  • Antibacterial: Melafix (herbal remedy) is sometimes an effective treatment for mild bacterial infections.
  • Antiseptic: Seachem StressGuard is useful to promote healing of injured fish (wounds).
  • Misc: Epsom salt (1 tablespoon per 5 gallons) is sometimes useful to relieve swelling, especially "pop eye".
  • Misc: Soak fish food in vitamin supplements such as Selcon, Zoecon and Vita-chem. This will boost a fish’s natural immune system and is particularly useful for clearing viruses such as Lymphocystis.
  • Misc: Soak fish food in garlic to stimulate appetite. Useful for new fish that refuse to eat.
  • Misc: Always keep an ammonia reducer, such as Amquel or Prime, on hand. You never know when you might need it. A reducer can be useful for immediately neutralizing ammonia in the DT or QT (so long as no medications are present, especially copper), or when drip acclimating a new fish that has been in transit a while and ammonia has built up.
More information on the aforementioned medications can be found here: Medications and Treatments
 
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Humblefish

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saltyphish

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Quick question for you Humble, are any of these at risk of expiring if kept too long?
 

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@Humblefish, I purchased some Formalin so I would have it on-hand in case of an outbreak. It fell off the fridge and onto the counter, breaking off the cap off and spilling all over. As I came to wipe it, I noticed a burning of the eyes and throat. This was very scary given the fact that I have a toddler in the house. I had to use a paint mask and goggles to clean it! The whole downstairs still smells of the stuff. How should I clean it? I know formaldehyde is bad news! What should I do!? Everyone, be careful with this chemical!
 
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Humblefish

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@dangros I'm assuming you've already cleaned up the mess by now. I would use rubber gloves and face protection, and absorb all the spillage using paper towels (that you seal up inside a garbage bag.) Afterwards, wipe everything using bleach or some other household cleaner and then air out the house thoroughly. Formaldehyde is a known carcinogen, so you want to avoid skin contact with it and also avoid breathing in the fumes.

Maybe for future use, just keep some acriflavine around instead of formalin. Acriflavine-MS & Ruby Reef Rally both contain acriflavine.
 

dangros

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I used mostly water and non-ammonia based windex. I had a painter's carbon filter mask and goggles on. I showered afterwards. I looked hilarious but it was the only way to keep the fumes from burning my eyes and throat. That stuff is seriously irritating! We kept the windows open all night and have been enjoying the day away at the space museum to let it air out some more. It still smelled like dead frogs in a jar at the spot where it spilled but it was no longer burning.
I'm surprised there was no warning label on the bottle. I find this stuff far more dangerous than saccharine! Thank goodness my son wasn't in the way. I can only imagine if it had splattered in his eyes.
 
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Humblefish

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I only use formalin in "emergency situations" when battling velvet or brook. However, acriflavine is quickly gaining my confidence as a suitable (and safer) alternative. There is anecdotal evidence that some fish exposed to formalin don't live past 18-24 months; presumably dying of cancer. Scary thing, especially when you consider that some wholesalers run a copper/formalin mix in their holding facilities to control disease in fish before they are shipped out to a LFS near you. :eek:
 

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Formalin smells nasty and is dangerous to anyone inhaling it at the concentrations used for fish, please do all due diligence and protect yourself and your family to prevent any kind of exposure(latex gloves, formalin dips done outside or in a bathroom with a vent to outside/etc.) The good new is that it will "clean itself up" by you leaving and letting it vent outside. If you can still smell it, take the kids on another trip, block the kitchen doorway with a tarp etc. Beside cancer, it can also trigger a lifetime of asthma, etc for your children.

Many of the other medicines listed in this post are also known carcinogens such as nitrofurazone(furan-2) - so as a lesson, unless you relish the idea of chopping your hands/kidneys/livers off due to cancer, I highly recommend using latex gloves to prevent skin contact, both as the powder/liquid, and the dosed saltwater. And please keep these aways from your families, especially little children.

I wouldn't store or work with any fish medicine in the kitchen.
 

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Great info! My six line wrasse and royal gramma have started showing signs of both ich and now maybe even flukes after almost 3 weeks in my QT. They are acting fine, no flashing, but I can see white spots on them.

I am dropping salinity slowly now to 1.009 over past 72hrs. I have cupramine and praziquantel arriving tomorrow. Should I try hyposalinity or do everything possible as soon as I get meds?
 

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Paragurd or cupramine
Which medicine is good for disease like ich and velvet.
 
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Humblefish

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Paragurd or cupramine
Which medicine is good for disease like ich and velvet.

Cupramine as it contains copper, a tried & true method for eradicating ich & velvet.

No idea what is in Paraguard and Seachem won't tell me. :p
 

fragit

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Why not just use chloroquine phosphate prophylactically in QT and not have to worry about anything. Looks like it fights all the big diseases. Is it difficult to get a script for?
 

melypr1985

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Why not just use chloroquine phosphate prophylactically in QT and not have to worry about anything. Looks like it fights all the big diseases. Is it difficult to get a script for?

That's it right there. It can be difficult to convince a vet to write a RX for it without them seeing a sick fish. Right after they tell you that, they will tell you that they dont treat fish. lol Sometimes you can show them documentation of how and why the med is needed and they will do it, but you have to find the right person. I have yet to find one to do it for me. It's also pretty pricey.
 

fragit

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That's it right there. It can be difficult to convince a vet to write a RX for it without them seeing a sick fish. Right after they tell you that, they will tell you that they dont treat fish. lol Sometimes you can show them documentation of how and why the med is needed and they will do it, but you have to find the right person. I have yet to find one to do it for me. It's also pretty pricey.
What's pretty pricey any idea? Do you know the shelf life?
 

melypr1985

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What's pretty pricey any idea? Do you know the shelf life?

Since I haven't gotten anybody to write me a RX for it, I'm not sure on either. Humble will be along and shine some light on that though.
 
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Humblefish

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What's pretty pricey any idea? Do you know the shelf life?

Price varies greatly from pharmacy to pharmacy. Typically, anywhere from $2-6/gram. But keep in mind you only need 1.2 grams to QT, say, a 30 gal - so that's only $7.20 per batch of fish even on the high side. Can't even buy a firefish for that these days.

Shelf life on my last bottle of CP was 3 years.
 

fragit

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Price varies greatly from pharmacy to pharmacy. Typically, anywhere from $2-6/gram. But keep in mind you only need 1.2 grams to QT, say, a 30 gal - so that's only $7.20 per batch of fish even on the high side. Can't even buy a firefish for that these days.

Shelf life on my last bottle of CP was 3 years.
And am I miss understanding that it can be used to treat almost all common fish diseases in a QT tank? I will have to ask my vet when I'm ready to stock
 

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