Medications to keep on hand

Scott Tuttle

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Sorry if this was covered in an earlier post, what would be some good meds to keep on hand that could be used in the DT that will not harm invertebrates (like shrimp, crabs, etc.)?
 

clownenthusiast2017

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This is actually the perfect article as I'm trying to stock my fish medicine cabinet atm. I'm planning on having cupramine, prazipro, and one of the formalin products. I can't seem to find anywhere that stocks formalin ms so I'm thinking of going with ich x. I noticed that there is the plain old ich x and then also a saltwater version. Wondering which would be better? And am I covering most of the parasites and infections with those three products? Thanks!!
 

Toofattofish

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This is actually the perfect article as I'm trying to stock my fish medicine cabinet atm. I'm planning on having cupramine, prazipro, and one of the formalin products. I can't seem to find anywhere that stocks formalin ms so I'm thinking of going with ich x. I noticed that there is the plain old ich x and then also a saltwater version. Wondering which would be better? And am I covering most of the parasites and infections with those three products? Thanks!!
I have no experience with formaldehyde products (and not a fan of having a highly toxic/potentially carcinogenic chemical lying around) but I personally just acquired copper power (which is chelated) rather than continuing to use cupramine - which I've had some issues with. It has a wider therapeutic index and I will be using it the the high range Hanna checker.
The other med people often use is metronidazole. I think that prazi is probably more useful overall since flukes are more common and praziquantel is better for internal worms which I'd imagine are more common than the internal anaerobic protists that metronidazole targets, but probably best to have both to be on safe side.
 

clownenthusiast2017

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I have no experience with formaldehyde products (and not a fan of having a highly toxic/potentially carcinogenic chemical lying around) but I personally just acquired copper power (which is chelated) rather than continuing to use cupramine - which I've had some issues with. It has a wider therapeutic index and I will be using it the the high range Hanna checker.
The other med people often use is metronidazole. I think that prazi is probably more useful overall since flukes are more common and praziquantel is better for internal worms which I'd imagine are more common than the internal anaerobic protists that metronidazole targets, but probably best to have both to be on safe side.
Good to know. Thanks o much for your reply. I’ll do a little more research and definitely look into those meds you mentioned. Thanks!!
 

Toofattofish

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Good to know. Thanks o much for your reply. I’ll do a little more research and definitely look into those meds you mentioned. Thanks!!
I forgot to mention that a lot of people keep antibiotics on hand too just in case such as furan or kanamycin (kanaplex) in case they get bacterial infections so consider those as well, although I haven't yet had to use any of them.
 

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I'm starting to accumulate quite a collection:
IMG_9118.JPG
 

don_chuwish

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DeniseAndy

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Just make sure to keep the meds in date. I found some cleaning out mine from 2014. Hahahaha

Just ordered my main meds to have on hand for a bunch of fish hoping to get soon.
 

MiniNina

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so that means i can use CP+Furan 2 and prime? i currently have a tang with velvet, after a freshwater dip and a formalin bath i put it a tank with CP and some prime. is it okay if i add furan 2?
 

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Medications to keep on hand

Every day I help at least one person with a fish disease problem, and many times that person doesn’t have any medication(s) on hand to begin treatment. Delaying treatment can literally mean the difference between life & death for a fish. So with that in mind, I’ve come up with a list of useful medications to keep on hand. Be aware not all LFS keep these medications in stock. Therefore it would be wise to keep at least some of these medications in your “fish medicine cabinet.”

Anti-parasitic:
  • Chloroquine phosphate (treats Ich, Velvet, Brooklynella & Uronema) - Prescription required from a vet, which can then be filled at a local pharmacy. If you buy it online, on ebay, from China, etc. - Who knows what you’re really getting?
  • Copper (treats Ich & Velvet) - The following brands are available, with therapeutic ranges listed and compatible test kits:
    1. Cupramine (0.4 - 0.5 ppm) - Seachem or Salifert copper test kit*
    2. Copper Power (1.5 - 2.0 ppm) - API copper test kit*
    3. Coppersafe (1.5 - 2.0 ppm) - API copper test kit*
* Hanna High Range Copper Colorimeter (HI702) is capable of reading all forms of copper in saltwater.
  • Acriflavine (treats Velvet, Brooklynella & Uronema) - Use in a bath solution to provide temporary relief of velvet. Can also be used as a bath or QT treatment for brook & uronema. Acriflavine-MS & Ruby Reef Rally both contains acriflavine.
  • Formalin (treats Velvet, Brooklynella & Uronema - alternative treatment for Flukes & Black Ich) - Use in a bath solution to provide temporary relief of velvet. Can also be used as a bath or QT treatment for brook, uronema, flukes & black ich. Formalin is found in the following products: Formalin-MS, Quick Cure, Aquarium Solutions Ich-X, Kordon Rid-Ich Plus.
Anti-bacterial/antibiotics: A broad spectrum antibiotic that treats both gram-positive and gram-negative bacterial diseases is recommended. Seachem Kanaplex, Furan-2, Nitrofuracin Green Powder and Triple Sulfa Powder are all good options to have on hand. Erythromycin & Minocycline can also be used but are becoming more difficult to find. To achieve the widest possible spectrum of treatment when battling a particularly nasty bacterial infection, combine the following: Kanaplex, Furan-2, and metronidazole (exs. Seachem MetroPlex, Metro-MS).

Dewormers:
  • Praziquantel (ex. Prazipro) for gill flukes. API General Cure (contains both praziquantel & metronidazole).
  • Metronidazole (exs. Seachem MetroPlex, Metro-MS) can be used to treat stubborn intestinal worms prazi does not treat.
  • Formalin can be used to treat prazi-resistant strains of flukes and black ich.
Multi-purpose medications:
  • Metronidazole (treats Brooklynella, Uronema, internal parasites/intestinal worms, some anti-bacterial activity) - Use Seachem MetroPlex or Metro-MS. API General Cure contains both praziquantel & metronidazole.
  • Malachite Green/Methylene Blue (treats ammonia burn, cuts, injuries).
Medications that are “reef safe”:
  • Prazipro - may kill tube worms/feather dusters and bristle worms. If you have lots of tiny feather dusters and/or bristle worms in your tank (usually down in the sump), the resulting die-off can lead to an ammonia spike.
  • Kanaplex, erythromycin, metronidazole and powder praziquantel can all be soaked in fish food. Use a binder, such as Seachem Focus, to prevent the medication from leaching out into the water column.
Fish Vitamins & misc.:
  • Soak fish food in vitamin supplements such as Selcon, Zoecon and Vita-chem or even Omega 3 & 6 fish oil. This will boost a fish’s natural immune system and is particularly useful for clearing viruses such as Lymphocystis.
  • Soak fish food in garlic to stimulate appetite. Useful for new fish that refuse to eat.
  • 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, 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.
I'm printing this out, laminating it, and placing it with my quarantine supplies. THANK YOU!
 

NoobReeefer

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im getting ready to stock my new system (130g) with probably around 12 fish. i have 4 QT tanks, 1-20g long, 2-10g and 1-5g. i plan on doing 2-3 fish at a time using cupramine in the 20g (i have a hanna copper checker) I've always done TTM, prazipro and formaline baths. i also have API melafix, and API E.M erythromycin. Is there anything else i should have? I've read that fish sometimes get bacterial infections when using copper and both the melafix and erythromycin are for bacterial infection/disease so i think im good to go
thanks
 
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Humblefish

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im getting ready to stock my new system (130g) with probably around 12 fish. i have 4 QT tanks, 1-20g long, 2-10g and 1-5g. i plan on doing 2-3 fish at a time using cupramine in the 20g (i have a hanna copper checker) I've always done TTM, prazipro and formaline baths. i also have API melafix, and API E.M erythromycin. Is there anything else i should have? I've read that fish sometimes get bacterial infections when using copper and both the melafix and erythromycin are for bacterial infection/disease so i think im good to go
thanks

I'd recommend keeping a stronger antibiotic on hand, like one of the meds listed at the top here: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/antibiotics.283711/

I also recommend Seachem Metroplex (for treating brook + uronema) and API General Cure (for treating intestinal worms/internal flagellates). You'll also need Seachem Focus to bind the latter to food.
 

NoobReeefer

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awesome so without playing mad scientist if i did copper, then prazipro then formaline dips and kept AAP Spectrogram on hand incase a bacterial infection popped up i should have all my bases covered right.?
 
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Humblefish

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awesome so without playing mad scientist if i did copper, then prazipro then formaline dips and kept AAP Spectrogram on hand incase a bacterial infection popped up i should have all my bases covered right.?

For the most part. A 45 min formalin bath should clear brook/uronema (two parasites copper does not treat). But dosing metro every 48 hrs a few times in a QT is a good insurance policy. ;)
 

ltrace

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With the medication that is mentioned in this thread, how do you know what can be mixed with what? Don't know if a mixture is toxic for the fish.
 
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Humblefish

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With the medication that is mentioned in this thread, how do you know what can be mixed with what? Don't know if a mixture is toxic for the fish.

Generally speaking, you can mix copper (or Chloroquine) with most antibiotics. You can also combine a dewormer such as praziquantel with copper/Chloroquine. The one caveat is Prazipro which can cause a bacterial bloom (cloudy water) when mixed with other meds due to the Oxybispropanol it contains.

The real danger is how many medications you dump on a fish all at once. Remember, every med you dose into the water gets filtered by a fish's liver & kidneys. Having to filter too many meds at one time can damage these internal organs. This is why I advocate only one med at a time, unless faced with an emergency situation (i.e. battling multiple diseases).
 

ltrace

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Would you start with copper or chloroquine and the wait to see if any other meds are need?
 

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