Medications to keep on hand

[Wolf89]

@Humblefish Can I use Seachem ParaGuard instead of formalin? It says it is a safe alternative?

 

[Wolf89]

I'm thinking this is what I'll have for my medicine cabinet. Is this good, anything unnecessary or missing?
Seachem Prime
Seachem Cupramine
Seachem Paraguard'
Seachem Metroplex
Seachem Kanaplex
Seachem Focus
Seachem Garlic Guard
Prazipro

 

[reelredfisah]

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.

So is this up to date? Or has things changed? Want to ensure I have the correct info to place my orders.

 

[sbidny]

I'm thinking this is what I'll have for my medicine cabinet. Is this good, anything unnecessary or missing?
Seachem Prime
Seachem Cupramine
Seachem Paraguard'
Seachem Metroplex
Seachem Kanaplex
Seachem Focus
Seachem Garlic Guard
Prazipro

Some expects should chime in, but here’s my take:

Seachem Prime - Good
Seachem Cupramine - I’d swap for Copper Power
Seachem Paraguard - I use it in place of formalin, but I know some others don’t like it
Seachem Metroplex - Good
Seachem Kanaplex - Good
Seachem Focus - Good
Seachem Garlic Guard - Questionable, but may help with picky eaters
Prazipro - I’d replace with API General Cure, as it’s less likely to cause a bacterial bloom / oxygen issue

I’d also add API Furan-2 and methylene blue to the list of must-haves.

And if you want more completeness, you can get API Fungus Cure (or Ruby Reef Rally or Acriflavine-MS) for acriflavine and Thomas Labs Fish Bendazole for fenbendazole.

HTH

 

[reelredfisah]

Ok have the following in my cart for amazon prime. Anything I am missing?

Seachem MetroPlex and Focus

API Furan-2

Seachem Prime

API General Cure

Copper Power Blue

Going to order a hanna copper tester as well. Want to get first QT setup this week while I wait for the replacement tank to arrive from waterbox. Do I use the sock that comes with them? I know to remove the carbon. I have the bio balls in my main sump already.

 

[sbidny]

Ok have the following in my cart for amazon prime. Anything I am missing?

Seachem MetroPlex and Focus

API Furan-2

Seachem Prime

API General Cure

Copper Power Blue

Going to order a hanna copper tester as well. Want to get first QT setup this week while I wait for the replacement tank to arrive from waterbox. Do I use the sock that comes with them? I know to remove the carbon. I have the bio balls in my main sump already.

I would add Seachem KanaPlex to use along with the Furan-2. I’d also have some methylene blue on hand.

Most folks would probably suggest having some formalin and malachite green as well, like Quick Cure. I opt to use Seachem ParaGuard as an alternative. You may want to hear more from experts on this before committing to either.

 

[MnFish1]

@Humblefish. What do you think of the new regulations regarding the need for a veterinary prescription for antibiotics? Another reminded - if you 'stock' these things - make sure you check the expiration dates.

 

[reelredfisah]

For the methylene blue what are folks recommending? I have added the mentioned items but not this one yet.

 

[OnyxPerc]

Hello,

First I want to say great thread, and thanks to everyone for the contributions, especially @Humblefish.

I'm wondering if it's safe to use GC or PraziPro while treating my QT with CP. Thanks in advance, and sorry if this was already answered somewhere.

 

[DeniseAndy]

I guess I will put my 2 cents in.

I found the only real issues I have had these three things helped. I got them at Everything Aquatics:

Cloraquine phosphate
Acriflavine Neutral
General Trio powder

I also have focus on hand and metro just in case I need to add to food.

 

[sbidny]

For the methylene blue what are folks recommending? I have added the mentioned items but not this one yet.

Here’s a good overview:

Methylene Blue
https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink?sh...p?threads/Methylene-Blue.257467/&share_type=t

You can go with something like Fritz or Kordon as brands.

 

[reelredfisah]

Ok added the Blue so guess that should cover me.

Now just need to figure out what the best process will be. Hope to have some CP on the way.

To me it seems like CP is the way to go if you can get your hands on it and only use copper if you have to. 2nd tank will arrive on Friday so will have two tanks total. I seen where it was mentioned 14 days in tank one then on to take 2. But the posts got confusing.

 

[sbidny]

Ok added the Blue so guess that should cover me.

Now just need to figure out what the best process will be. Hope to have some CP on the way.

To me it seems like CP is the way to go if you can get your hands on it and only use copper if you have to. 2nd tank will arrive on Friday so will have two tanks total. I seen where it was mentioned 14 days in tank one then on to take 2. But the posts got confusing.

I have not personally used CP. My understanding is that you should avoid its use with wrasses, anthias, hippo tangs, and seahorses. Apparently, you also need to find a very pure source, which is really only attainable via a prescription.

I’m not quite sure what the difference is between a pure source and just using more of a less pure source, but I suspect it has to do with not knowing how impure the alternative source is. Could also have to do with what the impurities are.

Copper Power seems to well-tolerated by most fish, although some have had issues with copper and sensitive angels and mandarins.

 

[OnyxPerc]

I have not personally used CP. My understanding is that you should avoid its use with wrasses, anthias, hippo tangs, and seahorses. Apparently, you also need to find a very pure source, which is really only attainable via a prescription.

I’m not quite sure what the difference is between a pure source and just using more of a less pure source, but I suspect it has to do with not knowing how impure the alternative source is. Could also have to do with what the impurities are.

Copper Power seems to well-tolerated by most fish, although some have had issues with copper and sensitive angels and mandarins.

The problem with using CP that is not pure is that you wont know how much you're actually dosing. With that said, it's not that hard to get a prescription for this stuff anymore. I called a bunch of vets, explained the situation, and eventually after 4 or 5 calls got a vet that was willing to write an rx for $30. Worth it in my opinion, as it's better than working with copper.

 

[Bigboned]

Can anyone help me out with some European alternatives,
I’m looking online ( lfs/ amazon/ ebay etc)
And it appears that general cure/ Kanaplex/ metro/ focus are only available in The US.
Most I can find here is myxazin ( contains Acriflavine and malachite green)
Meth blue and some formalin for koi (10%?)
No triple sulfa or furan 2
They are available on amazon.com but not to Ireland
Any ideas/ alternatives? Trying to build my medicine cabinet

 

[Dolelo96]

Found these at Marine Depot..

Does anyone have any experience with these?

 

[DeniseAndy]

I have those from prodibio, but have not tried them yet. Let us know how they work if you get some.

 

[drstardust]

Found these at Marine Depot..

Does anyone have any experience with these?

Are ingredients listed?

 

[Dolelo96]

https://www.prodibio.com/our-products/cure-fish-treatment

 

[drstardust]

Sounds...interesting. A bacterial concoction cure-all