Vitamins & Herbal Remedies

Humblefish

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Vitamins/Herbal Remedies: Used to boost a fish’s immune system, supplement dietary deficiencies, promote healing and improve overall health.

How To Treat - The following are examples of vitamin supplements in which fish food can be soaked: Selcon, Zoecon, Vita-chem, Seachem Vitality, Brightwell Aquatics Vitamarin-M & AminOmega, Aquaforest Fish V. DIY options include: Vitamins A, C, E; folic acid; amino acids; Omega 3 & 6 fish oil; Krill oil; Beta-glucans. Since all of these are "reef safe" substances, you can just saturate food with them or use Seachem Focus to bind them to the food. Also, probiotics are very important for your fish's digestive system. Probiotic Marine Formula and LRS Foods are two options for providing probiotics.

I once saw a thread (with pictures) of a Purple Tang with a bad case of HLLE, where the condition was completely reversed by using Selcon & Zoecon on alternating days; in addition to feeding nori. The value of feeding nori cannot be overstated, as it contains high levels of iodine and fiber. In addition, the use of vitamins and nori is key to alleviating symptoms of viruses in fish, such as Lymphocystis. All of the above will aid in boosting your fishes’ immune systems. Soaking food in garlic extract may or may not be useful, except that it does seem to stimulate appetite in new fish.

The “pea trick” is something I want to briefly touch upon. A fish with constipation may look similar to one with a swim bladder disorder. :eek: The latter is difficult to treat, so always try the "pea trick" before considering a venting procedure. Just feed 1 or 2 peeled boiled green peas (same kind you & I eat) for a few days. It is thought that the fiber contained in the peas help to “push things out.” ;)

There are a slew of herbal remedies on the market and many hobbyists mistakenly believe that these will “cure” their fish or tank of some disease. Although they are not capable of doing that, these remedies may help manage the symptoms of a disease - sometimes indefinitely. Herbal remedies accomplish this by boosting a fish’s immune system to withstand the symptoms, until sometimes acquired immunity develops. However, these "immune" fish oftentimes are still asymptomatic carriers, capable of transmitting disease to non-immune fish. Employing this strategy sometimes works, sometimes not; or sometimes it works for a while and then stops (and the fish dies). It’s largely dependent upon the overall health of the fish (and the tank in general) as well as the severity of the disease being “managed.” Utilizing a UV sterilizer (or diatom filter) to reduce the number of free swimmers in the water helps as well. Examples of herbal remedies commonly available include:
  • For parasites/worms: Herbtana, Fritz Aquatics Parashield, Kick-ICH
  • For bacterial diseases: Artemiss, MelaFix, PimaFix
  • Dips & baths: Seachem ParaGuard, Ruby Reef HydroPlex
More info here: A discussion regarding herbal remedies

Pros - Reef safe, improves overall health of your fish, may buy you time until a proper treatment (using medication) can be done.

Cons/Side Effects - May lure a hobbyist into a false sense of security, which can delay real treatment options.
 
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Humblefish

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Please list/discuss your own favorite fish vitamins & herbal remedies below! :)
 

Katrina71

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What brand do you like best? Along with a varied diet of course.
 

melypr1985

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I cant get a lot of the most popular vitamin brands at the store, so I use the ones we have on hand. I tend to alternate these out with each other. I soak all the fish's food in it.
upload_2017-5-5_20-29-0.jpeg
vitality.jpg
 
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Humblefish

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What brand do you like best? Along with a varied diet of course.

I like soaking pellets with Selcon, Zoecon or Omega 3 fish oil (props to @Paul B for the latter.) However, my wife hates the smell of fish oil in the living room. o_O
 

jsker

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Powdered vitamin c from the vitamin store works well, if vitimarn c is not available for stress also.
 

LobsterOfJustice

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Question regarding the "Probiotic Marine Formula". Are you supposed to soak food in this product? The instructions I found online say to dose the entire tank but it seems more effective if you were to soak the food in the probiotic.
 
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Humblefish

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Question regarding the "Probiotic Marine Formula". Are you supposed to soak food in this product? The instructions I found online say to dose the entire tank but it seems more effective if you were to soak the food in the probiotic.

I'll defer to @jsker about this.
 

jsker

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Question regarding the "Probiotic Marine Formula". Are you supposed to soak food in this product? The instructions I found online say to dose the entire tank but it seems more effective if you were to soak the food in the probiotic.

Which brand are you looking at?
 

LobsterOfJustice

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Which brand are you looking at?

Looks like "Tropical Science" is the brand... I just googled "Probiotic Marine Formula" as listed in the original post and found something for sale at Drs F&S. Interested in other brands as well.
 

jsker

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Looks like "Tropical Science" is the brand... I just googled "Probiotic Marine Formula" as listed in the original post and found something for sale at Drs F&S. Interested in other brands as well.

Like anything else, staying away from antibiotic as much as possible is a good thing, like humans fish also can become immune to antibiotics. Adding good bacteria and natural additives is better then anything processed. The term Probiotic is starting to be used on more and more products in saltwater.

pro·bi·ot·ic
ˌprōbīˈädik/
adjective
  1. 1.
    denoting a substance that stimulates the growth of microorganisms, especially those with beneficial properties (such as those of the intestinal flora).
noun
1.
a probiotic substance or preparation.


My suggestion is to read the label and see what is in it, and if the ingredients are not listed I would be a little Leary using it. I just read that quinine is use to treat ich, so I guess I can dose gin & tonic's now;)
 
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Humblefish

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Powdered vitamin c from the vitamin store works well, if vitimarn c is not available for stress also.

What would be a good regimen for dosing powdered Vitamin C directly into the water? What dosage, frequency, etc.
 

jsker

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What would be a good regimen for dosing powdered Vitamin C directly into the water? What dosage, frequency, etc.

I am dosing a 1/4 teaspoon with my frozen feeding weekly link instead of the brightwell vitamarin C. If one has a doser, I would suggest mixing 1/3 teaspoon to 100 ml of RO/DI and dosing 10 ml daily for 100 gallons of water volume to start. If one has a smaller volume of water dose 10 ml less per 10 gallons so lets say you have 80 gallons of water volume, then dose 8 ml daily for direct dosing to the system.

You can also mix a cocktail with using the same recipe and add a multivitamin and or B12.
 

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I once saw a thread (with pictures) of a Purple Tang with a bad case of HLLE, where the condition was completely reversed by using Selcon & Zoecon on alternating days; in addition to feeding nori.

Many years ago about the same time they invented dirt I "practically" completely cured a French Angel with severe HLLE using Cod Liver oil. I still take the stuff myself and I don't have a hint of HLLE.
I would soak it in some freeze dried tubifex worms every day.
I have to dig through years of log book entries to find that.
 
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