what basic med's should one have on hand?

[injunear]

I'm getting ready to place an online order and thought I should get some basic medications that I (hopefully) won't need in the future......

What should I make sure I have on hand?

[Rbishop]

...table salt....for ich only....

[TwoTankAmin]

Everybody will give you a different answer. Experience has taught me that almost no lfs/lps stock all the meds I want or need and that fish will always get sick when stores are closed. As a result my fish medicine chest contains the following:

Maroxy for fungus.
Erythromycin for bacterial infections (Marycin is the same thing).
Maracyn II for bacterial things EM doesn't treat.
Metronidazole for internal parasites.
Flubednazole for worms.
Quick Cure for ich.
Binox- have only used this for discus with a specific problem.
Methylene Blue- an antifungal used mostly for eggs pulled to hatch to prevent fungus on them.


I also keep:
Salt for many things.
Epsom Salt for constipation.

[injunear]

So for a mostly live bearer tank:

Maroxy for fungus.
Erythromycin for bacterial infections (Marycin is the same thing).
Maracyn II for bacterial things EM doesn't treat.
Metronidazole for internal parasites.
Quick Cure for ich.

Correct?

[Hooked Newbie]

I'd add Pimafix & Melafix for any injuries, etc.

And Aleve for the inevitible stress if you do indeed need to medicate a tank. ;)

[Coler]

Thing about that is is that you likely (hopefully!) will end up with a bunch of out of date meds. It would be very rare/hard to envision that a disease which will be treatable with medication is going to knock off your fish so quickly you don't have the time to get to a shop (presuming water quality is always good), depending of course on where you live.

[jm1212]

i have

Ich meds
Marycyn
Melafix
Pimafix

under my tank right now...havent needed anything else

[injunear]

Thing about that is is that you likely (hopefully!) will end up with a bunch of out of date meds. It would be very rare/hard to envision that a disease which will be treatable with medication is going to knock off your fish so quickly you don't have the time to get to a shop (presuming water quality is always good), depending of course on where you live.

Yes, these are usually "sell by dates" and not really indicative of the actual expiration of the product.

Tablets, and medicines that are in powder form can be vacuum-packed with a FoodSaver vacuum machine- actually, the liquids can be too......

This may, or may not extend the life of the product, but IME with other products is that it will extend the shelf life.

[injunear]

i have

Ich meds
Marycyn
Melafix
Pimafix

under my tank right now...havent needed anything else

I ordered everything except Marycyn because I couldn't get a size for fresh water that was reasonably priced.....

I look locally for #I and #II...........

[HKat]

I've been doing this for about 2 years.....and so far all I have ever used is the following:

Coppersafe - for Ich (to me one of the best products out there - 1 dose lasts a month - extremely effective).
Melafix - for injuries
Pimafix - for injuries
Aquarium Salt

And make sure you keep up with your water changes to avoid using an or all of these!!

That's the best advice I can give!!!

Good luck.


Harris

[ct-death]

Salt for: Parasites (namely Ich)

REALLY Clean Water for: almost EVERYTHING ELSE ;)

[Star_Rider]

I second the list from twotanks
I keep these on hand as well as LevamisoleHCL
while there is an expiration date on the meds..this is not a true indicator of the meds losing effectiveness. many meds will still be effective after the sell date. often well past the sell date.

[TMDragon]

My medicine chest consists of a bucket, a gravel vacuum and dechlorinator. I'm not a fan of salt or meds and use them as a last resort only. I haven't had any disease or illness in my tanks for years and the last few times I did get outbreaks, they were cured with frequent water changes. Healthy tanks and good practice should keep you from having any disease in your tanks. I don't like dumping in chemicals everytime something is wrong because eventually you will become dependent on them and you will never learn how to prevent your tanks from getting it again. That along with the osmotic pressure is not good for the fish in the long run.

So best medication = frequent water changes. It's cheap and the most effective. Only use medication if water changes don't help, you know what is wrong with your fish and how the medication will help them. Don't randomly try medications and hope you get results. Good luck

[beblondie]

Things you should consider having on hand.Do you need all this stuff?Nope but you really should have
some of them on hand.Emergencies rarely happen when you can easily get to the store-Anne

HARDWARE
10-20 gallon aquarium for quarantine /hospital use
spare heater (these never break when stores are open)
spare filter (these never break when stores are open)
Prime or Amquel
Activated Carbon

DISEASE BOOKS
You really should have at least one in your fish library
below are my favorites
Diseases of Aquarium Fish /Goldstein
A Commonsense Guide To Fish Health/Terry Fairfield/BARRONS
Manual of Fish health/Anderews,Exell & Carrington
Handbook of Fish Disease/Untergasser

MEDICATIONS
You really should have a couple of these on hand and in
fact you my find some in your medicine chest

Topical applications
Mercurochrome 2% stock solution apply with cotton swab every other day
Polysporin (ointment)
Neosporin (ointment)

ANTIBIOTICS
Keep at least one on hand.dissolve in a small cup of tank water before
adding to the tank.
Maracyn-1
maracyn-2
Formalin
Oxytetracyline
Erythromycin
Triple Sulfa
Minocycline
furan 2
melafix (best used as a preventitive not a cure)
pimafix (best used as a preventitive not a cure)

PARASITE MEDICATION
parasite guard
parasite cure
Prazi pro
Formalin
Metronidazole (Flagyl)
Garlic (Allium satiuum) has a naturaly occuring antiheminithic (deworming)
property experimental data indicate that garlic can effectively control
internal nemotodes(worms).Dose 0.1% grated garlic per weight of food.

USES FOR SALT
Salt (rock, mineral,or Sea salt used as dips,general tonic and ICH treatment
Salt (table) mixed into a paste with warm vinegar used for removing hardwater
calcium bulidup on equipment.

ANAESTHESIA
Eugenol (clove oil)10 drops per litre (dissolve first in a small quanity of
warm water
Ethyl alcohol (vodka)Place fish in enough waterto be upright add alcohol until
fish becomes lethargic and unsteady.
Asprin one 50mg tablet per 10 gallons.educes stress and shock on newly transported fish
(monitor pH) not recommended for pH sensitve fish.

EMERGENCY TREATMENTS
Hydrogen Peroxide 3% Add 25ml per 100 litres of water (one time treatment only)
H202 releases a molecule of O2 into the water colum increasing the dissolved O2
immediately.This is meant for a quick fix to buy time for you to fix the cause
of low O2

PLANT DISENFECTANTS
Alum-dissolve heaping spoonful in a litre of water soak plants for 5 minutes
remove and rinse well

EQUIPMENT DISENFECTANTS
Hydrogen Peroxide 30% (disenfectant) DO NOT USE IN AQUARIA WITH FISH OR PLANTS
5oml per 100 litres of water.Empty filter of media and use it as a pump run for 3 days
Bleach 8tsps per gallon for 24 hrs
Isopropyl alcohol (rubbibg alcohol) 70% strength disenfecting tanks and equipment

[injunear]

Thank you beblondie, very informative.
I have saved your post for future reference.

[Star_Rider]

I see formalin listed as an antibiotic..isn't it a derivative of formaldahyde?? and commonly used with parasites?

[beblondie]

Yes but it also acts as an antibacterial agent also

[Star_Rider]

ahh..so in the same catergory as pimafix/melafix
has antibacterial properties.

[beblondie]

formalins antibacterial properties are much stronger than mela/pimafix melafix and pimafix are best used as a preventitive against bacterial infections not as a cure-Anne

[beefsteak]

Aquarium Salt, Kordon's Rid Ich, Maracyn, Maracyn II, Pimafix, & Melafix.