Pimafix and Melafix--are they effective??

[Fishstix3000]

I introduced a new guppy into my established tank. It died a few days later. Several days later, several of my guppies developed columnaris and fin rot. They have been on a seven day course of Pimafix and Melafix, and two have died, one has recovered, and three more look about the same as before treatment. Most of them are flashing on the rocks and plants.

Are Pimafix and Melafix effective treatments?

Is there something better I can try? I have several snails, a crab, and a frog, so I want to be careful not to harm them, whatever I do.

Thank you!!

[Shoebox_16]

I have only tried Melafix - it worked to an extent.

[AfroCichlid]

In my experience they are not effective as treatment for disease. A quarantine tank would be your best bet. Maracyn is effective for finrot, but I have not dealt with columnaris. From what I read it is gram negative. Maracyn and Maracyn II should work. Would be more effective than Primafix or Melafix in my opinion.

[kj5kb]

I've had good luck with sulfa drugs, like Triple Sulfa/Sulfa MS for that. I had 5 platys QTing in a 10G, and tried ~6 different meds for the fin rot. The Triple Sulfa tabs worked best. I later found Sulfa MS, which is a little cheaper per dose.

QT them if you can, even if you have to go to an unheated tank. Unlike ich, most fungus and bacteria grow faster the warmer they are.

Pima & melafix won't hurt, and may help prevent secondary infections; I'd go with a low dose if using along with other meds.

[BigNorsk]

I really can't tell that either of those products works very well at all. Certainly not good enough quick enough to save guppies infected with columnaris. It might be possible they can help slow or stop the spread of the disease.

In any case the Primafix is for fungi and columnaris is a bacteria, though it confuses people because it looks like a fungi. So one wouldn't expect the Primafix to work.

The Melafix is supposed to work by oxidizing the bacteria. If I was going to go that route, I'd do a hydrogen peroxide bath instead. At least that works sometimes.

Columnaris is a gram negative bacteria. So basically you have to use something that works on them. That list gets fairly narrow in aquriums.

Copper sulfate works well in the water but your invertebrates will die faster than the bacteria.

That leaves us with terramycin, which works well, especially if they are still eating and you can get a medicated feed into them. If nothing else, it protects the ones that aren't already sick.

Terramycin can also be used in the water, and I believe it won't kill your other species but I don't know.

Other antibiotics that should work would be Furan or Acriflavine.

So get a product with those and maybe you can save your fish.

Now antibiotics are just part of the treatment. First get rid of any charcoal or it will absorb the antibiotic. Then, partially change the water, and keep doing partial changes daily until the epidemic breaks.

If your particular other tank dwellers will stand it, salt helps the guppies breath. Columnaris kills by blocking the gills and the fish suffocates. Adding salt is like putting a person with pneumonia on oxygen. It helps them breath and buys you time for the antibiotics to work. I'd put at least a teaspoon a gallon in and if the snails die, well I like my fish more than my snails. Or remove a few snails to some container until this is over. They're just snails it's not like they require a huge filter running every moment to stay alive. Probably move the others too. But that's me. I love my guppies and like the others.

If the others are your priority, get some clove oil out, capture the guppies and anesthetize them and put them in the freezer and get it over with. Sorry if that sounds harsh but if you don't use something that could work, you've already made the decision to kill most of them by suffocation after a period of illness. Being knocked out and then frozen is a much nicer way to go.

So water changes with vacuuming, add salt. And try and find one of the antibiotics that would at least have a chance of working. If the label doesn't list one of those, I wouldn't even bother trying it unless it specifically mentions columnaris or gram negative bacteria.

And it is one of the most spreadable diseases so it is important to disinfect things like nets and such between fish.

For some reason, it's actually fairly difficult to find antiotics that will work in many LFS.

Aquarium Pharmaceuticals has some good products, and have both the Terramycin and Furan available. See: http://aquariumpharm.com/Products/Product.aspx?ProductID=65

I've had the most experience with the Terramycin, it seems to work well if the fish isn't too far gone, it just takes some time for any antibiotic to work and sometimes you just can't keep the fish alive long enough until the antibiotic works. That's where the salt comes in. Anyway the Terramycin doesn't seem to mess up your filtration so you don't cure the disease only to lose them to an ammonia spike. That's what I'd try.

Marv

[JJ83]

I have had the same problem and Furan-2 worked wonders. Cleared it up in my gbr in no time.

[svf]

In my experience, Pimafix and Melafix have not really worked. But they do smell really nice. :lipssealedsmilie:

[beblondie]

Melafix/pimafix are best used as a preventive not a cure.They are best used at the first sign of injury once signs of infection have occured its best to turn to real meds for a cure-Anne

[KIM_TMA]

I so agree with Blondie, they are just a preventive. Most of my lfs uses it when they get new shipments in for those just incases.

When my guppies had columnaris I used API E.M. Erythromycin. I had the best of luck with it. I had already tried the T.C. Tetracycline and they kept dying so when I finished the corse of meds, I added carbon for 1 day and went into the Erythromycin. Within 2 days I could see a huge change in behavior (everybody getting better).

As for your other occupiants in the tank I can't say whether they would be safe or not but I had briggs, columbian ramshorns, crayfish and none of them suffered ill effects from the meds.

Good Luck!

[Fishstix3000]

Marv, you are so right, it is hard to find the good stuff at the fish stores. Very odd. I ran out and got Maracin after an earlier post, and it says it is for columnaris (but it doesn't mention gram negative). The active ingredient is erythromycin, so I'm going to try it while I am waiting for Terramycin or Furan to arrive. It actually says on the back to continue filtration as normal. That is a first. I always take the charcoal out. I think I'll keep it out anyway.

My three favorite guppies went first. Isn't that the way it goes?

Dang fish store people. Said Pimafix and Melafix would fix anything. And I so wanted to believe it. Grrrrr. Not the first time I blindly followed where the fish store people led me.

I have been doing water changes, and I have the charcoal out of the filter. I have added salt up to about a teaspoon for every 2 gallons. After doing an increased salt treatment, do you stop adding salt with the water changes, or just decrease how much you add?

I did not quarantine the new fish. I don't have another tank, and so I just hoped for the best. Next time I guess I'll do a pima/melafix treatment with the addition of the new fish, since I have a ton of it and that apparently is all it is good for. Or get a little 2 gallon or something that can be used for a week or so when I get a new one. Sigh.

Thanks for all the input. I'll let you know how it goes.....

[Eupterus]

Worked for my pleco, was a disaster for my betta. He's still handicapped as a result of a treatment.

[gmh]

Great post Marv, and welcome to the boards btw. You mentioned a hydrogen peroxide bath. Could you elaborate on the details?

[tonytheboss1]

:) Have used both but not to treat anything in advanced stages. For advanced diseases, I usually find something stronger.

http://www.webbsonline.com/catalog/meds/fishdisease.html

http://www.petsolutions.com/Medications+C40+SAll.aspx. "T"

[schmidtfarm]

Great post Marv, and welcome to the boards btw. You mentioned a hydrogen peroxide bath. Could you elaborate on the details?

I'll 2nd this...:help:

[petluvr]

I use peroxide for most healing procedures ie; if my fish have any type of wound caused by aggression or mating I use one capful of peroxide per gallon and it does the trick:)

[tonytheboss1]

I use peroxide for most healing procedures ie; if my fish have any type of wound caused by aggression or mating I use one capful of peroxide per gallon and it does the trick

:confused: Could you elaborate? A specific kind or any generic? Sorry but don't want to use the wrong stuff. Thanx, "T"

[schmidtfarm]

BTW I used Melafix recently in a quaranteen tank of pencils, tetras and SAE's. Melafix killed the pencils within minutes. A web search revealed that Melafix has been implicated in killing labyrinth fish as well as Beckfordi Pencils. I've sent two emails to API with no response.:headshake2: I'll never use the stuff again.

[petluvr]

I just use generic cheap peroxide, like i said one capful per gallon of water has always done the trick for me:)

[wataugachicken]

Melafix and Pimafix are the orange juice and chicken soup of the fish world. They are not medicines, or antibiotics, but if your fish have a minor problem - a scrape, a split fin, a teeny bit of fungus - it can make them feel better.

[Fishstix3000]

Well, at least they were being comforted. lol

The Maracyn has been awesome (I'm using the powder packets). Unfortunately the guppies I was originally treating with the pima and melafix were too far gone when I started it, but the rest of the fish had been flashing quite often, and they stopped the day after I started treatment. One of the fish was begining to have fin rot, and that cleared right up. No more cases of columnaris either, and it is the 4th day of treatment.

I'm really mad at API, because they make all kinds of claims on the bottles for both Pimafix and Melafix which HAVE to qualify as false advertising.

Thanks for all the advice!

[Bubbles2112]

I tried Melafix once and it killed 3 of my tetras--nothing was wrong with the neons--except for the Melafix. I won't use it again.

[petluvr]

I wouldn't say it "HAS" to be false advertisement;) Any body can basically say anything they want to about a product.

[wataugachicken]

well, tea tree oil - the active ingredient in Melafix -really does have antiseptic and antifungal properties. people use it for treating small cuts (like a replacement for neosporin) and is included in some products to treat dandruff and athlete's foot, which are fungal problems. the bigger issue of whether it works or not is more based on the extent of the disease by the time treatment is started, and the concentration of oil used. like the neosporin, if you get a small cut and put it on right away, it will most likely prevent any further problems, but if you already have a raging infection and your finger is about to fall off, an over-the-counter antiseptic ointment isn't going to help anymore. there are limits, and a lot of the problems may be user error, but if it really does harm certain types of fish, that should be tested and reported.

i know i don't like to use pimafix in my main tank anymore because it does *something* to the clown plecos. usually they hide all the time and i'm lucky to see them, but when i use pimafix it's like they can't breathe well, so they come out and sit all the way at the top of the driftwood (2 foot deep tank, they climb up the wood to 6 inches below the surface of the water), and they breach for air as well.

[Zebulon]

Melafix seems effective at speeding the repair of fin injuries, and preventing infection in fresh injuries. Treatment for serious disease? I wouldn't go that far. It seems to aid in relocation and acclimation. It also smells nice. Don't expect anything else and it's perfectly ok stuff, if overpriced for the concentration it comes in.

[Stargazer53]

I'm going to bump this for Pimafix and Melafix users. I was told both work well so I started using both of these about two months ago and have not noticed at significant improvements. A day or two ago, I was talking about using this on one of the threads and someone remarked that Pima- and Melafix are "vitamins" and not medicine. This intrigued me and led me to search and find this post. For those who are considering using Pimafix and Melafix as medication, I would stray away from it. I think I've come to the conclusion that both of the products are more of a preventative than an actual remedy. :)

[Lupin]

Yep.^^^ Good reason for me not to recommend it. Why bother when you can save your bucks for a few packs of salt as a precaution and bill for water (if you're paying)?

[Bart G]

I've used melafix and it seemed to help repair fin damage faster than without. It didn't seem to bring anybody back from the brink though.

[nc0gnet0]

Snake oil.......

[Cerianthus]

No dedicated room for these products in my fish medicine cabinet.

[excuzzzeme]

I have found it to be of no value at all.

[jpappy789]

I have to agree. I've only used Melafix once during a case of fin rot and it didn't seem to help at all. Clean water was a much better treatment option.