View Full Version : What's in your Medicine Cabinet?
What "medicines" do you all keep on hand (at all times) for your fish? I don't live close to a LFS and I may have to drive 2 hrs to buy something when I get a flare up. Just like in my medicine cabinet I have Pepto, nasal spray, rubbing alcohol, decongestants, aspirin, etc., what are the essentials I should have for my CA/SA cichlids?
Salt and Melafix would be useful to have in case any territorial disputes get ugly. Maybe an anti-ich medicine should you get a breakout for some reason. I think that should get you through fine. I don't think cichlids get sick all too much if you treat 'em well.
Skittyfish
01-18-2003, 10:10 AM
I try to keep Aquarisol. Its in a small bottle (blue in color)...It seems to clear up ICH and some fungus' pretty quick. I also keep Mela-fix and salt. But that's it. In 10 years I've never had to put any other type of med's in.
Nothing.
Unless chlorine neutralizers or chloramine neutralizers count. Our water is normally chlorine-only, but at times (generally summer) we may have chloramine added, so I have to keep both and the tests for detection/differentiation.
TJcanada
01-18-2003, 10:59 AM
Not much....
.... there's usually a bag of salt laying around, Supaverm and PP(but mostly kept on hand for the ponds) - but that's it.
In elementary terms, what do you do with MELAFIX? I use Stress coat for chlorine and body damage. My dovii like to take chunks out of his neighbors heads sometimes. He thinks that 75 of the 90 gal tank is his :D
vfrex
01-18-2003, 11:39 AM
Melafix is great for repairing physical damage. Used to fight or as a preventative for fungus I think as well. (dates back to the physical damage thing since fungus will occur sometimes from it).
Sumpin'fishy
01-18-2003, 8:00 PM
I keep: Salt, Melafix, Quick Cure, Coppersafe, and a Quarantine Tank.
If you want to be a bit more prepared, I'd go with the above items plus Maracyn/Maracyn-II ,or another antibiotic.
The best treatment you can EVER give is prevention. High water quality, frequent changes, correct temperature and water chemistry for the species will keep things from going wrong often.
Sumpin'fishy,
Prayer works best that way, too. Won't you agree? PREVENTION. Whole lot better laying out track vs all the time making repairs;)
I'm one of Jesus' disciples, too. I was just working on tomorrow's lesson when I heard you "ding" in. :D
Sumpin'fishy
01-18-2003, 8:24 PM
Good to hear it Gebo! Hope your lesson turns out great! One thing I will say about praying for your fish's health. Make sure you were in God's will when you got them!;)
I was not listening to wisdom when I made my first few fish purchases. I bought a few fish without really praying about it first and when they all started getting sick, I laid down some serious prayer! I was praying like it was going out of style. Finally I decided to just give it to HIM, and yes, a few more did die. But I was left with the five that I now have. I have had no problems with disease or sickness since. Some people won't understand what this has to do with God, but maybe you will. I had another IDOL at that time.....it was my FISH! He was just removing my obstacles for me:)
yes, I understand:D
Now, if I'd only listen when He talks to me about the "little" things. Know what I mean? The "BIG" things I seem to do okay with. I just love it when my son and daughter come to me for advice, how much more does the Father?:)
jbcwilli
01-19-2003, 11:03 AM
This might get me kicked out, but....
My big prayer would be for god to grant me freedom from religion.
Surely the last few threads belong in some other forum.
jcbwilli,
I couldn't agree with you more. "Religion" has killed lot's of really good people. On the other hand, Jesus Christ came to save the lost and bring life, and bring life more abundantly. Thanks for pointing it out. My prayer will agree with you, I pray all God's people are free from "RELIGION." :D
Who the Son has set free is free indeed.:)
I don't know which God you are praying to, but you could try ASKING Him to show you the truth. Doesn't that make more sense? What would it hurt?;)
Sumpin'fishy
01-19-2003, 6:50 PM
Nicely put Gebo. ;) Freedom from RELIGION is a beautiful thing! I put up that scripture and "title" so that if anyone wanted to ask me about it, they could feel free to. Unlike many "Christians" I do not separate or compartmentalize my spiritual beliefs from the rest of my life, even a fish forum. The Bible does say that the world will hate us because it first hated Him (Jesus). Unfortunately some people just will be offended!
I had a thread that I responded to once that received alot of flack (about 8 pages of debate) from people because I mentioned God in my response. The moderators ended up stating that the original question was a moral one and that you can't expect to leave religion out of any moral conversation. The only rules on this thread are No blatant attacks on others, and for each separate forum, we are to keep to the general area covered by the forum.
Well this is a question about keeping our freshwater fish healthy. I fully believe that the medicines I named work well for fish under many conditions, BUT by praying for God's will to be done in all areas of our lives, INCLUDING OUR FISH HOBBY, we set ourselves up for success with raising and caring for them! I would be lying to everyone if I told Gebo that I don't believe Prayer has any effect on my fish. It's like adding salt .......some people use it, some people are completely against it's use!
I believe it is not just for fun that we raise fish, but it is also an obligation to take care of them the best we possibly can, like any pet. You are abusing your pet if you do not do everything in your power to meet it's needs.
You're alright:D
I'm gonna keep some quick cure and melafix and salt and stress coat. I use the stress coat for chlorine removal. What would make the distinction between choosing whether to use melafix or stress coat?
Sumpin'fhishy,
Oh yeah, what's that copper stuff for?
Sumpin'fishy
01-19-2003, 11:31 PM
Melafix is made from the Melaleuca Plant (Tea Tree) and Stress Coat is made with some Aloe Vera in it. Both have some potential to heal damaged tissue. The Melafix supposedly acts like a mild antibiotic as well as condition damaged tissue. I buy the pond bottle of Melafix and use that for all damage to fish. I only use Stress Coat when doing water changes. There is a standard aquarium bottle of Melafix which is about the same price but it's 1 TBSP/ 5gallons, which is MUCH more diluted than the pond bottle (1 TBSP/ 50 gal). Same ingredients, just the one bottle is diluted. I have a 55, so naturally it's in my best interest to do the pond bottle. Maybe if you have a bunch of 10 gallons or so, then MAYBE I'd get the other bottle, but it's a rip-off!
Coppersafe is a treatment for most types of external parasites, from ich to flukes, to others. It is highly toxic to invertibrates without exoskeletons, and isn't good to keep too much of it in the water for long durations. I have treated my tanks (as directed) several times for 1 month at a time with no ill effects. My crawfish has even been in the tank and survived. It is one of those meds that I use if I know I have an infestation and want to knock it out quickly. I then run carbon in my filter for 24 hours to remove it. I have not used it in a long time and won't unless needed. For just ich, I stick with Quick Cure and temp/water change regimen.