Medication compatibility

PumaWard

In loving memory of Meeko
Jul 23, 2003
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Does anyone know where I can find a medication compatibilty chart (or something that lists whether a certain chemical can safely be mixed with another).

I need to know if Formalin, malachite green, and kanamycin sulfate are compatible with each other or if they will adversly effect my fish. The two medication's brand names are QuickCure and Kanacyn.

Thanks for anyone's help :)
 
I would really hesitate to mix that many chemicals...I can't find a compatibility chart, but that many meds is bound to cause a problem, if not from a counter reaction, just from the huge increase in TDS...Just speculating here, but I'd rather be cautious when adding chemicals to a tank.
 
*****if Formalin, malachite green, and kanamycin sulfate are compatible with each other or if they will adversly effect my

While I agree that mixing medications is not a good fishkeeping practice, I think I can confidently say the medications can be mixed together.

Formalin is a preservative, and is used mainly to combat ich. I'm not sure exactly its action, but believe it is distinct from the other two. Malachite green is a protein-binding dye. It's mechanism of actiion is binding to the surface proteins of the bacteria, which reduces the bacteria's viability -- it may be killed or weakened and reproduce slower giving the immune system more time to combat the bacteria. Kanamycin sulfate is an antibiotic. I think it inhibite protein synthesis by binding to the ribosomes of the bacteria.

The straight answer to your question (and *not* commenting on fish husbandry practices) is that the medicines are compatible because each has a different mechanism of action. There will be no "additive" effects.

The only proviso is that the kanamycin may be somewhat less effective if the malachite green binds to whatever protein/pore through which kanamycin is imported into the cell. But psysiologically speaking (or perhaps more importantly biochemically speaking, their effects are not additive.)

PS: I wouldn't want to be the biological filter in that tank right now!!!
:D
 
I did a 75% water change to get out most the quick cure (that being the malachite green and formalin) and added 2 capsuls of kanacyn, I'm going to check on everybody in a few minutes to see how things are in a few minutes.


I know mixing meds isn't usually a good idea... but my discus seem to have finrot/bacterial infection as well as a parasite (gill flukes or ich). So, while I was waiting to get the Kanacyn I added the QuickCure because I thought I had some carbon hanging around somewhere... turns out I didn't :( .

Anyway, thank you both for your help.
 
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