To medicate or not to medicate new acquisitions?

[captmicha]

Please keep insults to a minimum. We are all entitled to our opinions and I know that medicating can be a strong point of contention.

That being said.

Local fish stores are getting rarer and rarer in my area. Not only that, but the health of their livestock seems to be going down the tubes as well. I have no problem supporting small local businesses but only if I benefit from the transaction, because I'm not made of money.

Shipping is expensive, so even if mail order prices might be cheaper and livestock is healthier, shipping is a luxury I often can't afford. That's just the way it is. Groups buys come around but there are membership fees to groups, species that I want that they don't carry, etc. so that's not always a solution.

SO... I will buy from LFS from time to time and always lose part of my purchase to deaths lately and it's been happening more and more. This wasn't always the case, especially from my fav LFS, that went out of business, who used to quarantine new livestock for two weeks before selling. I'm not a spring chicken to fish keeping so while it could be some failure on my part, it's mostly not, I think. I do my research and also have learned through experience. Since, like I said, LFS are getting rare, I don't feel like driving all over creation to spend more on gas money than what I'd get for a refund.

I was wondering if I would increase survival rates by medicating new fish with a broad spectrum anti-parasite, anti-bacterial while they're in quarantine? I know some businesses do this.

I highly doubt resistance would come about from one preliminary treatment.

I know that some scaleless and other species are sensitive, so I'd either not medicate these or use safe meds or an adjusted dosage.

I know that medicating can be stressful so I'd aim for the safest effective meds I can find.

If I don't medicate, I know that the "weakest links" will die off and I'll most likely be left with the survivors but I'm not running a race here, I'm not really any kind of breeder, and I can't afford that kind of preliminary system.

Did I miss any pros or cons? Am I wrong about something? Should I medicate or not?

 

[SubRosa]

Here's a protocol that has worked well for me at the retail level. New arrivals receive a 24 hr bath in praziquantel, followed by feeding a food I make myself which contains an antibiotic, normally a sulfa based agent, and additional prazi and metronidazole. This food is fed exclusively for a week. In the event of fish which won't eat or require a specialized diet a bit of adaptation is required. The agents can be used as a bath like the prazi, or somehow introduced into the specialized food, such as injecting a solution into feeder fish for obligate piscivores. I'm not going to argue with your assessment of your options in regards to obtaining fish beyond saying that I draw a different conclusion. The recipe for the food I make is as follows:

In a tupperware container with a tight lid add 1 oz of garlic juice, one packet of API Triple Sulfa and one packet of API General Cure. Mix well, until all powder is dissolved. Add 4 oz of flake, pellet, or freeze dried food, seal the top and shake vigorouly until liquid is evenly distributed. Feed exclusively for a week.

 

[captmicha]

Thanks! I'll be sure to give this a try and see if it improves the survival rates. I forgot that I can also buy from local hobbyist breeders. I prefer to support them but they don't often carry what I'm looking for. I don't know why I want what nobody seems to be selling! I don't think I really want to buy from Petsmart/Petco although I did stock up on ottos when they had a $1 a fish sale. One can never have too many ottos...

Subrosa, I'd welcome your feedback on my assessment of my purchase options. If I'm wrong or missing something, I'd like to know. And I DO want to support the small businesses but money is a big factor. Unfortunately.

 

[Star_Rider]

I use anti parasite meds(prazi and metro) I also keep broad spectrum antibiotics on hand

 

[captmicha]

I think I'll use Tetra Parasite Guard because it's really cheap and it says it's safe. It's the Metro and Praz. And I'm trying to find the triple sulfa cheaper. Maybe someone bought in bulk and is selling some off. If not, then whatever. I'll just buy a pack.

 

[mesto]

I also use prazipro now on every new fish I buy. I may start feeding the suggested food in QT as well. Luckily I have a very good LFS that gets good stock in, I have found it very hit and miss with others. I have also considered dosing levimasole on any new acquisitions. A platy brought callumanus into my tank which was not apparent for a long time after the QT phase.

My feeling is that it is like when you buy a new puppy - you deworm them, vaccinate them, and often give them meds to treat protazoa like giardia. You give them heartworm preventative and flea and tick preventative.

 

[SubRosa]

I think I'll use Tetra Parasite Guard because it's really cheap and it says it's safe. It's the Metro and Praz. And I'm trying to find the triple sulfa cheaper. Maybe someone bought in bulk and is selling some off. If not, then whatever. I'll just buy a pack.

If you have a friendly doctor, Bactrim is a sulfa based drug often prescribed for people. It's pretty cheap as antibiotics go.

 

[captmicha]

If you have a friendly doctor, Bactrim is a sulfa based drug often prescribed for people.

Lol. No. They're all about the money. I wonder if a feed store would have something like that.

And really good point about medicating dogs! Fish can be carrying all kinds of stuff too, especially when wild caught. Makes sense.

 

[SubRosa]

Lol. No. They're all about the money. I wonder if a feed store would have something like that.

And really good point about medicating dogs! Fish can be carrying all kinds of stuff too, especially when wild caught. Makes sense.

I'm sure that they use some sulfa drug for some farm animal, so a bit of label reading or a few questions should turn up something. Just look for active ingredients with "sulfa" in them somewhere. For reference the single packet I use contains 1000 mg of mixed sulfas.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

It is cheaper to have the fish shipped in from a reliable source and arrive healthy than to go through all described above. Shipped in fish do have the cost of transport, but there is no sales tax and I believe Maryland has a 6% sales tax. So there is an offset there. Then there is the cost of the meds themselves. And you will also pay sales tax or shipping on these too. It is always cheaper to buy them in bulk and/or in generic form. And shipped fish arrive at your door so there is no time or gas money spent on trips to and from a store.

The other trick for buying shipped in fish is always to fill the box. Do not try to buy a few inexpensive fish shipped in. Try to order a few things together as the shipping is less per fish that way. You can also add snails, shrimp, plants etc. to an order.

I always tell folks that one healthy fish is worth at least three DOAs or DSAs(dead soon after).

Finally, the use of a quarantine tank is essential here. The new fish go into it and get treated there, not in the main tank. There is always some risk of harming or killing some portion of your nitrifying and/or other desired bacteria when using antibiotics. For that reason I always use an uncycled quarantine or hospital tank. Of course this means lots of water changes.

The only time I proactively treat new fish which show no symptoms is if they are recently imported wild fish. Those almost always arrive with a host of nasties involved.