I use both Melafix and Pimafix to help out my betta whenever he gets sick. On their own, neither do much more than help out with really minor cases of fin rot. I give him 50% of a dose of melafix, and then add another 50% of the dose of Pimafix ... the two together seeems to be more effective than either on its own. I've tried Bettafix a number of times, never had any success with it at all ... the last time I bothered with Bettafix, my betta died even though I detected the infection right away ... it did nothing whatsoever to help him out.

As for melafix and pimafix, whoever said they're only really effective on lighter illnesses was right - with the serious infections, you need something stronger. In fact, I would say Melafix and Pimafix are more effective at *preventing* sickness ... so ... adding a dose to the water whenever you do a big water change, or move the tank, that kind of thing. In the cases where my betta has been VERY sick I've used triple sulfa, which REALLY works well.

I've come to the conclusion my betta LIKES being sick because it seems that every 2 months I'm rescuing him, even though his tank conditions are perfect, and he even has a 10 gallon all to himself The drug $ I'm spending on him is starting to pile up ...

Thank you for this thread!
All 3 of my bettas are "fish store bettas", all had finrot when I got them. Someone suggested Melafix when I got my first one for the finrot. It seemed to help at first, then nothing. I used it at 1/2 strength, but! I never knew you were supposed to change the water between dosing. So I was dosing my poor boy everyday! He's still with me, thank God. I hadn't even thought it would be accumulating in the water! Well I guess he lived up to his name- Bruiser. He's got to be tough to live through what I did to him!
Erin

According to the back of the Bettafix bottle I got at Big Al's last week, "...repeat dose daily for up to 7 days before making a water change" ... is this insane???

I am presently using it in tandem with aquarisol and add it as a preventative to each batch of water I prepare, but I can't believe the manufacturer would go so far as to tell u to dose the water repeatedly before changing it. Imagine the dose getting up to 7x strength and then changing it down to nothing again? Poor fishies

Hi _groove_

Personally, I think you are right. I would never follow these directions and I never advise anyone else to do it either.

One of the most important things when treating fish with bacterial infections is to keep the water clean and fresh. Water changes are essential. So is keeping the temperature low (no higher than 75 F.) and having good aeration. MelaFix is nothing more than a mild anti bacterial agent and, while it might sometimes do the job, it is not a magic cure all. If used in strong concentrations it can burn a fish and so do more harm than good.

Usually, I recommend that people use it for a few days and if it doesn't help, switch to an antibiotic or other preparation made to treat bacterial infections. There is, however, another treatment that I have found to be effective used in combination with MelaFix. That is plain old fashioned salt baths.

By this I do not mean putting salt in the water and leaving it there. I mean using concentrated salt baths for short periods of time. To do this, I use 1 tsp of salt dissolved in one cup of tank water. Put the fish in for 10 to 15 minutes and return to the tank that has had MelaFix added. You can do this up to 4 or 5 times a day if necessary. If the fish looses consciousness and rolls over, return it to the tank immediately.

What happens is that the salt eats away the bacteria and when it is returned to the treated tank, the MelaFix slows its growth and allows the fish to begin healing.

I've used this treatment with both corys and bettas, and I assure you, it does work.

MelaFix (Melaleuca) and PimaFix (Pimenta racemosa) are probably our bettas' version of Herbal or Natural Medicine.

Since they are botanic extracts (like Aloe vera and Terminalia catappa a.k.a. Ketapang Leaf), they probably will not eliminate bacteria or fungus the way conventional chemical-based antibacterial and antifungal medications would.

My guess is that they act by promoting homeostasis; helping the fish to boost its natural resistance to diseases, as well as to recover from illnesses and injuries.

Consider using Melafix and PimaFix for milder conditions (e.g. fin tear, early stages of Mouth Rot and Fin Rot).

For more severe infections, Myxazin can be considered. However, the 5 day course should be completed.

A member of the BCS (Betta Club Singapore) Forum once described Melafix, PimaFix and Myxazin as the "holy trinity" of fish medicine. I can't agree with her more.

Clean water, early detection of disease and prompt treatment will improve the prognosis of fish disease.

Hi D Chia

I've heard very good things about Myxazin and it's one of the products I recommend to members in the UK. Unfortunately, I don't think it's available in the US. I've never seen it at any of the stores I go to anyway.

If anyone in the US has seen it in their stores, please let me know and I will suggest it as treatment for members here too.

Just so you know. You can get a 16 0z bottle of melafix for $6.79 at aquariumpros.com
I use Stresscoat to treat my water. I have used it for as long as I have had fish. I get a gal jug for about 36.00..I always order several things, so the shipping is spread around. My savings usually covers the shipping and I still save money over the lps.

Bumping, as we have many new members who may not fully understand what BettaFix is. This thread also contains some arguements people have for and against.

This post has been edited by cation: Feb 22 2005, 07:06 PM

Personally I find I have had no problems using melafix. It works very well for me. They want too much for that little bottle of Bettafix I think..especially now that I know it's super diluted like that...seems like a waste of $$ personally.

grrrrh! i've been dosing every day since my boys got into a fight, but not doing changes. stupid manufacturer's instructions! i hope i haven't made them worse. but, from now on i will do 100% water changes then add in the melafix.

anyone know how long i can continue adding in melafix for my boys' fins? the instructions say 7 days, but i'm wondering if it's ok to continue longer until i see some serious regrowth of their fins. i've also been salt dipping them nightly for 30 mins each.

If you have a lot of bettas and want to save even more money, buy pond or 'professional strength' Melafix. This is the same as normal Melafix but 5 times stronger but usually only a little more expensive. It's therefore 25 times stronger than Bettafix, ie 1 8oz bottle of pond Melafix (cost $6.20) is the same as 5 8oz bottles of Melafix (total cost $21.70) is the same as 25 8oz bottles of Bettafix (total cost $278). Eek - even I'm surprised at working that out!! all prices taken from www.pets-warehouse.com.

Sarah

This post has been edited by SarahBravo: Mar 19 2005, 11:16 PM

Betta fix simply doesnt work at all
I used it on my male as the vet said it would clear up the problem and my Boy DIED he was gorgous too 6 inches long (regular betta not giant betta) Long fins bubble nests he was blue with a slight red wash though miss him he was great.

Moral of this is DO NOT use betta fix thinking that it will fix the betta it wont

It doesn't work for everything, but it works in some circumstances.

I'm sorry for your loss, but that's like saying bypass surgery is not a life-saver because you know someone who died while it was happening. It's tragic, but not indicative that a treatment is worthless.

This post has been edited by cation: Oct 12 2006, 06:03 PM

I dont use bettafix, i just use melafix and reduce the dosage, normally by 50% and my bettas are fine with that.

Additionally, Tea Tree oil was also used in WWI and WWII by our troops to prevent foot rot caused by walking in deep water in the trenches

I think may Betta may have fin rot. A few pieces of his tail is torn. I just bought some Bettafix last night and used it. He's also in water that contains Attison's Betta SPA, that has some kind of almond leaf extract I used to condition the water.

Should I be using the Bettafix with the Pimafix then? And are those safe to use with the Betta SPA?

I bought a new betta last saturday and I think he suffered some kind of stress on the way home. I put him in a 7 gallon tank with natural plants, filtration, driftwood... Anyway, the tank seemed perfect to me until 1 day later he started developing some white spots that seemed to be coming from underneath the scales which just increased on the next day, he stopped eating and a piece of his fin tore apart maybe because he was trying to sctratch himself. I was in disbelief that my gorgeous new buddy was sick. I took him out of the tank and put him in the bowl he came in and got Bettafix. The first day he looked terrible, second day he looked even worse, now this is the third day and he has started eating, his bright colors are back and the cottony slime and the pointed scales are almost gone. I will continue the treatment for some extra days just to make sure. I would like to say that I have been changing the water of his small bowl twice a day and dropping 2-3 drops of Bettafix in every water change. I really thought Bettafix wouldn't help and my little friend would be gone but it does seem to help. Maybe it was just stress and not a very agressive infection. Anyway I'd like to share my experience.

Put in the tank for the first time.

Day 1 in the tank.

Day 2 out of the tank in "hospital bowl" with Bettafix.

After 5 days of Bettafix he's back to the tank!


P.S. I got a 25W Visi-Therm Stealth heater that keeps the water around 75F. He seems to be very happy with that. Almost hyper-active now!

This post has been edited by pr75: Mar 26 2007, 07:41 PM

I used pimafix in my tank a few months ago in a battle with dropsy. Almost all of my fish had dropsy and were fading fast. I used it for 7 days and though it made my tank cloudy for a few days all of my fish are back to normal no more ulcers nothing. I am a believer.

Great post Just a tip-if you're treating a fish with melafix or bettafix, make sure your pet doesn't drink fro the tank-you'll have to clean up some pet puke . I'm currently treating my betta with bettafix, but if someone had told me they were the same earlier-I'd have used my melafix.