Can I Use Pimafix And Interpet Anti Bacterial Infection Together?

[JasonU]

Is it possible to use Pimafix and Interpet Anti Internal Bacteria at the same time?

I have a cory adolphi that I believe is showing the first signs of a internal bacteria infection.

Does anybody have any suggestions of other possible treatment for an internal bacteria infection in a cory adolphi?

 

[nmonks]

You could, but I'd class both as "useless" products. Pimafix is merely tea-tree oil, a mild antiseptic with a very poor record when it comes to curing established diseases.* At best, it helps to prevent secondary infections of the skin and fins if a fish has been injured. It cannot treat internal infections at all.

Interpet Anti-Internal Bacteria is not an antibiotic**, and its ability to cure internal, i.e., systemic, infections of the type that cause dropsy for example is practically nil. I've never yet seen or heard of a fish with a systemic infection that was cured by this product. Total waste of money, in my opinion.

It's worth mentioning that most systemic infections are either opportunistic (in which case likely caused by poor environment) or else so serious no off the shelf medication will cure them. Diseases such as those cause by Mycobacteria infections are virtually impossible to cure. Corydoras are particularly prone to disease when kept too warm (most prefer 22-24 degrees C) and in tanks with poor circulation. Obviously, poor water quality is another major factor.

Large fish can be treated with antibiotics, available over the counter in the US, or from your vet in the UK. The price difference isn't all that great, but if you're in the UK, you will need a prescription from the vet before you can get antibiotics. Small fish generally don't recover once they reach the dropsy stage, but if you're lucky and the infection is slight, the fish may recover. Otherwise, painless destruction of the fish (e.g., with an MS222 or Clove oil overdose) is appropriate.

Cheers, Neale

*The problem is that tea-tree oil works against some bacteria but not others. So sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't. API doesn't have a clue about which ones it treats and which it doesn't, and there's no way hobbyists could tell which bacteria their fish has anyway. So at best, it's a gamble. Better to use an antibiotic or antibacterial known to work reasonably reliable, rather than use tea-tree oil and find out it doesn't work, by which time it's too late to treat the fish with a different medication.

**The antimicrobial bronopol (0.522%), formaldehyde (0.9%) and benzalkonium chloride (0.25%); apart from formaldehyde, these are simply chemicals of the type used in disinfectants, hand washes, etc.

 

[Anna Robinson]

I think this is good advice in general, however, I do have to say about the Pimafix - Pimafix does not actually contain Tea Tree oil, it contains Pimenta racemosa oil (West Indian Bay Tree). I think NMonks is thinking of Melafix in his post. (Even Melafix does not contain 'standard' Tea Tree, M. alternifolia, but M. cajeputi).

Melafix is not intended to be an antiseptic, so much as a treatment. It is not known which species of bacteria it acts against, since it was not evaluated in this way - to do so would not be helpful, since as NMonks has said, hobbyists don't generally know which species of bacteria their fish have. It is the results which matter. The active ingredients of some of these plant oils are not all known to science yet, let alone their modes of action. The scientists who developed Melafix believe it may have anti-inflammatory and immuno-stimulant action, as well as antiseptic action, based on their observations. Aside from the issue of the bio-filter, it has some therapeutic benefits over antibiotic treatment as well, namely much better tissue regeneration, and reduced susceptibility of the fish to secondary infections.

I won't comment on the Interpet medication as it wouldn't be appropriate for me to do so.