emergency kit

[_]im]

Hi,

In a week I'm heading back to university and I was wondering what are the absolute basics you should have on hand in case of fish disease/water imbalances. I only ask this because I will be a few hours away from any decent fish store and I am going to stock up on some things before I head back. I was thinking what are the most affective and price wise products out there for general problem fixers. I know anything could happen to a tank, but in general, what is the best things to have on hand? Any help I'd appreciate it.

Thanks

 

[Arashi]

First off, I just want to say that an emergency kit is a great idea. You never know when something will go wrong in your tank.

I have a mini emergency kit...I know it dosen't have everything I need, but it has the basics covered. Mine includes:

Melafix
Pimafix
Stresscoat
Aquarium Salt
Extra tube lights
Extra heater
Extra air pump
Extra air stones

This has me covered if I ever need any quick-fix meds or if any important piece of hardware suddenly breaks on me.

 

[_]im]

Maybe I'm finally starting to know something about owning fish! ahha.

Thanks Arashi, anyone else have any kits they have put together in case of emergency? Not that yours isnt great, I have some of your list down already for tomorrow to pick up.

I have also heard that regular table salt is safe instead of aqaurium salt, but is this true?

 

[Arashi]

lol! I'm sure you know more about our little firends than you give yourself credit for, _]im.

I'd like to hear what others have in their kits as well...maybe I can even get a few extra things picked up sometime as well.

Hmmm...I've never heard anything about table salt... Better let one of the salt experts tell us about it.

 

[sunflower]

No as far as I'm aware, it needs to be aquarium salt. Its v v cheap though. I think my box only cost £1.

 

[fraservet]

Table salt is generally ok, but make sure you don't use LOsalt or anything like that
because it contains tons of potassium chloride instead of sodium chloride.

 

[clutterydrawer]

I keep some antibacterial med on hand "just in case". I also have an air pump and stone because when using some meds you need to provide extra aeration. I'd like to have a spare heater because i had a bad experience with one before but i can't afford it right now. Another thign i do is have a bottle of ice in the freezer, which i can float in the tank in the event of it overheating, to gradually lower the temp.

 

[CFC]

A basic emergency kit should cover the following items.

Enough water conditioner to cover at least a 100% water change
ICH/whitespot medication
Melafix
Tank divider, essential if your fish decide to breed or start territorial disputes
A breeder net to keep any fry safe
Air pump with airline and air stone
Spare heater
Spare parts for your filter or a second filter depending on type
A net large enough to catch the largest fish in the tank
A bag large enough to hold your largest fish (in case you need to return one to the lfs)

Other items you may wish to add are a battery powered air pump and a small tank (large enough to house your largest fish).

 

[FrankSlapperinni]

On hand I have

Aquarium salt
Primafix
Marycyn 2
3 frozen bottles of water

I'm getting a ton of equipment for my new tank in a couple of days, and along with that I'm getting a medicine called Clout, which is supposedly one of the best antibacterial medicine you can buy (I bought it in case any of my cichlids get bloat, a quickly fatal disease), although it will dye your tank walls, substrate, and ornaments blue (best use it in a hospital tank).
Along with that I'm getting some Melafix (my pet store doesn't carry it).