Med advice

[Irishlad123]

Hi their im new to the hobby and have been thinking it might be handy to have some meds on hand. Is this a good idea and if so what are good to have

 

[FishGuest5123]

No one is going to agree with me but I keep a fish first aid kit. Why? Because when you need it, you need it now! If nothing else, get yourself some Seachem Kanaplex and some API Furan-2. You usually have to order these meds so they are good to have on hand. Kanaplex is an antibiotic and Furan-2 treats bacterial infections. Most other meds can be bought at a fish store if needed. I also have API General Cure and Prazipro in my kit. Oh, aquarium salt and Epsom salt are good to keep on hand. Hope this helps without too much information. Now, with that being said, most things can be treated with clean water. Big water changes are always your first line of defense. If you do a 70% water change and vacuum your substrate weekly, you probably won’t have problems. Oh, please, for goodness sakes, quarantine all new fish before adding to tank. That’s where most people get there issues from. Here’s to successful fish keeping!

 

[Colin_T]

This topic appears from time to time and I just copy and paste what I said previously. You can read the most recent thread about this from 14 August 2019 at the following link.
https://www.fishforums.net/threads/stocking-your-fish-emergency-medicine-cabinet.453684/

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The only thing you should have on hand for fish is salt (sodium chloride) and a dechlorinator. If you are really concerned, then have a bag of Activated Carbon or Highly Activated Carbon, and a bag of Ammogon/ Zeolite (ammonia adsorbing granules) too.

Most fish health issues are caused by poor water quality and a dirty environment. If you do big regular water changes and gravel clean the substrate, and clean the filter, the fish should remain healthy for years. In established aquariums, most diseases occur when new fish are introduced without being quarantined first.

The only reason you should have chemicals sitting around waiting to be used is if you have new fish coming in all the time. Then a number of them will require treatment, but for an established tank, there should be no need for medications.

The first thing to do if your fish get sick is test the water, wipe down the inside of the glass, do a 75% water change, gravel clean the substrate, clean the filter if it hasn't been done in the last 2 weeks, and increase aeration. Then depending on what is going on, you identify the problem and fix it.

The following link has information about what to do if your fish get sick. Some of you have read it and others might not have. Its worth a read when you have some spare time. It's long and boring so print it out and read it in bed to help fall asleep.
https://www.fishforums.net/threads/what-to-do-if-your-fish-gets-sick.450268/

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Having medications sitting around waiting to be used is pointless. It simply encourages people to add chemicals first and hope for the best, instead of finding out what the problem is and what caused it. Then treating the fish if it needs treating.

Medications do go off (expire) and if they are kept in a warm or damp/ humid environment, they break down faster. They can also poison children and animals if not safely stored.

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Anti-biotics should be banned from sale world wide (or at least controlled like they are in some countries), because they cause drug resistance in bacteria that can kill fish, people, animals, birds, reptiles and plants.

If you have bacterial infections appearing in an established aquarium, then you are not looking after the tank (doing water changes, gravel and filter cleaning).

If you look at the fish in the shop, you can see if they appear normal or are sick. If 1 fish looks sick in a tank, don't get any fish out of that tank.

Quarantine ALL new fish for at least 2 (preferably 4) weeks before adding them to the main display tank.

 

[FishGuest5123]

As said previously, this is a topic of different opinions. We have to accept what we feel is best and agree to disagree. Of course, if meds were more readily available in other countries the conversation may be different.

 

[Colin_T]

… if meds were more readily available in other countries the conversation may be different.

If anti-biotics were freely available in my country, I would say the same thing.

I do have access to a couple of types of anti-biotics at my local pet shop and I can visit a vet if I need something stronger. But 99% of fish health issues do not require anti-biotics so there is no reason to have them sitting around.

 

[FishGuest5123]

If anti-biotics were freely available in my country, I would say the same thing.

I do have access to a couple of types of anti-biotics at my local pet shop and I can visit a vet if I need something stronger. But 99% of fish health issues do not require anti-biotics so there is no reason to have them sitting around.

Just agree to disagree and move on.

 

[Colin_T]

Just agree to disagree and move on.

Never

 

[seangee]

I have a dog, 2 cats and around 130 fish.

I don't have any pet meds

 

[Irishlad123]

Ok thanks for advice and ill look at the other threads

 

[Essjay]

Irishlad is in Ireland, so he is unlikely to be able to get most of the meds Deanasue suggested apart from aquarium salt and Epsom salt.

 

[Irishlad123]

I can get api and general and you can get some but not many

 

[Essjay]

I assumed Ireland is the same as the UK for antibiotics. Here we need a vet's prescription to buy them, while in the USA they can get them over the counter - is Ireland the same as the UK or the USA?

 

[Irishlad123]

Yep