Melafix

[f250fisherman]

I posted an article on another board, hoping for some answers to Melafix being too strong. I'll paste the post, and a few of the responses. If you want to add your opinion, feel free to do so. I am asking to make it an experienced opinion, and not just I think so, or someone told me it was. The goal is to get a mutual finding between breeders, so we can know for sure what the results are.

Here's the original post.

From: MSN Nicknamef250fisherman (Original Message) Sent: 1/6/2005 7:49 AM
I was wanting to know if any of the breeders who have several spawns a yr have had any problems with Melafix. There is a rumor going around with some that Melafix is too strong for bettas. I haven't had a bit of problem with it, but thought if experienced breeders were, then there was something to it after all. Some say it can burn the bettas, and it should be diluted, etc.. If you have been at this awhile, give us your opinion.

 

[f250fisherman]

Here's a reply from someone who is known in several circles for his knowledge about fish, meds, and chemicals.

From: amanichen Sent: 1/7/2005 1:02 AM
Basically, I've used it on tons of fish, fresh and marine.

Yes, the stuff is a gill irritant, and yes, ODing it causes problems. At the recommended dose I've used it successfully without any major problems on bettas as well.

I have too seen rumors of melafix being bad for bettas. Physiologically, the only thing that seperates bettas from other fish I've used it on is the presence of a labyrinth. While I've some accounts that melafix has produced not so good reactions from some peoples' bettas, there's no overwhelming evidence that says the medication is specifically bad for bettas. I can say, that maybe there's something here that requires additional investigation.

In general, some anecdotal evidence carries more weight than others due to: varying levels of experience, the individual of the way people keep fish, the individual condition of those fish, and how vital and relevant information is sometimes not communicated properly.

The biggest point I'd like to stress here is this:

Keep in mind, that when a fish's water suddenly undergoes ANY chemical change, the fish is going to have an adverse reaction. Bettas are often kept in smaller habitats, without filtration and aeration. In a large tank, a dose of medication has more time to spread out, and takes longer to fully mix with the water.

In a small container the chemical mixing is a bit more sudden, and a full dosage of a medication can give a large whack to any fish. I feel this has much to do with problems that people might be seeing with bettas, and any other fish for that matter. For being a relatively mild medication (it's effectiveness is another topic for another day) Melafix can have some significant side effects.

For now, I'd tell people to use 3/4 or 1/2 doses, and/or gradually ramp up the level of medication especially if their fish are exhibiting adverse reactions to Melafix.

Any investigation into this supposed phenomenon should be carried out in a rational manner (I've seen it almost turn into a communist hunt, or a salem witch trial in some places.) If scientific evidence is not available, then lots of anecdotal evidence from (experienced) aquarists will have to be used.

 

[GuppyDude]

in my opinion melafix is too weak to take care of the some of the illnesses that bother our bettas but its to strong for our fish to cope with. they sell bettafix but its basicly a watered down version of melafix. i dont know all the names of all the meds but i know there alot that the people on this forum swear by

 

[Synirr]

It's too strong if you use it in the dose recommended on the back of the bottle. I didn't know this the first time I used it and ended up killing all 5 females that were in my 10 gallon at the time. I seem to remember reading on this forum somewhere that Melafix is 4X the concentration of Bettafix... so basically, use a forth as much as recommended when you treat bettas with it. I've had great success this way
It was a real lifesaver this past week when my split tank got fungus.

 

[f250fisherman]

Bettafix is actually 1/10 as strong as melafix. However, the directions for bettafix give dosages that are 10 times as much, to make up for it. it's the same. Thanks for replying, but could you tell us why you feel the melafix killed them? How long did you treat them? What was the symptoms? What was you treating the bettas for? Sorry for the questions, but I'm trying to get to the bottom of this. The more facts that can be added to this, the better chance of findiong out the reasons.
From what I have gathered from other breeders, the only time it was a problem..was when it was used for too long a time, or the dosage was too high, or the fish were already sick, and didn't get better.