No Filtration When Medicating?

[Mackenzilynn]

Both of my dalmation mollies came down with a case of pop-eye in their right eyes.

I got some aquarium salt and Metro-Ms medication. I did a 3 gallon water change (20 gallon tank) and put a tablespoon of aquarium salt in the water.

My question is: when I put the dose of medication in the tank (metro-ms) should i be turning off the filtration? The box says to do so until the treatment is complete, I just dont want to harm my fish by not filtering the tank.

I have 4 guppies, 2 mollies and a loach.

Thanks!

 

[Baccus]

Dont turn the filter off, just remove any activated carbon that you have in the filter as this will remove the medication. If you turn off your filter you will kill the good bacteria that you need in the filter to turn the amonia and nitrites from fish waste/ left over food/ decomposing plant material into nitrates which are less harmfull to your fish than amonia and nitrites.
 
If you turn your filter off you will need to do daily water changes and then keep topping up the correct dosage of medication which is going to be hell since you can not be sure exactly how much medication you have removed with each water change.
 
Be very careful treating a tank with a loach they dont have scales and many medications when used at full strength can seriously impact or even kill loaches, also salts and loaches do not mix for the same reason.