Preventative Medication?

[Schmill]

So I'm nearly at the end of my fishless cycle
I am hoping to put my fish in on mass now if I can afford it so as to avoid the bacteria die-off, and then slow introduction of fish cycle.
The thing is, when putting a lot of fish into a tank at once is there anything you can do to try and avoid issues?
Is there anything I could / should dose the tank with to try and avoid any nasty outbreaks?

Or is it the same old, add them, and if any get sick THEN treat them / the tank?

Thanks

 

[mjdennison]

Tetra Safestart is very good but I would still add a few fish at a time and start with a couple of platty's as they are very tough.
Have a read on the forum about starting a tank there is some very useful info

have a look at this link to Tetra

 

[Schmill]

Thats just a 'bacteria in a bottle' product isn't it?
My filter is fully cycled so I can't see how that would help, it should be able to fully cope with the full fish load, I'm just wondering if there is anyway I can safeguard against any diseases etc that the fish might bring with them, (hopefully nothing but you never know).

 

[mjdennison]

Yep it is, I'm only newish to this myself (well I used to keep fish years ago but getting back into it again)
I think even though you have done a fishless cycle when you put your fish in it could kick in another cycle and poor water quality often leads to infection. As I said I'm no expert but I would only add a few at a time. I feel the Tetra product could still help matters

 

[JustKia]

Hun, you need to read the threads on cycling - the whole point of the fishless cycle is so that your tank has enough bacteria to support a full stock of fish right away and thus avoid the mini cycle of gradually adding fish.
Schmill has (almost) fully cycled his filter and thus would lose some of his bacterial colonies if he were to only add a few fish and would then go through the whole process of trying to build them back up each time he added more. Once his qualifying week is done the filter will support full stock so he would be wise to add almost full stock levels.

Schmill - unfortunately I don't know of any preventative medication. All I could advise is buy from a reputable source, buy fish that look healthy and from tanks where the rest of the fish look healthy, and then keep on top of your water maintenance and be observant.
Well done with the cycling =)

 

[doresy]

Yep it is, I'm only newish to this myself (well I used to keep fish years ago but getting back into it again)
I think even though you have done a fishless cycle when you put your fish in it could kick in another cycle and poor water quality often leads to infection. As I said I'm no expert but I would only add a few at a time. I feel the Tetra product could still help matters

Hi there (mjdennison) apoligies to OP for the hijack but I must just butt in here

As you suggest you are not an expert (and niether am I) so really it is best not to give advice, particularily if it is wrong advice


When a fishless cycle is carried out properly and completed then you have prepared the filter to cope with the near maximum bioload that you can introduce into that sized tank. If you were to then just add a couple of fish then the bacteria level that you have developed will immediately start to drop as the fish will not produce enough waste/ammonia to feed it all. Of course you CAN do this but it is just a waste as you are then restricted to always just adding a couple of fish at a time as any more than that will indeed trigger a mini-cycle.
The correct precedure when the cycle has been completed is to do a complete water change (to rid the tank of the very high nitrAte level that has built up during the cycle) then as soon as the water temperature has stabalised to the correct level is to introduce as many of the intended fish stock (except delicate fish) as you can in one go (obviously climatising as you go)
That way the filter bacteria is well fed from the get-go. Water testing should be monitored for several days thereafter.

It is an easy mistake if you don't fully understand the principle of cycling without fish but if you give out your views there may be newer members that might act upon it
*EDIT* Typos

 

[mjdennison]

sorry, still I suppose this is one of the the points of a forum, at least i've learnt something today

 

[Schmill]

Kia; thanks for you reply re the medication, guess I'll just keep the usuals on hand then and keep my eyes peeled for the first couple of weeks, (another reason I want to stock before xmas!).

Doresy; No worries about 'butting in', it's better to get the information to the right places than to working too much about netiquette

MjDennison; thanks for your comments too, not because they have particularly helped me, but it means you have had the opurtunity to learn something, (and your regular replies probably helped to keep the topic 'bumped' so that the others saw it )

Thanks all!

 

[wolfwolf]

Not advocating but I believe Aquarisol and Melafix both have instructions that they can be used as "preventative". Be careful with Aquarisol. It is copper based and can kill snail and some plants I believe. On the flip side it just got rid of ich in my tank without a single loss of a fish.

 

[Schmill]

Cheers Wolf^2, I have some Melafix so will check the bottle, (for contents and instructions!), when I get home
Want to try and avoid copper based medications as I think I'd quite like to get some cherry shrimps in the tank.

 

[Tolak]

Unless you are shipping in wild caught fish, or have a particular breeding situation the best preventative medication is fresh water and a quarantine tank. 25% water change weekly is great, twice weekly even better. Don't expose your fish to incoming diseases from new purchases and all should be good.

 

[doresy]

No harm done and good that no offence taken


Back to OP.

Prevention is better than cure I'm sure you've heard been said? However I don't believe it's a good policy to 'add just in case' when it comes to meds. Melafix (which I have and use) I believe, if my failing memory serves me, contains or is 'Tea Oil' which has terrific natural healing properties but I wouldn't ever add it just in case a fish injures it's self or gets fin rot. The best preventative Medication is good water, free from ammonia and nitrite and with a lowest level of nitrate that you can manage. Also at a PH level and temperature that suits the type of fish that you stock.

The biggest killer in fish (and man) is stress. Many parasites and conditions are present naturally in many fish with no bother to them but add stress to the equation and these take over.

Many things cause stress to fish, bad water being right up there! Things like bad enviroment can add stress, anything from lack of plants for a plant loving species to calm fish with fiercly territorial bullies. So there are PLENTY of preventative measures you can use long before add chemicals to your tank

Having just completed a fishless cycle for the third time myself......... WELL DONE that person!

 

[Inchworm]

The thing is, when putting a lot of fish into a tank at once is there anything you can do to try and avoid issues?
Is there anything I could / should dose the tank with to try and avoid any nasty outbreaks?

Or is it the same old, add them, and if any get sick THEN treat them / the tank?

Thanks

One of the most important bits of conventional wisdom for fishkeepers is to use a quarantine tank for incoming fish. Since you are adding your fish all at once, the tank you have just cycled is, in reality, serving that purpose. It's a risk you take.

It's a mistake to add any kind of medicine, especially anti-bacterials such as Melafix, because potential harmful bacteria (which might never turn into a problem if your fish are healthy) could become immune to them. If this happens medicine that might help at some future time may not work when you need it to.

 

[Athena]

I know that you can add Myxazin when introducing new fish to a tank to avoid them bringing any bacterial infections with them. If you have a quarantine tank, all the better - the Myxazin can be added to this with the new fish then the fish can be added to your main tank after a week. If you don't have a quarantine tank you can just add the Myxazin to your main tank, anyway - it isn't harmful to plants or filter (according to the info on the bottle).

Athena

 

[OldMan47]

Like Inchworm and Doresy said, avoid using medication without an indication of a particular disease being present. Then treat the specific disease that you see. The best preventive for a brand new tank is not overstocking and selecting only healthy looking fish from a store that you trust. I would start out at maybe 80% of full stocking on a new fully cycled tank and monitor water chemistry closely the first couple of weeks. That will be enough to keep your bacteria going at a high level without the potential of going above what the bacterial colony can handle. For me, that is also my final stocking level but if you decide to go higher, do it slowly.