What Medicine Is An Always Must Have

[s007]

Hello all FishForums members!

Would like to find out what do most of you keep in their medical box which is always a must have in any situations. Please state which product , what it does and what brand and why specially that brand but not other. As you know how it goes you get a problem or emergency and its Saturday all LFS nearbuy are closed. There for its better to have it ready for most common problemsso you able to tackle them fast before it gets out of hand.

Cheers!

 

[Amunet]

Maracyn 1 & 2... anti-bacterial med. Think the brand is Mardel?
Jungle Fungus Clear. Helps with fungal problems and it's super cheap brand.
API Triple Sulfa (bacterial), Tetracycline (supposed to be good for internal bacterial problems), General Cure (external parasites).

Those brands b/c that's what is available around us.

 

[Curiosity101]

I'd have to say melafix and aquarium salt.
Both made by API.

Melafix is a great antibacterial and promotes re growth of fins and feelers, solves/slows many small infections until they can be properly treated. Also it is not a 'medication' exactly. It's a natural treatment, tea tree oil and distilled water. It doesn't harm any good bacteria and so long as you check first it's not harmful to most fish.

And aquarium salt is obviously a basic treatement for many things, including water retention (Such as when a fish has dropsy). Plus any bacteria / parasites in the water are at the very least weakened by the salt. And it provides a source of electrolytes for the fish.



Neither of this are specific medications for specific diseases but they're a good start if you don't know what's wrong but need a general treatment fast. Such as over the weekend or late at night.

 

[s007]

i must mention i didnt mean med exackly lol herbal or treatment related too

 

[Truck]

i never keep meds, the only medication i use is diligent water changing and de wormer when you buy new stock.

a healthy tank should never need treating if you quarantine all fish and de worm and keep up with water changes

 

[DiscusKeeper403]

I don't actually have much on hand, I do have some odds and ends left over from treatments. Although I agree with Truckasauras, keeping something on hand isn't going to hurt. I would recommend API General Cure (or something similar.) This medication has a broad kill spectrum for all sorts of parasites (internal and external) and could also deal with some bacterial disease. I would also recommend carrying Melafix and Primafix for any mild bacterial or fungal disease.

 

[WILDER]

Melafix is an overated med and only good for cuts and wounds.

The only meds I have is a interpet whitespot med.
Interpet anti internal bacteria med.

 

[Gill]

Only Meds I keep on Hand is WS07 Whitespot (i think that what its called) for new fish. other than that Spirulina to keep them nice and healthy and thats it.

 

[rabbut]

I don't keep a stock of meds. I can get meds from local shops fast if needs be, so have no need to keep something in stock, that may or more likely may not get used before the end of it's shelf life. All meds have an expiery date printed on the bottle. Once the med gets to that date, it's scrap. If the bottle has been open for more than a year, it's scrap. If you are careing for your fish well, you will rarely need a med, so most meds you keep in stock will likely get binned before you use them...

If I did keep meds in stock, I'd have;

Protozin, Waterlife (proven Whitespot, Fungus and Velvet cure)
Myxazin, Waterlife (good for all mild bacterial infections)
Anti-Internal Bacteria, Interpet (great med for more serious bacterial infections. Use with caution, can wipe the bio-filter...)
Wormer, Beaphar (intended for Reptiles, but based on Levanisole is useful to fish for internal problems. I would only have it in if I had Discus at the time (like now))

The best preventative treatment is waterchanges and constant vidulance. Keep the water right and the rest will follow. If you are vidulant, you will spot something is up before the symptoms are fully showing, letting you take action long before the odd ailing fish becomes an epedemic

All the best
Rabbut

 

[DiscusKeeper403]

All meds have an expiery date printed on the bottle. Once the med gets to that date, it's scrap.

I have to disagree with this one. My Grandfather who is a MD always tells me you can use medication up to half a year after their expiry date. Sometimes even longer!

I also talked to a doctor yesterday, who said if I have an expired EpiPen on hand to go ahead and use it if need be (Peanut allergy )

I would assume the same with fish medications.

 

[s007]

In that case id probably refer the exiry date to bacteria type med not antibiotics or some treating chemical

 

[rabbut]

All meds have an expiery date printed on the bottle. Once the med gets to that date, it's scrap.

I have to disagree with this one. My Grandfather who is a MD always tells me you can use medication up to half a year after their expiry date. Sometimes even longer!

I also talked to a doctor yesterday, who said if I have an expired EpiPen on hand to go ahead and use it if need be (Peanut allergy )

I would assume the same with fish medications.

Well, as a rule, you are correct. Meth blue, Malachite Green, Copper sulphate or any other dye based med will not "expire". Formaldehyde and other gasses in liquious solution on the other hand will evaporate out with time. Formaldehyde is a popular chemical in meds, two of my 3 propper fish meds that I recomended contain it... Almost all whitespot cures have some Formaldehyde (also know and/or supplied as Formalin) in them. Half of Interpets meds contain it, most Waterlife meds and a handful of others also have this as an active ingrediant.

To summarise, shelf life depends on active ingrediants. If in doubt, scrap when the label says or after it's been open a year.