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Medicine cabinet for fishes

AlanM

By AlanM,
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AlanM Oracle Reefer

AlanM

I'm preparing to start getting fish into my aquarium, and I was going over notes I took from the February WAMAS meeting where our speaker teleconferenced in from a snowstorm.  Here's what I noted in two big sections, Emergency Kit and Medicine Cabinet

 

Her list of things nice to have in the cabinet was:

 

  • Prazi Pro (parasites)
  • Formalin (parasites, dip)
  • cupramine and a test kit for copper
  • maracyn-2 (bacterial infections)
  • kanamycin (better for bacteria)
  • panacur, (internal parasites)
  • beta glucan (not sure what this one was for)

 

And I've also seen in other lists:

  • chloroquine phosphate
  • quinine sulfate

Are there other medicines that you'd recommend someone have onhand for treating fishes?  What do you think should be bought first and work up from there?

 

Her emergency kit had:

  • Sponge Filter in sump always
  • Ed Nogas fish disease book
  • Quarantine setup
  • Battery powered airpump and stone or generator
  • Carbon
  • Dechlorinator and ammonia neutralizer
  • Extra salt and fresh water

 

Are there other things that should go into an emergency kit?

 

Thanks.  I feel like I'm getting closer to fishes. 8)

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monkiboy Oracle Reefer

monkiboy

(edited)

this is going to be a great thread for reference and hopefully some of the more veteran QT folks will chime in. i'm a big fan of paraguard over messing around with formalin which is a carcinogenic and can be hard to find.

 

metronidazole (metro) and piperzine are really popular for internal disorders, intestinal ailments, and anaerobic bacterial infections but i still prefer praziquantel and no longer is it an issue to get/find easily.

 

cupermine, prazipro, and paraguard are the three i'd probably start off purchasing. you also always have freshwater dips and hyposalinity (free).

Edited by monkiboy
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paul b Oracle Reefer

paul b

  • Prazi Pro (parasites)
  • Formalin (parasites, dip)
  • cupramine and a test kit for copper
  • maracyn-2 (bacterial infections)
  • kanamycin (better for bacteria)
  • panacur, (internal parasites)
  • beta glucan (not sure what this one was for)

 

And I've also seen in other lists:

  • chloroquine phosphate
  • quinine sulfate

Are there other medicines that you'd recommend someone have onhand for treating fishes?  What do you think should be bought first and work up from there?

 

Her emergency kit had:

  • Sponge Filter in sump always
  • Ed Nogas fish disease book
  • Quarantine setup
  • Battery powered airpump and stone or generator
  • Carbon
  • Dechlorinator and ammonia neutralizer

 

I don't have any of those things.  Am I bad? :unsure:

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YHSublime Neptune Reefer

YHSublime

A sponge in the sump is the easiest thing to do and I can never remember. Somebody asked me for a sponge to help cycle their biocube, and I realized I didn't have one! I threw one in right away, and was able to use that on the 150. It will stay in my overflow until I need it again for a QT, or somebody else does!

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smallreef Oracle Reefer

smallreef

Lol...I have the sponge..,but ummm it's used as a bubble catcher...but I bet it will help my cycle...

All of those things would be nice to have on hand, but I don't have any either... Though, as Marcos pointed out 3 of the most used are fairly easy to get...

All of these things do have expiration dates, so I wouldn't have every single thing on hand...

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zygote2k Neptune Reefer

zygote2k

I don't have any of those things.  Am I bad? :unsure:

I don't have any of that stuff either.

I do have some Xanax in mine to take the edge off worrying about what kind of things the fish might be suffering from.

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paul b Oracle Reefer

paul b

Xanax is a good thing to have.  My fish are not allowed to get any of those infections so I don't need it.  But in the past, I probably used all of those things.

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Coral Hind Neptune Reefer

Coral Hind

AlanM - The maracyn-2 I thought was for freshwater. I have used API's Furan-2 and Erythromycin for bacterial infections. Do you need the panacur if you have prazi. I would think one or the other, and prazi is easier to get.

 

Here is an article on beta glucan: http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2003/9/aafeature

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Jason Rhoads Grandmaster Reefer

Jason Rhoads

All of these things do have expiration dates, so I wouldn't have every single thing on hand...

 

I wanted to emphasize this point, which I feel is very valid. We are fortunate enough to live in an area where LFSs are plentiful (relatively) and many should have some of these on hand. Plus, I live in an apartment where space is at a premium. I can only imagine what my wife would say if I started throwing out her cosmetics to make room for my fish medicine ;) 

 

With that said, just because something is "expired" doesn't mean it is worthless :)

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AlanM Oracle Reefer

AlanM

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AlanM - The maracyn-2 I thought was for freshwater. I have used API's Furan-2 and Erythromycin for bacterial infections. Do you need the panacur if you have prazi. I would think one or the other, and prazi is easier to get.

 

Here is an article on beta glucan: http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2003/9/aafeature

 

I don't know about freshwater.  I just wrote down what was on her slides.  I think she may have been making a laundry list of what she has in her fish treatment cabinet.  She also recommended http://nationalfishpharm.com/ as a place to get lots of the drugs.  Looks like they have about everything.

 

She also didn't mention Methylene Blue or Malachite Green which I've seen folks on WAMAS using at various times.  I think I've seen freshwater dips with Methylene Blue added?

 

Maybe I should start taking beta glucan too.  From that article it sounds like they should put it in the pipes with fluoride. 8)

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Coral Hind Neptune Reefer

Coral Hind

make sure that if you use a sponge from your sump for QT, if you use copper in that QT do not put the sponge back in your sump lol...  I almost did that one :blink:

That's a good point! I would also let the sponge soak in freshwater and then completely dry out before putting it back into your sump to recolonize with bacteria for your next QT. If not you could transfer some prozoan or bacteria into your display.

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lnevo Master Reefer

lnevo

Argh! Just throw out the sponge and replace it. Its not ever worth putting something from a qt or hospital tank back into your DT except for the livestock!

 

How much is a replacement sponge? If you worried about the environment or something, rinse it and use it to wash the car or something.

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mr.x-ray Reefer

mr.x-ray

Good point. I put in boiling water to disinfect then let dry out.

That's a good point! I would also let the sponge soak in freshwater and then completely dry out before putting it back into your sump to recolonize with bacteria for your next QT. If not you could transfer some prozoan or bacteria into your display.

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AlanM Oracle Reefer

AlanM

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What sponge are people using? I have looked around a few of my local stores for a "sponge filter" like Ive seen on the intarnets and none seem to carry such a simple thing which I think is just a round black sponge with an air pump tubing hookup on it.

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