PlanetCatfish.com

Apologies if this has been answered before, I have been browsing this site for almost a month now and still haven't got through everything!!

I would like to know if there are any fish treatments that one should have in the house in case of emergencies and if so, which ones? Thinking along the lines of a fishy first aid box type idea

Having so far been very lucky with all my fish, I just don't want to become complacent (sp?).

At the moment we have 2 60l tanks (one is my sons, the other my own) and have guppies and a bristlenose in the one and cories in the other.(I will take the time to list them properly a.s.a.p.)

Many thanks in advance

My personal opinion (and I know there are others on this site that agrees) is that medication should only be used in really desperate situations, and specifically for a particular illness. You'd also want to have a small tank for hospitalization, since unless you have the entire tank come down with the same illness, you shouldn't treat fish that aren't ill. [You can certainly get away with using one of those little clear-plastic tubs that they sell in Wilkinsons or some such, just change water VERY frequently, and use an air-stone].

It's probably a better investment to buy a small tank and the equipment you need to isolate a fish that is ill, than it is to buy a batch of medecines, especially as the medecines you have at home will undoubtedly be the WRONG one(s), according to that chap Murphy...

Having a nice local fish-shop that can give good advice on treatment may also be a good thing...

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Mats

I'm with Mats on this one. Chemicals are a last resort. Quarantine is the best "medicine" to have on hand at all times. There are many illnesses that can occur. Each requires individual attention. For example, if a Peckoltia sp.comes to your care with ragged fins, all he/she may require is some time in quarantine. The fins will heal, no medicine required, unless there are ulcers, etc. Each situation is an island unto itself. If you do a search on this site, I'm sure you could come up with examples of treatments for certain illnesses such as parasites, infections, etc.
Amanda

(I keep PimaFix,MelaFix and Metronidazole on hand, but have rarely used them.)

I have to agree with this as well. Having a quartine tank is a must. Its basically your fishy first aid box. The only medication I've ever used was for ick.

I try to keep a bottle of Para Guard on hand. Its manufactured by Seachem. I don't know if its available outside the US or not. I use it as a general remedy, primarily in my quarunteen tank. Its tolerated well by both scaled and scaless fish (catfish and loaches), doesn't harm snails or plants or biological filters. Its suppose to be reef safe but I don't have any experience with that. Its claimed to be an anti-parasite, anti-bacterial, anti-viral, and anti-fungal. I can't vouch for all those claims but I have used it successfully against ich and columnaris. A lot of medications have shelf lives and its kind of a waste to keep them on hand. Salt is a pretty good general remedy as well but there are a lot of fish that don't tolerate it.

Thank you all very much for your replies..I must say I do like the 'medication only in extreme situations' idea. From what I have read on this site and of course in all my research prior to aquiring fish, the treatments are very specific and appear to be easy to get wrong.
Of course since starting our 2 tanks up a while ago, I did almost immediately begin to want more and found all excuses under the sun to actually get more. One of the tanks I have bought since is earmarked as a quarantine tank, I just hadn't got as far as setting it up as such because whenever I have the time to sit and read all the threads on here and conduct all the searches I want to, I get sidetracked by all the good stories and advice and so, haven't yet got to the part about how best to set up and run a quarantine tank. I will get there though - I shall remain utterly focused and on track tonight in my journey through the threads
Thank again!