Fish Meds

[ace-e36]

hi all slowly building my collection of chems and meds but which ones are a must?

i have:
API test kit,
anti internal bacterial medicine
dechlorinator
fish tonic
king British green algae control


is there anything i should get?



ali

 

[cowboy507]

You dont want to get meds untill you need them, they have a limited shelf life.
But you defiantly need Api test kit, de-chlorinator, and fertilizers (if needed for plants).

 

[ace-e36]

many thanks for the info, i shall bear that in mind.

ali

 

[OldMan47]

You already have more medicines on hand than I do after 50 years in the hobby, Ace.
As Cowboy said, the basic dechlorinator and any needed fertilizers is all that I usually have on hand. I do keep a set of test chemicals so that I can test whenever my fish tell me that things are not all perfect and I want to know why. As long as the fish don't have any problems, I rarely even test my water. A decent water change regime controls all the poisons that might build up in my tanks, so I only test when I think I may have missed something based on how the fish are acting.

 

[Rooster]

You already have more medicines on hand than I do after 50 years in the hobby, Ace.
As Cowboy said, the basic dechlorinator and any needed fertilizers is all that I usually have on hand. I do keep a set of test chemicals so that I can test whenever my fish tell me that things are not all perfect and I want to know why. As long as the fish don't have any problems, I rarely even test my water. A decent water change regime controls all the poisons that might build up in my tanks, so I only test when I think I may have missed something based on how the fish are acting.

Agree 100% All I have is dechlor, ferts and a test kit ! NEVER needed anything else - apart from the odd (twice in 40 years) Ich outbreak.

 

[loachman]

There are various people that will suggest keeping meds on hand. IMO, they're not worth it. They don't last overly long, they're expensive, and the likelihood of using them isn't too high.

 

[OldMan47]

There are a goodly number of people who keep meds on hand and I did too when I was starting out. The methylene blue and malachite green based meds were top among them. Now that I have figured out how to prevent disease with a good diet and water changes, I just don't feel the need for meds. My learning has been to focus on good care and leave the meds for people who are not as careful. That does not mean that my fish will never get sick, but when they do is soon enough to go a short distance from home and pick up what I need. In my mind it is much like people, you can eat healthy and exercise or you can have a full medicine cabinet. I try to eat healthy and exercise instead of the over-full medicine cabinet. I feel the same way about vitamin supplements, if you eat right, you don't need them.