Medication?

[Fishfaced]

I'll be stocking my tank soon.
Wondering what are the most common diseases to lookout for?
What medication should I have in, ready for an emergency?
UK

 

[Tank Sinatra]

I'll be stocking my tank soon.
Wondering what are the most common diseases to lookout for?
What medication should I have in, ready for an emergency?
UK

Morning mate!

This is copied from a thread that I recently started. @Essjay mentioned:

'There is a school of thought which says most of the fish bred in Asia have parasitic worms, and so should be treated for worms in the quarantine tank.

If you wish to do this, you need praziquantel for flat worm (that's in the prazipro that Slaphppy mentioned); levamisole for round worms or flubendazole for both. If using praziquentel and levamisole, you need two separate meds; use one first then the other.

As you are in the UK, look for -
levamisole - eSHa ndx
praziquantel - eSHa gdex
flubendazole - NT Labs Anti Fluke & Wormer or Maidenhead Aquatics own brand AquaCare Anti Fluke & Wormer.'

 

[Fishfaced]

Morning mate!

This is copied from a thread that I recently started. @Essjay mentioned:

'There is a school of thought which says most of the fish bred in Asia have parasitic worms, and so should be treated for worms in the quarantine tank.

If you wish to do this, you need praziquantel for flat worm (that's in the prazipro that Slaphppy mentioned); levamisole for round worms or flubendazole for both. If using praziquentel and levamisole, you need two separate meds; use one first then the other.

As you are in the UK, look for -
levamisole - eSHa ndx
praziquantel - eSHa gdex
flubendazole - NT Labs Anti Fluke & Wormer or Maidenhead Aquatics own brand AquaCare Anti Fluke & Wormer.'

Morning bud,

So do I only need one of these as a worming med?

 

[Tank Sinatra]

Morning bud,

So do I only need one of these as a worming med?

If you buy flubendazole, then this will treat for both flat worm and round worm.

If you buy praziquantel and/or levamisole, then you'll need to buy both.

My plan is to buy flubendazole to treat initially for worms. Then just watch the fish closely. If I see anything that doesn't look quite right, I'll come back to this forum for diagnosis. I get the impression, that meds are always a worst case scenario and that a more natural treatment is preferred.

 

[Essjay]

Most meds are quite hard on fish, though the worming meds are the least rough on them. For many diseases, water changes alone or salt for a couple of weeks are enough. And heat for whictespot/ich. But there are times when medication is needed.


Most of us don't add any meds, including the worming meds, in quarantine, but we watch the fish and treat if they do show signs of illness. For example, fish doing white stringy poop is a sign of intestinal parasites. Red threads - like the bristles of a child's paintbrush - protruding from the anus when the fish stops swimming for a moment is a sign of round worms like camallanus worms. White spots on the fish, looking like someone has sprinkled salt over them, is the sign for white spot.

 

[Fishfaced]

If you buy flubendazole, then this will treat for both flat worm and round worm.

If you buy praziquantel and/or levamisole, then you'll need to buy both.

My plan is to buy flubendazole to treat initially for worms. Then just watch the fish closely. If I see anything that doesn't look quite right, I'll come back to this forum for diagnosis. I get the impression, that meds are always a worst case scenario and that a more natural treatment is preferred.

Cool, think I'll get the 2 in 1 like yourself.

 

[Fishfaced]

Most meds are quite hard on fish, though the worming meds are the least rough on them. For many diseases, water changes alone or salt for a couple of weeks are enough. And heat for whictespot/ich. But there are times when medication is needed.


Most of us don't add any meds, including the worming meds, in quarantine, but we watch the fish and treat if they do show signs of illness. For example, fish doing white stringy poop is a sign of intestinal parasites. Red threads - like the bristles of a child's paintbrush - protruding from the anus when the fish stops swimming for a moment is a sign of round worms like camallanus worms. White spots on the fish, looking like someone has sprinkled salt over them, is the sign for white spot.

Thanks.
I've heard of people using garlic cloves and increased temperature as a natural treatment for white spot.
Would you recommend this or...?

 

[Essjay]

The best treatment for whitespot is increased temperature, but I've never heard of garlic being used.
The temp is raised to 30 deg C/86 deg F and kept there for 2 weeks or 1 week after the last spot goes, whichever is longer. The whitespot parasite has 3 stages. The first is on the fish where we see it as the spot. Then it falls off the fish and sits on the bottom of the tank in a cyst where it multiplies and multiplies. The third stage is when the cyst opens and hundreds of tiny parasites go swimming off to look for a fish to infect. The parasite can only be killed in the last, free swimming stage, whether by heat or medication, which is why the temp must be raised (or med in the tank) when the very last cyst opens.

 

[Fishfaced]

The best treatment for whitespot is increased temperature, but I've never heard of garlic being used.
The temp is raised to 30 deg C/86 deg F and kept there for 2 weeks or 1 week after the last spot goes, whichever is longer. The whitespot parasite has 3 stages. The first is on the fish where we see it as the spot. Then it falls off the fish and sits on the bottom of the tank in a cyst where it multiplies and multiplies. The third stage is when the cyst opens and hundreds of tiny parasites go swimming off to look for a fish to infect. The parasite can only be killed in the last, free swimming stage, whether by heat or medication, which is why the temp must be raised (or med in the tank) when the very last cyst opens.

I'll keep this is mind, thanks for your advice.