medications

[ChrisH]

Are apistogrammas sensitive to melafix? one of mine sustained minor fin damage from some fighting and I wanted to treat the damage to try to prevent infection.

 

[tjudy]

They can handle Melafix and Pimafix. I use both at the same time for minor issues like this. However, it is very important to increase aeration in the tank.

 

[ChrisH]

How would I go about increasing aeration in the tank?

 

[slimbolen99]

Add an airstone attached via aquarium air line to an air pump, or lower the water level and allow the hang-on-back (HOB) filter to dump the water over a higher distance.

 

[tjudy]

I use an extra air stone. If the tank is deep (like a 20 H) you can make it easier to aerate and use less medication if you drop the tank 1/2 way.

 

[Apistomaster]

I have given both Pimafix and Melafix chances to prove themselves but I have not found them to be of any use for any group of species. I only use medications with well tested and proven efficacious results.
I use praziquantel, flubendazole, metroniadazole, malachite green and chloramphenicol for parasitic worms, internal flagellate protozoal, external skin protozoan parasites and bacterial infections respectively.
If a disease is amenable to treatment it will respond to one or more of these medications.
I find a salt water bath to be more useful than herbal remedies.
Herbal extract medications may make a fish keeper more comfortable because they are "natural" but they are like most of naturopathic remedies in that the science doesn't really back them up.
I know there are many anecdotal assertions that these work but that is because some diseases simply resolve themselves if the fish are simply given better care. I expect my post will fall on many deaf ears. That is fine. I belong to the school of thought that goes like this: I don't care if there are chemicals in it as long as my lettuce is crisp. I have five decades of commercial and advanced hobbyist experience with the treatment of ornamental fish disease treatment including Apistogramma spp and other tropical fish.
There are many diseases for which we have no effective treatments.

 

[uberape]

ive noticed from keeping juvenile bettas and black phantom tetras that the more water changes you do the quicker the fins heal, im sure this works generally. doing 2-3x as many water changes is a bit boring but better than melafix i think.

 

[wethumbs]

I have experimented using Melafix and Pimafix with elevated dosage to treat acute fugual infection on Dicrossus maculatus fry with excellent results. If left untreated, the infection would kill them within 24 hours. I use an assortment of other medications such as Metronidazole, praziquantel, flubendazole, formalin and I few others that I would not disclosed which have proven effective even against TB. I also make my own CuSO4 solution that has been very effective against protozoa. However, some species such as westies are very sensitive to Cu and should be avoided at all cost.

 

[gerald]

Here's some discussion about API's Melafix (Melaleuca tree oil) and Pimafix (Pimenta racemosa = West Indian Bay-Rum and/or Pimenta dioica = Allspice) from "leebca" on the reefland forum, who had some at-length discussions with API staff at a vet medicine conference in Germany in 2006. Carl Strohmeyer's disease and water chemistry articles on the americanaquariumproducts website are very good (and recently updated) too.

http://www.reefland.com/forum/marin...mafix-how-they-work-dont-work.html#post134771

http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Aquarium_Information.html