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Treatments for wild caught Apistos

Refael Hdr.

Member
5 Year Member
Messages
133
Location
Tel Aviv, Israel
Hi,
I would like to get some ideas and tips for good acclimatization and health treatments for new wild caught Apistogrammas. They usually arrives with lots of parasites and sometimes with ulcers and internal infections. So what from your opinion and experience are the best ways to treat them well and effectively? In which kind of antibiotics and parasites sterilizers do you use? How long do you quarantine this kind of fish?

Thanks,
 

blueblue

Active Member
5 Year Member
Messages
1,876
Location
Hong Kong
hmm, my own practice is:
1. For internal parasites: i would mix 1 200mg Metronidazole with a small cup of bbs. Feed the fish for 1 week, once daily.
2. For external problems: i would use Waterlife's Myxazin, the amount just follows the instruction, for five days.
3. For fish that i feel they are too thin and i suspect that they may have FishTB... i will add some antibiotics (EM Tablets) to treat them for 3 days.

After 1 week, if the fish looks good, it will be moved to the breeding tank or display tank.



Refael Hdr. said:
Hi,
I would like to get some ideas and tips for good acclimatization and health treatments for new wild caught Apistogrammas. They usually arrives with lots of parasites and sometimes with ulcers and internal infections. So what from your opinion and experience are the best ways to treat them well and effectively? In which kind of antibiotics and parasites sterilizers do you use? How long do you quarantine this kind of fish?

Thanks,
 

Fatts

Member
5 Year Member
Messages
144
Location
Abingdon, MD
BlueBlue,
How long do you QT wild caughts if you decide that you don't need to treat them for something? Or do you always go through the 3 steps with them?

BBS = Baby Brine shrimp, great food for apistos, as fry eat it as well as audults
 

Refael Hdr.

Member
5 Year Member
Messages
133
Location
Tel Aviv, Israel
Oh, right, I also feed with enriched Artemia (both naupli and adults) and sometimes give a Metronidazole added frozen beef heart mixture.

I quarantine every wild caughts for 4 weeks at least before adding them to the community tank even if they look great, I don't take any chances...
 

blueblue

Active Member
5 Year Member
Messages
1,876
Location
Hong Kong
Fatts said:
BlueBlue,
How long do you QT wild caughts if you decide that you don't need to treat them for something? Or do you always go through the 3 steps with them?

BBS = Baby Brine shrimp, great food for apistos, as fry eat it as well as audults

Hmm, the QT period depends on the source of the fish... usually it takes a week. 1 and 2 are the usual steps (as they are safe). Step 3 only applies for
some notorious species and i need to have a substantial water exchange
every day with this EM treatment...
 

jose_vogel

Member
5 Year Member
Messages
317
Location
Argentina
Blueblue,

I wonder if Mixazin is an antibacterial and EM tablets are erythromycin, am I right?

If not, could you tell me the components of both.

Thanks in advance.
 

blueblue

Active Member
5 Year Member
Messages
1,876
Location
Hong Kong
jose_vogel said:
Blueblue,

I wonder if Mixazin is an antibacterial and EM tablets are erythromycin, am I right?

If not, could you tell me the components of both.

Thanks in advance.

Myxazin is a branded product by Waterlife (a uk brand) and its components are quite secret while it is green and i believe that malachite green is one active ingredient. Yes, EM tablets = erythromycin.
 

Mike Wise

Moderator
Staff member
5 Year Member
Messages
11,202
Location
Denver, Colorado, U.S.A.
Does'nt anyone use Formalin or Malachite Green against parasites eruption or a preventive treatment?

That is my standard medication for external parsites - 1 drop of Malachite Green + 2 drops 37% formalin/US gallon. I reduce the quantity of Malachite Green by ½ if there are scaleless or fine scaled fish in the tank (and for tetras, too). The combination has been shown to be more effective than either component by itself.
 

algaefarmer

New Member
5 Year Member
Messages
17
Location
British Columbia, Canada
Two or three treatments of Praziquantel, anti-parasitic food if I have it, quarantine for about 14 days, and observe. No other meds unless I can positively identify a problem. I've been doing this for years and the only health problem I get in my show tanks is old age. I'd be very cautious about adding antibiotics willy-nilly.

Gut-loading or soaking Grindal worms with Levamisole is something I tried once. Not sure if it works.

One of the most effective "preventative measures" is to pick your fish from reputable, trusted importers and breeders.
 

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