Shoppers Posted August 1, 2012 Report Share Posted August 1, 2012 So far, all I have is the ability to do high percentage water changes daily. What should I have at home to fight the most common fishy illness's? Are there some basic things I should be stocked up on? Cheers Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted August 1, 2012 Report Share Posted August 1, 2012 So far, all I have is the ability to do high percentage water changes daily. What should I have at home to fight the most common fishy illness's? Are there some basic things I should be stocked up on? Cheers Steve Hose. Water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F15hguy Posted August 1, 2012 Report Share Posted August 1, 2012 Tonic salt. Test kits. 12 gauge shotgun. any other medications have a shelf life so should only be bought when needed. might be worth stashing a $20 note in your first aid kit instead Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted August 1, 2012 Report Share Posted August 1, 2012 12 gauge shotgun. Anything that you need a 12g to fight off can have the fish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cricketman Posted August 1, 2012 Report Share Posted August 1, 2012 Anything that you need a 12g to fight off can have the fish. Where's the dedication, Ira! :slfg: As above, Water-changes are the best thing ever for most problems, and frequent small changes are the best thing you can do for your tank to prevent disease and keep healthiest fish... though not always practical... And tonic salt, a natural solution to most mild infections, and some parasites... Scrubbing a tank with a salt paste is a good way to sanitise without "chemicals"... :thup: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrahamC Posted August 1, 2012 Report Share Posted August 1, 2012 Wunder tonic. Test kits Backup heater Backup battery powered air pump and airstone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hovmoller Posted August 1, 2012 Report Share Posted August 1, 2012 Wunder tonic. Test kits Backup heater Backup battery powered air pump and airstone +1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shoppers Posted August 1, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 1, 2012 i do a 30% change weeky with a gravel siphon. Would a straight 30% water change once or twice a week be a good idea? Pretty sure I know the answer already Back up heater is sorted, will get a battery powered air pump. Is under tonic a brand name? Is it something you give the fish regularly or wait until you see signs of distress? Cheers Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrahamC Posted August 1, 2012 Report Share Posted August 1, 2012 Fish have 100% water changes every second in a river .. so the more the merrier. But can you keep it up? Wunder tonic is a general antifungal agent that is used when you diagnose fungus. It doesn't have an antibiotic in it so although recommended for fin rot, you might also need Furan 2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Discusguru Posted August 1, 2012 Report Share Posted August 1, 2012 Depends on what fish you're keeping. If it's a kit for discus then you'll need something more than wonder tonic (which to me does nothing anyway). Ron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted August 1, 2012 Report Share Posted August 1, 2012 Wunder tonic contains meth blue, malachite green, acriflavine and quinine if I recall corectly. This of course also depends on the concentrations of each. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Discusguru Posted August 1, 2012 Report Share Posted August 1, 2012 What I meant is wonder tonic won't be helpful if it's for a discus tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrahamC Posted August 1, 2012 Report Share Posted August 1, 2012 Possibly some water conditioner as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted August 1, 2012 Report Share Posted August 1, 2012 Fish don't get a 100% water change all the time in a river because there are also fish upstream. What I meant was that wunder tonic is not a magic med but is useful for treating quite a few ailments other than fungus (such as whitespot, velvet etc). Myself I prefer to use a specific med for a specific problem. "Use the least amount of the least toxic med that will do the job properly." I agree that with discuss there are meds in addition that would be useful. Perhaps one of the discus experts such as discusguru might let us know what would be best for what. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrahamC Posted August 1, 2012 Report Share Posted August 1, 2012 The question was what should be in a first aid kit ... so something to tide you over until you can get to a LFS the next day or so. If your fish have different and specific requirements, you'll need a fish specific first aid kit Not sure what you can do about a power failure on a cold winter's day/night ... how would one try to keep the temperature up? Boil tank water on a wood stove? Wrap blankets around the tank? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F15hguy Posted August 1, 2012 Report Share Posted August 1, 2012 a duvet and a emergency blanket (you know those silvery ones) wrapped around a tank excluding the top reduced heat loss to 3 degrees over a 8 hour period on a 200L tank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrahamC Posted August 1, 2012 Report Share Posted August 1, 2012 So add emergency blanket for every tropical tank in the house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F15hguy Posted August 1, 2012 Report Share Posted August 1, 2012 or you could just insulate the tanks now and save on power while you wait Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted August 1, 2012 Report Share Posted August 1, 2012 With most problems with fish, the sooner you get on to it with the correct med the better so you will find that importers and serious fish breeders will have a pretty good first aid kit ready to go (and usually with many meds you will not get from a pet shop such as antibiotics and treatments for parasites). Meds in powder, tablet or capsules are usually stable for many years. Tablets and capsules are the best because the amounts are known and make dosing easier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F15hguy Posted August 1, 2012 Report Share Posted August 1, 2012 which gets me to thinking, does any1 know of a vet that can get me metronidazole? the vets round here are a bit stingy when it comes to prescriptions without a house visit and that gets a bit ridiculous money. (have a friend with a Hexamita infestation an a brand new pair of discus (one fish dead already other in quarantine probably will stay carrier)) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrahamC Posted August 1, 2012 Report Share Posted August 1, 2012 Ask your GP? I've got a 10 year old bottle of metronidazole in my medicine cabinet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F15hguy Posted August 1, 2012 Report Share Posted August 1, 2012 kewl, do us backwards NZer use it for humans still??? I heard that it had too many potential side effects so was a last resort only for humans(well almost last, there is also di-metronidazole) one Vet got dodgy and accused me of trying to self prescribe of human parasites, woulda come back with a killer comment, but couldn't stop laughing at the guys accent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrahamC Posted August 1, 2012 Report Share Posted August 1, 2012 Metronidazole is a commonly used antibiotic, mainly for women's issues though. But also dental infections ( anaerobic ), Crohn's disease, diverticulitis etc etc. The main problem is that you can't drink alcohol with it, it then acts like antabuse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted August 1, 2012 Report Share Posted August 1, 2012 F15guy if you were able to add your location to your profile it would help people figure out where "around here" is and they might be able to give a helping hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted August 1, 2012 Report Share Posted August 1, 2012 Vets are required to "see the patient" before prescribing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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