Medicine Cabinet Recommendations

Like kids, fish usually get sick on weekends. Here are some things you'll may want to have on hand in your fishie medicine cabinet. (Links to the various products listed below are for your convenience. There may be more than one place that sells each product)

For dealing with water quality issues

Essentials:

• Water Test Kits - ammonia, nitrIte, nitrAte, pH, KH and GH
• Dechlorinator - essential for making sure water is free of chlorine and heavy metals.
• Ammonia Binder - Amquel or Prime will help detox ammonia if your biofilter bacteria aren't happy.
• Salt - Helps keep nitrIte from getting into the fish. - Rock salt is fine. Table salt is fine as long as it doesn't contain Yellow Prussiate of Soda.
• Activated carbon - This will remove many harmful chemicals from the water.

Optional:

• Baking soda - If your water isn't well buffered or if you pH starts getting too acidic, or for use with Amquel to keep pH stable.
• Methylene blue - to reverse brown blood disease from nitrIte or chlorine poisoning

For dealing with parasitic issues

Essentials:

• Salt - will kill many common parasites. Rock salt is fine. Table salt is fine as long as it doesn't contain Yellow Prussiate of Soda.
• Formalin and malachite green - will kill many common parasites (e.g. Rid Ich or Quick cure)
• Praziquantel - will kill flukes
• Jungle Anti-Parasite Medicated Fish Food - (Metronidazole, Praziquantel, and Levimasole ) treats flagellates, trematodes, cestodes, hexamita (hole-in-head), intestinal worms, spironucleus, tapeworms, and nematodes

Optional:

• Micron filters - good for helping treat parasitic problems

For dealing with bacterial infections or wounds

Essentials:

• Salt - Rock salt is fine. Table salt is fine as long as it doesn't contain Yellow Prussiate of Soda.
• Medi-gold and/or Metromed medicated foods
• Tricide Neo or Neocide 3 dip - a good dip antibiotic that doesn't have the bacterial resistance issues that many other meds have.
• A water antibiotic - e.g. Kanamycin, Maracyn1&2, Jungle Fungus Cure, etc.
• 3% hydrogen Peroxide, iodine, triple antibiotic creme, guaze, soft toothbrush - used for cleaning fin rot, ulcers or wounds.

For Sedating to Perform a Procedure or Euthanizing

• Clove oil or Finquel (MS-222) - used for sedating the fish to clean fin rot, ulcers or wounds. or for euthanasia.

Other Useful Stuff:

• Tweezers - for removing gravel stuck in mouth
• Battery operated pump or battery backup unit - if the power goes out
• Quarantine tank, heater, filter, air pump/stone - a place with happy water for sick fish. a plastic tub or ice chest will do in a pinch.
• Cycled filter - hang an extra filter in your main tank, so that it can be used to instantly cycle a hospital tank if needed.
• Potassium permanganate - for disinfecting plants and hospital tanks, nets, etc.
• Microscope, slides, cover slips - Good investment if you're serious about fishkeeping. There's a learning curve, but it's awsome to actually be able to identify the pathogen, rather than just having to guess what's going on based on symptoms.
• Salinity meter - is good if you use salt. Salt doesn't evaporate, so keeping track of what concentration you have is a good thing.
• Feeding tube and syringe - good for getting medicated food down a goldie who's stopped eating.
• UV Unit - good for helping treat bacterial or parasitic problems or clearing green water.

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