Tropheus First Aid

Written by: Mr.Tang


Whether you are new to or experienced at keeping Tropheus you will no doubt one day go looking for medications to help you combat illnesses like bloat, dropsy, fin rot, tail rot etc.

Here is a list of some of the meds in my Fish First Aid Kit and some brief explanations as to their use.


Metronidazole
AKA Metro is the first drug you should have on hand if you have or are thinking about keeping tropheus. This drug has been proven to (be one of the few drugs that can) cure bloat infected fish. Haven't heard of bloat? Just google "tropheus bloat" and get comfortable as there are many horror stories recorded on the web. In Australia you will need a prescription from your vet for metro or a willing friend. It is not dear but it can be hard sometimes to convince your vet to give it to you. To treat with metro you are best using a bath treatment so that you are reducing the volume of water and the amount of drug needed. Common dosage rates are 200mg per 10-12 liters.


Waterlife Myxazin
Broad spectrum bactericide. MYXAZIN lowers the count of harmful bacteria in aquarium water, treating Fin Rot, Body Rot, Ulcers, Sores and other bacterial infections. Also helps to control Pop Eye Disease, Cloudy Eyes and Mouth Fungus. Can also be used to sterilize nets and live foods (if fed to other fish). MYXAZIN is mild on fish, highly biodegradable and effective against a wide range of fish health problems. I can personally say that this stuff works extremely well on fin and body damage and I now give all newly acquired fish a quick dip in it before going into their tank.


Tetracycline
Sold as Aqua Master Aquari-cycline Active ingredient: tetracycline hydrochloride (HCL). Treats Dropsy, Malawi bloat, Fin rot, Systemic bacterial infections. This med is photosensitive; turn lights off and cover the tank throughout treatment. Some resistant strains to tetracycline exist. I have successfully used this to treat Dropsy in conjunction with Epsom Salt.


Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Furan-2
Active Ingredient: Furazolidone. A broad spectrum antibiotic. Furan-2 Powder contains two furan compounds to combat a wide variety of gram-positive and gram-negative bacterial diseases, including gill disease, mouth fungus, furun-culosis (aeromonas), black molly disease (columnaris), fin and tail rot, and dropsy. I have used it with Dropsy but have since found Tetracycline to get quicker results. Have also used it in conjunction with Metro to cure bloat. I don't like to use this at first sight of illness as fish will develop an immunity to the drug over time so I save this one in case I am ever needing to treat bloat again. Banned in Australia and my last purchase of 20 boxes seized by AQIS.


Aquarium Science Triple Sulfa
Active ingredients: Sulfadiazine, Sulfadimidine, Sulfamerazine A broad spectrum med used to treat white spot, mouth and body fungus, fin and tail rot as well as other external bacterial diseases. This has been around for a while and is widely accepted as "tried and trusted". I haven't used this one but have it on stand by.


Waterlife Sterazin
A parasiticide. For the treatment of Gill and Body Flukes. Sterazin is used for the control of gill and body parasites which cause fish to flick when no symptoms are visible to the unaided eye. STERAZIN will also aid the control of internal parasites such as Round Worm, Thread Worm, and Intestinal Worm.


Flagyl S Suspension
Active ingredient is metro. Designed for human consumption Flagyl is used to treat certain infections caused by bacteria and other organisms in different parts of the body. It is also used to prevent or treat certain infections that may occur during surgery. Flagyl is an antibiotic which belongs to a group of medicines called nitroimidazoles. This medicine works by killing or stopping the growth of bacteria and other organisms causing these infections. I have used this as a preventative med for bloat and with bloat infected T's.

DO NOT put this in the water as deaths have resulted when Flagyl hits the gills of fish.

To use this you need to soak your food in it and then feed the T's. If they are not eating use Metro tabs instead. Need a prescription from your Doc or Vet - same as with metro.


Before treating fish:
- DO as much research on the illness as you can to see what options for treatment are available.
- DON'T guess what's wrong with the fish - seek advice from experienced fish keepers and/or your vet.
- DON'T substitute one drug with another - this is a recipe for disaster.
- DON'T use more than the recommended dosage unless advised to by someone you know and trust ie. experienced fish keepers or vet.
- DON'T use the shotgun affect and stack meds thinking it will help in most cases it won't and can lead to fatalities through poisoning and kidney or liver failure.
- DO research the drugs you are administering before hand to see if they can have negative affects on filtration and to see weather they are photosensitive or not. Also check for handling precautions.
- DO be sure to remove any form of carbon filtration and turn off UV Clarrifiers/Steralizers so that the medicine is not rendered useless.
- DO see a course of med's all the way through. Failing to do this can lead to resistant strains of bacteria and prevent the meds from working in the future.