First Aid Kit
Forum rules
Read this before posting!!
Since this board has been up, we have found there are several questions that routinely get asked in order to help diagnose problems. If you can have that information to begin with in your post, we'll be able to help right away (if we can!) without having to wait for you to post the info we need.
1) Your water parameters - pH, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrates and salinity (if appropriate). This is by far the most important information you can provide! Do not answer this with "Fine" "Perfect" "ok", that tells us nothing. We need hard numbers.
2) Tank size and a list of ALL inhabitants. Include algae eaters, plecos, everything. We need to know what you have and how big the tank is.
3) Feeding, water change schedule and a list of all products you are using or have added to the tank (examples: Cycle, Amquel, salt, etc)
4) What changes you've made in the tank in the last week or so. Sometimes its the little things that make all the difference.
5) How long the aquarium has been set up, and how did you cycle it? If you don't know what cycling is read this: Fishless Cycling Article and familiarize yourself with all the information. Yes. All of it.
We want to help, and providing this information will go a LONG way to getting a diagnosis and hopeful cure that much faster.
While you wait for assistance:
One of the easiest and best ways to help your fish feel better is clean water! If you are already on a regular water change schedule (50% weekly is recommended) a good step to making your fish more comfortable while waiting for diagnosis/suggestions is to do a large water change immediately. Feel free to repeat daily or as often as you can, clean water is always a good thing! Use of Amquel or Prime as a dechlor may help with any ammonia or nitrite issues, and is highly recommended.
Note - if you do not normally do large water changes, doing a sudden, large water change could shock your fish by suddenly changing their established water chemistry. Clean water is still your first goal, so in this case, do several smaller (10%) water changes over the next day or two before starting any large ones.
Read this before posting!!
Since this board has been up, we have found there are several questions that routinely get asked in order to help diagnose problems. If you can have that information to begin with in your post, we'll be able to help right away (if we can!) without having to wait for you to post the info we need.
1) Your water parameters - pH, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrates and salinity (if appropriate). This is by far the most important information you can provide! Do not answer this with "Fine" "Perfect" "ok", that tells us nothing. We need hard numbers.
2) Tank size and a list of ALL inhabitants. Include algae eaters, plecos, everything. We need to know what you have and how big the tank is.
3) Feeding, water change schedule and a list of all products you are using or have added to the tank (examples: Cycle, Amquel, salt, etc)
4) What changes you've made in the tank in the last week or so. Sometimes its the little things that make all the difference.
5) How long the aquarium has been set up, and how did you cycle it? If you don't know what cycling is read this: Fishless Cycling Article and familiarize yourself with all the information. Yes. All of it.
We want to help, and providing this information will go a LONG way to getting a diagnosis and hopeful cure that much faster.
While you wait for assistance:
One of the easiest and best ways to help your fish feel better is clean water! If you are already on a regular water change schedule (50% weekly is recommended) a good step to making your fish more comfortable while waiting for diagnosis/suggestions is to do a large water change immediately. Feel free to repeat daily or as often as you can, clean water is always a good thing! Use of Amquel or Prime as a dechlor may help with any ammonia or nitrite issues, and is highly recommended.
Note - if you do not normally do large water changes, doing a sudden, large water change could shock your fish by suddenly changing their established water chemistry. Clean water is still your first goal, so in this case, do several smaller (10%) water changes over the next day or two before starting any large ones.
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btmachone
- Puffer Fry
- Posts: 11
- Joined: Thu Feb 14, 2008 3:34 am
- My Puffers: 1 Fahaka
- Location: SLO, CA
First Aid Kit
Anyone put together a first aid kit for their fish? What do you have in it?
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CtHM
- Figure 8 Puffer
- Posts: 165
- Joined: Wed Sep 05, 2007 8:23 am
- My Puffers: 2 beautiful SAP's, and 1 female DP.
- Location: Meridian, ID, USA
Re: First Aid Kit
Melafix, Primafix, and aquarium salt =] Thats all I would recommend (though I want finquel added to my collection, cause I'm getting SAP's)
"Little fishies go 'pook pook pook' "
~Lenore
~Lenore
-
Troender
- Former Staff Member
- Posts: 1843
- Joined: Sat Nov 25, 2006 8:04 pm
- Gender: Female
- My Puffers: 1x GSP (Bolla), 1x m. something. Bought as a leiurus, maybe a turgidus (Tiger), 1x c. irrubesco (Tott(a) aka Houdini) 1x c. salivator (Jack the Ripper), 1x m. cochinchinensis (Hufflepuff - R.I.P.), 2x c. lorteti (Tommy and Tigern = Calvin and Hubbes), 1x m. suvatti (Koseklumpen), 1x m. palembangensis (Dragonfly), 2x t. biocellatus (Koken and Fiken).
- Location: Askim, Norway
Re: First Aid Kit
My first aid kit would be a little different, as I don't have the same meds over here:
Esha 2000 (against fungus and bacterial infections)
Esha Exit (against parasites as ich)
Esha Hexamita (the same as Esha 2000, plus against hexamita)
Flubenol (which you can't buy anymore
)
PraziPro (agaist IP, gill flukes and a few other things - you can't get this one in Norway either, but I had it sent from the US)
JBL Furanol (contains nifurpirinol. Only for a real crisis. Takes some nasty bacteria - but this one will kill the filter bacteria)
Water tests! and a hydrometer
Extra cycled filter (we don't have biospira around here)
Extra heater
Should have had a QT tank, but I don't (always end up filling them with new fishes instead)
And the strange one: lots of emtpy ice cream boxes. They are very useful!
Declorinator (we don't have clorine in the water here, but you can risk them putting it in the water is extreme cases).
The possibility to airate water if needed.
Aquatic silicone
My own experience, but more important: the experience of thousands of people around the world, through fish keepers forums.
I think that should cover the most of it
Esha 2000 (against fungus and bacterial infections)
Esha Exit (against parasites as ich)
Esha Hexamita (the same as Esha 2000, plus against hexamita)
Flubenol (which you can't buy anymore
)PraziPro (agaist IP, gill flukes and a few other things - you can't get this one in Norway either, but I had it sent from the US)
JBL Furanol (contains nifurpirinol. Only for a real crisis. Takes some nasty bacteria - but this one will kill the filter bacteria)
Water tests! and a hydrometer
Extra cycled filter (we don't have biospira around here)
Extra heater
Should have had a QT tank, but I don't (always end up filling them with new fishes instead)
And the strange one: lots of emtpy ice cream boxes. They are very useful!
Declorinator (we don't have clorine in the water here, but you can risk them putting it in the water is extreme cases).
The possibility to airate water if needed.
Aquatic silicone
My own experience, but more important: the experience of thousands of people around the world, through fish keepers forums.
I think that should cover the most of it
Inger Anne
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Just think how stupid the average person is, and then realize that half of them are even stupider! -George Carlin
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Just think how stupid the average person is, and then realize that half of them are even stupider! -George Carlin
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btmachone
- Puffer Fry
- Posts: 11
- Joined: Thu Feb 14, 2008 3:34 am
- My Puffers: 1 Fahaka
- Location: SLO, CA
Re: First Aid Kit
Thanks
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mikeosoft
- Figure 8 Puffer
- Posts: 247
- Joined: Fri Aug 11, 2006 6:35 pm
- Location: Farmington Hills, MI
Re: First Aid Kit
Strictly speaking of meds, I usually keep the following on hand:
Melafix & Pimafix (use for various minor injuries, I've only used on FW fish)
Metronidazol (IPs)
Maracyn 1 & 2 (I only use these if the fish gets really bad)
Cupramine (ich/velvet, especially useful for treating SW puffers)
Melafix & Pimafix (use for various minor injuries, I've only used on FW fish)
Metronidazol (IPs)
Maracyn 1 & 2 (I only use these if the fish gets really bad)
Cupramine (ich/velvet, especially useful for treating SW puffers)