I bought this killer from a pet store a few days ago, used it then did some reading on it. Added my carbon back in and did a 50% water change. They should really write that kind of stuff on the bottle including the ingredients, luckily I got it out and added some aquarium salt to help his gills. Battling fin rot at the moment :( hopefully the medicine I have will work

Hmmm.... Used this product a couple times a while back with a small community tank... The first time was shortly before my betta died. The 2nd time was shortly before my dwarf gourami died... both times i was treating the tank for problems that the betta/gourami didnt have (and i didnt have a hospital tank at the time)... There could have been other factors at play here... I dont think the betta liked the idea of a community tank, and my gourami may have gotten scared by my vacuum and ran into a wall causing internal injury... maybe a coincidence that they both died no more than a week after medicating... Will talk to LFS and see if they've heard of anything like this

That is wierd I used it for my betta and it didn't effect him (yes he did unfourtanatly die but a year after I first used melafix with him.) None the less the next time I get fish like this I vow not to use melafix (and all those other medecations)

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Ha Ha Ha, Ha Ha Ha, Haaa...
I don`t get it

Yes, Melafix, pimafix and bettafix all work wonders. The problem is that they are oil based medications so they coat the labryinth organ as well as the gills. They do seem to have effects on all fish when used prolonginly as they are not intended for use every time a tear appears.

I'm unsure if this has already been mentioned but its just diluted tea tree oil. If you think about it, breathing an oil type substance into your lungs would be about the same as a labyrinth fish breathing it into theirs, it would't end pretty and all it would do is coat your breathing organ and stop the oxygen fron truly soaking into the cells and going where it should. Sorry just getting the nerdy know it all opinion out there lol :P

And Narny I don't mean to steal your oil response, I was just getting more into it lol

No worries It is always good to add on information to posts like mine that are brief

I have looked into these products and read many articles on them, and to be honest, there is just not enough evidence based on these three medications suggesting that they are potentially lethal medications.

Many people have used at full dose with bettas and other labyrinth breathing fish with fish dying similarly, while others have had no issues. Keep in mind that these products are all refined oils (normal oil would float :p) which allows them to be dilute and mix with water particles freely.

When used at 1/5 the dose (the amount it should be used on bettas), people have had no issues whatsoever with melafix. I do not encourage continual use or prolonged use, but it is still a great natural medication for encouraging cells for fin regrowth.

Melafix diluted down to 1/5 the dose is essentially the same diluent as bettafix, which is just a watered down version of melafix.

It has been scientifically proven that oils do pose a threat at coating the labyrinth organ, however it cannot be said for refined oils, meaning that it SHOULD be used with caution, and at a reduced dose for labyrinth breathing fish, particularly bettas.

Many betta breeders swear by melafix and bettafix as outstanding in encouraging fin regrowth, and this is at the reduced dosage for melafix.

I prefer melafix over aquarium salt as a medication as many bettas seem to be very sensitive and cannot regulate salinity in their bodies correctly, often resulting in more fin loss and stress.

I have successfully used aquarium salt at 0.1% on many bettas (male and female) for treating fin rot, and it is fantastic at doing so, but I also currently have one male betta who after previously using salt as fin rot medication and as a fin regrowth medication, cannot handle it any more and looses finnage when in a salt solution even at a reduced dosage of 0.05%.

I guess any medication, be it salt, melafix, pimafix, aquari cycline, etc, has their pros and cons, and it really just needs to be tackled with caution as all medications pose the threat of mortality. Research needs to be done before using medications, and people cannot just rely on one source. Although this article is great, and I don't mean to be proving or disproving anything, it is just not very reliable to go off home owners experience with products as you will find the same result with other medications.

In my previous posts on this forum (when I first joined I think, this is my first time back in a while :p) I had done no research or readings into these products, so I have had a change of opinion on them!

I used melafix on a male betta who was "destroyed " by a female during breeding. He lived for two years after that. His fins grew back as good as new. Namaste, Gypsy

I used nothing but water changes on a Hemichromis that has lost its tail down to the stump in a breeding fight, as well as on a ripped up breeding betta. Both recovered and lived long lives with nice fins.
We can't really evaluate these meds without seeing the studies and results the poster from the company refers to. I don't think Melafix or Pimafix does any appreciable harm to Labyrinth fishes, but when I have researched the active ingredient (proven to work in extremely high concentrations) and then look at the very low concentrations in the product, I'm extremely skeptical about whether does anything other than make us feel we're doing something.
When aquarium antibiotics were banned here without a veterinary prescription, I was sure we would lose fish by the bucket. Losses remained about the same or even declined when we could no longer shotgun inappropriate meds at bacteria we couldn't properly diagnose. We can very effectively treat parasites like Ich, velvet, tapeworms, nematode worms etc, but internal medecine with fish seems more often a question of whether the fish has the proper environment and the strength to recover on its own.

i cant remember where but im sure i read alao vera shouldnt be used with Labyrinth fishes, is this correct?