Because of the recent outbreak of ich in my tank, I've been doing a lot of research into the various medications available for fish - not only for ich, but also for fungal and bacterial infections. The ones I've found the most info on were from API (Aquarium Pharmaceuticals), and I was kind of surprised by what I read.

According to the MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheets) for each product, the powder medicines are more dangerous than the liquid medications. Any thoughts on this? Which kinds do you guys prefer?

Probably the most alarming thing I read on any of the MSDS was that most of the powder medications had "Dangerous to aquatic life" written in the list of hazards, in addition to the various warnings about toxicity to humans. I mean, sure, a medication that comes in a powder form is going to have a slightly higher risk of causing harm to a person's body just from being able to be inhaled if even a slight tremor in the hand shakes some powder loose. But that it's more harmful to the FISH?! The very beings it's supposed to make well?! That's a bit alarming. It was just curious that almost all of the powders were tagged as "Hazardous substances according to OSHA", but the very same medicines in liquid form were NOT deemed hazardous other than the usual "Do not swallow or get into eyes" labels.

As a matter of fact, I've had trouble finding any information - other than the occasional post about a certain medication killing live plants or inverts - on the toxicity of certain medicines to humans and to fish. I just wanted to get a discussion going about this, and to see if anyone has any opinion on this issue. I have very little experience using medicines in an aquarium, having only used Bettafix and General Cure powder before (I did NOT like the powder, by the way; it smelled horrible and it didn't do a thing to cure my fish). So, what kinds of medicines have you guys used? Which did you not like, and why? Have you ever observed any negative effects on fish (or on you) that were obviously caused by the medicine? I'm curious (and a little concerned).

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Creatures great and small, I love 'em all! But mainly the fish.

Hi MissPisces - hope your fungal infection in your tank cleared up along with the Ich!

In all honesty I just try to sweat out any affliction I can with a heat wave and/or toss in a good salt bath to help out my fish. It is rare I use a medicine but when I do I try to go for liquid when possible. The only bad thing I see about powdered meds (and I'm including dissolving pills in with powdered medication) is that puff of "smoke" that we all inhale on accident when opening the package for the first time. Sometimes I'll see the fish peck at powdered medicines before they have dissolved fully which alarms me at times but have never had anything bad happen. And to get around that I can probably pre-dissolve the medicine... if only I were smarted!

I'll be interested to see what experiences other people have had. Some fish, like my khuli loaches, are super sensitive to stuff like medications so maybe I'll learn something about whether one or the other is easier on the scaleless fish!

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I like big fish tanks and I can not lie. You other brothers can't deny.

I have no experience with fish medications in particular, but I do have a little experience with the MSDS system, and know that it's not perfect. There are some arbitrary rules and things that aren't intuitive.

I would bet that "dangerous to aquatic life/human beings" refers to the powder form in particular, not the medication itself: That is, don't let your fish eat the powder/any granules, because it will catch in their gills and burn them (or something like that). It's just not explained because they're not required to do so. That or it's something arbitrary, like the powder form specifically wasn't tested for safety on fish, only a dissolved form was. So since it wasn't tested it has to be labeled a certain way. If it's the same chemical formula, just follow the instructions and it'll be fine.

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Just starting:

10 Gallon
1 Honey gourami
3 Peppered corys
3 Ghost shrimp

Wisteria
Aponogeton
Amazon swords
Anubias nana
Marimo moss ball
rotala indica

Thanks! It has. I lost one of my platies, but I think the other two fish are going to pull through. Strangely enough, though, the one that died didn't have any signs of illness or fungus at all... The one who survived? She's the one who showed the most distress from the ich, the one whose fins were gnawed off by the betta (I have since separated them), and the one who was once covered with fungus all over. I can't figure out how the heck the other one died when she was so healthy...

I hadn't thought about pre-dissolving the medicine! That's a good idea; I was really freaked out when my fish started eating the granules, too.

I've read that loaches and other scaleless fish are really sensitive to medicine. It must be hard to treat them! Though if you use the salt and heat method, they're fine with it, right?

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Creatures great and small, I love 'em all! But mainly the fish.

That's what I was thinking. From what I could tell, the ingredients were the same. It probably is just the physical properties that make it dangerous, rather than the chemical properties in particular.

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Creatures great and small, I love 'em all! But mainly the fish.

Hello!

When I experienced Ich, I used a Tetra product with blue tablets. You would drop one blue tablet in the tank every 24 hours until the parasite was dead. It turned the water a deep blue, and slightly stained the silicone sealant on the glass, but the Ich was gone within 48 hours and all infected fish are now fully recovered and healthy. And, it prevents secondary infections.

Tablets would be a good choice, too. I found that the salt/heat method worked very well for ich, but just in case, I got this new liquid from Kordon that says it's completely safe and natural. I wish I could find some stuff like that for other ailments!

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Creatures great and small, I love 'em all! But mainly the fish.