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 fish medicine cabinet.


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:
- Formalin and malachite green or formalin - will kill many common parasites (e.g. Rid
Ich or Quick cure, Formalin 3)
- Praziquantel - will kill flukes
- Jungle Anti-Parasite Medicated Fish Food - (Metronidazole, Praziquantel, and
Levimasole ) treats flagellates, trematodes, cestodes, hexamita, intestinal worms, spironucleus, tapeworms, and nematodes
- Micron filters - good for helping treat parasitic problems

For dealing with bacterial infections or wounds
Essentials:
- 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.
- 3% hydrogen Peroxide, iodine, triple antibiotic creme, guaze, soft brush - used for cleaning fin rot, ulcers or wounds.


For Sedating to Perform a Procedure or Euthanizing
- Finquel (MS-222) preferably, or Clove oil - used for sedating the fish to clean fin rot, ulcers or wounds. or for euthanasia.


Other Useful Stuff:
- Tweezers
- 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.
- 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

Rick

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Great list!