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The use of Melafix, Pimafix, Betafix with Labyrinth organ fishes...DON'T!

43K views 39 replies 25 participants last post by  Gamegurl 
#1 ·
The advantages of the medications of Melafix, Pimafix, and Betafix are numerous and almost magical. They do a fantastic job of healing fins and tears and are nearly irreplacable in the aquarist's pharmacy, BUT I have to ask you to reconsider their use in the area of one family of fish. I have known that in the family of fish that have Labyrinth organs and have the need to go to the surface to breathe that these medications will cause deaths in a wild and unpredicable manner. It destroys the ability for the Labyrinth organ to function and allow the fish to breathe air as it needs to and they die horribly.

While I am not saying do not use these medications and would never say that no fish should have the benefit of the good that they do, I am simply advising that the harm they do the fish with Labyrinth organs is more than enough to warrant asking you not to use it in tanks containing any of these fish. There are other medications that may take a while longer and more patience to use to treat the problems of these fish but will not take their lives. That is all I am saying. I do speak from personal experience and do know of other owners of bettas and gouramis in particular who lost fish by using these meds in their tanks trying to help them and killing them in the attempt. The solution to their deaths was brought to my attention when I was moderating at another forum and a moderator from a third forum brought it to our attention when she heard of the deaths that were occurring unexplained on our forum and she had found this problem dealing with her own fish. So this is a problem that has cropped up in the cases of many other owners. Please do take this seriously. As I said I am not slamming the medications. They work wonders but not on Labyrinth organ fishes.

A partial listing of the Anabantids (Labyrinth organ fish) are as follows:

Perch
Combtail
Bettas of all types
Gouramis of all types
Ctenopoma of all types
Paradisefish

and while they are not technically Labyrinth organ fish the same effect seems to be present for some reason on the following:

Pencilfish

Thank you for your attention.

Rose
 
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#29 ·
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.
 
#32 ·
My dwarf gourami has been acting real sluggish and sickly the last few days, and I assumed it was just the infection he had taking it's tole, now I know it's actually the medicine! What can I do to save this little guy's life? Is changing the water to remove the medication going to be enough? I have been dosing Melafix each morning for about 4 days now, and changing 30% of the water every night from his 55 Gallon Tank (my filter isn't working and I'm waiting for delivery of a new one.).
 
#33 ·
I would change water daily till you have done double the volume of tank.If you have an air pump I would install it as oxygen comes from surface movement and between the "fixes" and your filter not working you need to disturb the surface.If you see the oily sheen on surface you can lay newspaper on the surface and pull it up from one end.This is an old school way to clean surface.
Good luck.
 
#34 ·
Yes do lots of water changes. It should help him with not only removing the medicine but also help him heal a little faster. Good luck with the guy and I hope he gets to feeling better soon. Is that him in your avatar?
 
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#35 · (Edited)
I came home from work to find him vertical with labored breathing. He's sinking slowly every now and then and then feebly attempting to swim back up to the surface. I changed a lot of the water, stole a 30 gallon filter off another of my tanks, installed an old air pump that I don't use any more, and did a big water change. His condition isn't improving, in fact it's getting worse. I switched off his light for the night but I keep going out there to look at him every 15 minutes or so to make sure he's still alive.

It's not him in my avatar, but I tried to find a picture that closely resembled him. He's a really nice looking fish, and he has a great personality, always shooting water at me when he gets hungry, and happily building elaborate nests among the water lettuce. I hope he pulls through, but my hopes aren't too high at this point.

Also, he had some of the surface film caught in his nostril, so I gently removed it with tweezers (not an easy task). It was completely clogging up the passageway, and was wedged in pretty tight.

Update: I found him dead at the bottom this morning. I really can't believe that both the companion manager, and the aquatics specialist at Petco recommended that I use this stuff on him. Well his infection cleared up before he died anyways a lot of good that did him.
 
#37 ·
You did make a point that I liked I has to med my tank and wat your saying is so true that happen to my fish they were at the top breathing heavy taking deep breaths but it did break down some of my fish that were fine so the use of it is good but it can cause wat your saying and I saw it happen in my tank
 
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