[AquaticLife] All natural fish treatments?

May 10, 2008 @ 11:19 pm · Filed under Philippines Internet Koi Society

> > Steve already mentioned salt and heat which does work for many minor to > major issues.
I had read a lot about salt, but hadn’t realized heat. It makes sense though because different bacteria have different temperature preferences.
I’ve read a lot of conflicting info about how much salt to use. I have bettas - how much salt would I use for a quick dip (lets say I’m using 1 cup of water)? How much salt per gallon if I were to treat the whole tank on a longer term basis? (I assume the latter would be a lower saline mixture than the former.)
> I do keep and use MelaFix and PimaFix which are both “natural” products > although the solution they are in, to keep the meds in suspension, does > have > a strong sweet smell. I don’t mind it but I’ve heard others complain about > the smell. MelaFix is based on Melaleuca (Tea Tree) Oil and PimaFix is > also based on another natural tree oil but I don’t recall it off the top of > my head.
Thank you very much for pointing this out! I wasn’t aware there were all natural meds on the market. I use tea tree oil in my first aid ointment and it really does work very well - and does have some activity against fungus in addition to bacteria. I looked it up and it looks like PimaFix is from the West Indian Bay Tree, which I’m not familiar with but will be looking into. I’m really impressed that a tea tree oil based med would be on the fish market. I think you made my day!
Fortunately, I don’t have many health issues with my fish… knock on wood! >
Same here so far! *also knocks on wood* I truly believe health comes from preventative measures, such as making sure your water parameters are ideal - but I do want to be prepared in the event of an emergency.
> While a salt dip can be used, I don’t think an iodine or peroxide dip > should > be used. I’ve read about Iodine being used as a topical treatment for > various infections, fin rot, etc., on larger fish and Peroxide can be used > against certain things but I also think it would be for topical treatment. > I’m not sure either of those would be very good for a fishes gills. >
I was only able to find one reference to an iodine dip and it pertained to saltwater fish (and I have freshwater fish) - since iodine is found naturally in sea water but not so much in fresh water I think the use of diluted iodine as a dip may be restricted to saltwater fish, but that is just my own theory based on what little info I could find. I couldn’t find a reliable source to determine the amount of dilution needed nor any references to it being safe for freshwater fish.
I have read about peroxide being both a topical and a dip, but you have to dilute it a lot to use it as a dip because it will indeed harm the gills. I did find some directions which said for a 10 second dip, you can use 1 part 3% H2O2 to 9 or 10 parts water. Another set said for a 10 minute dip you’d use 15 mL per L.
Thank you very much for the excellent links!
-Lana
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