? on wouded fish

[beerad555]

I have a 125 gal freshwater tank with 5 south american cichlads and a bumble bee catfish and a fish with a bad gash in its side and was wondering if I need to use melifix . I just did a 50% water change and have added salt. Thanks for all your advice. I have no hospital tank

 

[mudbuttjones]

Ive used melafix before with good results

It can be costly to treat such a large tank instead of a small quarantine tank

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[beerad555]

will it bother the other fish?

 

[Xia]

Melafix is made with plant extract I believe and it shouldn't be a problem for the other fish. I use it when my fish get big cuts or bad injuries to prevent infections when they're healing up


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[Dieselhybrid]

It's made with manuka aka tea tree oils. It's somewhat oily, be sure to greatly increase your aeration as O2 levels can drop.

 

[xraycer]

will it bother the other fish?

I would occasionally use Melafix if a fish gets a decent open wound and it never appears to bother any of the other tank residences. Fish in clean, good quality water tend to heal really quick from their battle scars, so I've never had to use more than one dosing.

 

[RD.]

Clean water, some salt, and make sure the diet is high in vitamin c.



IMHO there's no need to add Melafix to a tank. Also Melafix does bother some fish even with elevated 02 levels, enough that many people have reported their fish dieing after treatment, so its toxicity possibly appears to be species dependent. Here's just one thread out of scores on this subject that one can find via google.

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?365262-Melafix-Killed-my-fish


And while much of this raw data regarding deaths are simply based on anecdotal observations, after reading case after case after case of these deaths, it's difficult not to begin to question some things. Such as why doesn't the manufacturer recommend increasing 02 levels when treating? Probably because they don't believe that to be true, such as stated by this API rep/consultant.

http://www.*************.com/f5/use-melafix-pimafix-betafix-labyrinth-organ-2363.html

They also do not lower oxygen levels in the water; this was investigated during development using oxygen probes.

and then this little gem .....

When a fish is being treated with a medication, it is because it is unwell in some way (obviously). Therefore, if a fish dies while being treated with Melafix/Pimafix, it is likely to be the original illness that caused the death, rather than the medication.

Which is total BS. Many of the known deaths that have taken place when using Melafix and/or Pimafix took place with healthy fish, not the fish that needed healing.


Then we have this possible theory ........

http://www.fish-as-pets.com/2008/12/melafix-dangers-labyrinth-fish.html

How is Melafix Toxic in Certain Water Conditions?
Basically Tea Tree oil (Melaleuca leucadendron and Melaleuca alternifolia) is a phenol-containing essential oil.
Its active ingredients are cyclic terpenes which have a similar structure and action to turpentine (a KNOWN liver toxin).
The acute toxicity for the major terpenic compounds (linalool, ocimene, alpha-terpinene, 1,8-cineole, terpinolene, camphene) is 2 - 5 g/kg body weight, which is considered a moderately toxic range.

From a toxicological point of view Tea Tree oil is comparable to oil of turpentine, which is readily absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract and then finds its way to the liver. What may be the problem is that under certain conditions Melafix may be toxic to the liver in Labyrinth fish/Pencil fish.

Which helps explain that even natural substances, can be lethal under certain conditions.

The other factor in all of this is that every set up is different. Different pH values, different temps, different 02 levels, different levels of DOC's, etc-etc-etc. Now add the thousands of different species of fish kept in this hobby and IMHO I suspect that the folks at Mars have no idea as to exactly what, or how much, could be a lethal combination in every single hobbyist tank.

 

[Dieselhybrid]

Again I thank you RD. Learned something new today

 

[RD.]

No problem, glad to help. I have used both Melafix & Pimafix, and years ago when Melafix was first released I recommended its use. Not any more, too many variables involved. IMO large doses of Vitamin C are far more effective than tea tree oil, and there is a ton of data in aquaculture to support just that. Outside of the info supplied (which is very limited) from the folks at Mars I don't know of any real data to support the use of their products in aquaculture. That's also one reason why I choose to feed a premium food that contains a high inclusion rate of vit c.

 

[ragin_cajun]

What foods are high in Vit C?


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