Duane family
Active Member
As a disclaimer I am new to R2R, this doesn't mean I am new to dealing with marine fish in fact its very much the opposite case.
I have found a wealth of information so far on this site by various authors such as vetteguy53081 and Jay Hemdal and others. Everyone has fantastic knowledge and advice. But I have identified a gap in the system so to say, this is the level of preparedness that most people seeking advice have. I find that it is significantly lacking and the result is often the loss of fish.
The common theme I see is where someone needs advice with a sick fish. The correct advice is dispensed via the forum, but then the fish keeper does not have the required equipment, additives or medication required to begging treatment. This causes a significant loss of time and that's where the actual problem is and often the fish expire.
I would like to create some awareness around this issue.
Everyone's setup and environment is different so I can't have the answers regarding this but can hopefully point everyone in the right direction. As an example some people do not have access to specific medications or additives and therefore need to be a little creative with other forms of medication or additives. If the thread can grow with input from around the world then it will serve more people, save more fish.
Now that the context has been set lets look at what you need or need to know before you should be keeping marine fish.
1. A small treatment tank, this can be a full running QT tank or just a small empty but ready to go tank with basic filtration. Note that this tank should be proportional in size to the fish you keep.
2. Know the exact water volume (not total volume) down to liter accuracy or 1/4 Gallon accuracy. The reason for this is when dosing medication or additives you always need to work to a ratio. If you don't know the volume of water you are dealing with you will be guessing. This is one of the most overlooked aspects of fishkeeping
3. Hakiri Prazipro https://www.hikariusa.com/water_quality_folder/prazipro.html . You need to have a 1oz bottle of this on hand even though you don't need it now, you need to have it. If this is not available in your country there are other options to dose the required Praziquantel into the water. Praziquantel is an antibiotic
4. Seachem Metroplex https://www.seachem.com/metroplex.php You need to have a 5gram container of this on hand even though you don't need it now, you need to have it. Metroplex often referred to as Metro has an active ingredient of Metronidazole which is also an antibiotic
5. Ruby Reef Rally Pro https://rubyreef.com/products/rally...GSKcZWvUGcbeihULzuutP5-2LA7Zf_A-m9vT5sXXCtFyD . This is another must have, it can be used as a dip for all new fish or fish which have external issue such as Velvet, Ick or Brooklynella. Ruby Reef Rally Pro has Formalin as its active ingredient.
6. Fritz Coppersafe https://fritzaquatics.com/products/mardel-coppersafe or Copperpower http://gocopperpower.com/
Personally I have only ever used Coppersafe but in discussions with Jay Hemdal he assured me that these two are basically the same thing in different containers.
There are of course a multitude of additional items and products you could have to assist when dealing with sick fish but as a absolute basic I believe the items listed above are a requirement for everyone wanting to keep fish. I have never come across anyone in my life who has never had to treat a sick fish where as I would say that 1 in 5 people are suitably equipped to deal with a sick fish at the time of treatment determination. The other 4/5 need to reply on luck.
Please feel free to add anything you feel would be required within reasonable circumstances or if you are not able to purchase one of the basic medications or additives what work around is available in your region to effectively dose the active ingredient involved.
At the end the message is simple, please be prepared.
I have found a wealth of information so far on this site by various authors such as vetteguy53081 and Jay Hemdal and others. Everyone has fantastic knowledge and advice. But I have identified a gap in the system so to say, this is the level of preparedness that most people seeking advice have. I find that it is significantly lacking and the result is often the loss of fish.
The common theme I see is where someone needs advice with a sick fish. The correct advice is dispensed via the forum, but then the fish keeper does not have the required equipment, additives or medication required to begging treatment. This causes a significant loss of time and that's where the actual problem is and often the fish expire.
I would like to create some awareness around this issue.
Everyone's setup and environment is different so I can't have the answers regarding this but can hopefully point everyone in the right direction. As an example some people do not have access to specific medications or additives and therefore need to be a little creative with other forms of medication or additives. If the thread can grow with input from around the world then it will serve more people, save more fish.
Now that the context has been set lets look at what you need or need to know before you should be keeping marine fish.
1. A small treatment tank, this can be a full running QT tank or just a small empty but ready to go tank with basic filtration. Note that this tank should be proportional in size to the fish you keep.
2. Know the exact water volume (not total volume) down to liter accuracy or 1/4 Gallon accuracy. The reason for this is when dosing medication or additives you always need to work to a ratio. If you don't know the volume of water you are dealing with you will be guessing. This is one of the most overlooked aspects of fishkeeping
3. Hakiri Prazipro https://www.hikariusa.com/water_quality_folder/prazipro.html . You need to have a 1oz bottle of this on hand even though you don't need it now, you need to have it. If this is not available in your country there are other options to dose the required Praziquantel into the water. Praziquantel is an antibiotic
4. Seachem Metroplex https://www.seachem.com/metroplex.php You need to have a 5gram container of this on hand even though you don't need it now, you need to have it. Metroplex often referred to as Metro has an active ingredient of Metronidazole which is also an antibiotic
5. Ruby Reef Rally Pro https://rubyreef.com/products/rally...GSKcZWvUGcbeihULzuutP5-2LA7Zf_A-m9vT5sXXCtFyD . This is another must have, it can be used as a dip for all new fish or fish which have external issue such as Velvet, Ick or Brooklynella. Ruby Reef Rally Pro has Formalin as its active ingredient.
6. Fritz Coppersafe https://fritzaquatics.com/products/mardel-coppersafe or Copperpower http://gocopperpower.com/
Personally I have only ever used Coppersafe but in discussions with Jay Hemdal he assured me that these two are basically the same thing in different containers.
There are of course a multitude of additional items and products you could have to assist when dealing with sick fish but as a absolute basic I believe the items listed above are a requirement for everyone wanting to keep fish. I have never come across anyone in my life who has never had to treat a sick fish where as I would say that 1 in 5 people are suitably equipped to deal with a sick fish at the time of treatment determination. The other 4/5 need to reply on luck.
Please feel free to add anything you feel would be required within reasonable circumstances or if you are not able to purchase one of the basic medications or additives what work around is available in your region to effectively dose the active ingredient involved.
At the end the message is simple, please be prepared.
