Where to Buy an Effective Alternative for Metronidazole?

[SHMG]

Hello everyone!

I treated my fish with Hexamor for HITH, and most recently with Hikari Metro+ without success. I looked up online and found Dimazole (Dimitridazole) to be a good alternative, but cannot find a good vendor for it. Could you give me some online stores to buy it, please? I have a rather big (to me after all the years of keeping it) cichlid with HITH, and two plecos with wasting disease. I am treat the plecos with the Metro+, which does not work on the cichlid’s illness, but might work on wasting disease. I need this new alternative badly before the fish is too weak to wait for another treatment. A few days ago, the cichlid started to stop eating, and he has been swimming with his head down, and tail up!

Thank you for your help!

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Hello everyone!

I treated my fish with Hexamor for HITH, and most recently with Hikari Metro+ without success. I looked up online and found Dimazole (Dimitridazole) to be a good alternative, but cannot find a good vendor for it. Could you give me some online stores to buy it, please? I have a rather big (to me after all the years of keeping it) cichlid with HITH, and two plecos with wasting disease. I am treat the plecos with the Metro+, which does not work on the cichlid’s illness, but might work on wasting disease. I need this new alternative badly before the fish is too weak to wait for another treatment. A few days ago, the cichlid started to stop eating, and he has been swimming with his head down, and tail up!

Thank you for your help!

So, for others reading this thread: metronidazole only works on freshwater fish HLLE, the kind you see in discus and Oscar’s. I’ve done extensive testing and it does not resolve marine fish HLLE.

I’ve used dimitridazole on cichlids orally, but I’d have to look up the dose. Trouble is, I got it from our staff veterinarian, not a commercial supplier.

Since the cichlid isn’t eating, you’d have to add it to the water, and freshwater fish are poor at ingesting medication from the water, unlike marine fish.

 

[PharmrJohn]

So, for others reading this thread: metronidazole only works on freshwater fish HLLE, the kind you see in discus and Oscar’s. I’ve done extensive testing and it does not resolve marine fish HLLE.

I’ve used dimitridazole on cichlids orally, but I’d have to look up the dose. Trouble is, I got it from our staff veterinarian, not a commercial supplier.

Since the cichlid isn’t eating, you’d have to add it to the water, and freshwater fish are poor at ingesting medication from the water, unlike marine fish.

And from my perspective, if metronidazole doesn't work on marine HLLE, neither will the alternative. The spectrums are nearly identical. From what I was able to look up anyway (Data is somewhat lacking, except in generalities). Metronidazole is used all the time in Pharmacy. The other I've never heard of.

 

[PharmrJohn]

And honestly, I'm REALLY surprised that you can get all these antibiotics basically OTC. I don't think it's good practice. It's not good for us aquarists if these meds were classified Rx, but there are SO many people out there who self medicate I wonder just how many end up with a negative outcome. Fluconazole, for example is a POTENT Cytochrome P-450 inhibitor (only certain isoenzymes). Lots of drug-drug interactions that can lead to outcomes upto and including death. And I ain't overstating it. OK. Sorry. I'm stepping off my soapbox. It's a long drop.