Tetra Brand Pond Fish Treatment - is it okay for Discus......anyone?

I just got back from my LFS here in Mississauga; I was looking for Formaldehyde to treat some very stubborn gill flukes. I have already done a course of Prazi Pro, and that knocked them down for a month, and now they're back. I have also dosed with salt, with the same results. Apparently in Canada, it's difficult to find meds with Formaldehyde/Formalin any more (not sure how true this is).

So anyhow, the guy at the store suggested a 500mL bottle of this treatment for pond fish. It's main listed ingredients are Formaldehyde, and Quinine Hydrochloride, but it says on the front of the bottle that it also contains Hydrochloric Acid. It does not specify the concentration/% composition of these chemicals. There is a phone number on the bottle to their information hotline, but it is the weekend, and their office is closed.

Does anyone out there have any experience treating with this product, or have any suggestions on dosage, or compatibility with Discus, etcetera? Any input would be greatly appreciated.

This is the email reply I received this morning from the company...

Hi Paul,

Thank you for contacting us. I cannot specifically say that we have tested this product on discus, but I do know it is safe for aquarium usage as long as you dose accordingly.

You are correct in the dosage. As 10 ml will treat 50 gallons of water, you would need 30 mil for 150 gallons of water, regardless of whether it is a pond or an aquarium. With this product, just make sure there is plenty of aeration and water movement.


Best Regards,
Barbara Linkhttp://www.netanimations.net/angelfish.gif
Consumer Relations Lead
Spectrum Brands|Pet, Home & Garden



So, the instructions say to mix up a solution of the exact dosage for the pond(tank) in a separate bottle of tap water, mix up well, then slowly add the dissolved solution into the tank. If I am using a 15 gallon tank, I will be putting 3mL of this solution into a plastic bottle with tap in it, then adding that into the tank. I hope my math is right, and I hope this works on these pesky flukes! I am supposed to re-dose after 7 days if signs of infection persist.... now I'm wondering if I should be adding in more of the solution when I do my daily w/c's for the first 7 days ?? Probably yes? Here goes nothing........

I have no experience with this product, but thank you for the follow-up.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Solid

I have no experience with this product, but thank you for the follow-up.

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No problem, Solid. I'll post my experience so that if in the future someone wants to use this med, they can look through the archives, and come upon this thread, and it might help them out.

I have waited until Saturday to start this treatment so that I can observe the fish. I put the fish into a 10 gallon hospital tank for convenience with measuring the meds. I added 2mL of med into a plastic bottle filled with tank water, shook it for a minute, and slowly added it to the tank. I also added an extra air stone with fine air bubbles to give the water some extra aeration. The water is at 85 degrees, and so far, it's been a little over 4 hours and the fish shows no signs of stress of any kind. The color is still good, eyes are clear, fish is active, and although it is still favoring the left gill, at least the right gill has started to open up a bit more, and the fish is starting to use it more than it was before the treatment started.

for the next 7 days, I'll be doing 50% water changes per day on this tank (5 gallons), and will be adding 1mL of meds with every water change to keep up the required amount of meds in the hospital tank water.

I'll post the final results in a week.

Well, here it is, Saturday, one week later, and my patient is doing great. I am happy to say that the Tetra Brand Pond Fish Treatment has worked beautifully for my fish. Her color has improved dramatically (mind you this is only a 6 month-old fish) with the blues more vibrant, and the red is back in her eyes. Her gill filaments are a bright red color as opposed to the pinkish shade they were last week. She is still opening the left gill slightly wider than the right, but they are both working in tandem, and the right gill is opening more than it has in a long time. The fish is much more active now, and greedily eating everything in sight, and begging for more, so I think I'm on the right track.

I have done a 90% water change on this tank this morning, and plan to do another 90% tonight to get rid of most of the medication in the water. I am then going to give her a rest from medications for the next 7 days (next Saturday), and then another full dosage for 4 days should kill any hatched egg larvae which may still be lurking in the tank, then more rest, and good food, and hopefully she will come around completely.....stay tuned :)