Melafix pond Vs Melfix Aquarium

[ozone]

Keeping Discus can get quite expensive. I'm always trying to look for less expensive ways around treatments and foods. Recently I aquired melafix to treat my discus and while looking at both the pond product and the aquarium product the thought dawned on me that the pond product was nothing more than I higher concentrate of the exact same treatment melaleuca oil. The dosage for the Aquarium product was 5 ml per 40 litres of water.The dosage for the pond version was 5ml per 190 litres of water. Could it be that the pond version is a more cost effective way to treat our fish without loosing any of the effectiveness ? If anyone could shed some light on this it would be great!

[chuck]

I think the aquarium brand is 2% tea oil when the pond is 5%.. Yes it is cost effective to buy the pond brand... ;D
check out Doc Johnsons site Pond RX .. I think I read something about that on it.
chuck
ps. melafix just assists in healing a wound or skin condition quicker,It's not a cure... :-\

[brewmaster15]

To really save money, try using salt first. 1 tablespoon/1 gal water will wipe out any fungus, impair many bacterias, promote healing, slime coat stimulant, help gills functions, and prevent nitrite poisoning if there a biofilter problem.

Salt as dip will kill many external parasites.


SALT!!!! its not just for breakfast anymore! ;D seriously ... its agreat first line of defense for lots of ailments.

hth,
al

[Carol_Roberts]

one tablespoon per one gallon of water or ten gallons of water?

[jeep]

In my recent experience, I've used salt in amounts that relate to the specific problem. I've used 1 TBS per 10 gallons as more of a tonic (new arrivals, basic skittishness, etc...). With more serious problems like parasites, proto's and bacterial infections I use 1:1.

It was really scared to use salt at 1:1 the first time I was told to to it, but it worked miracles and I would never hesitate again... :)

[chuck]

Carol ;
A while back I asked Brew the same question and he pointed out a few books that state the same thing, I tried it and it doesn't harm the fish at all and works much better then the 1 tablespoon/10 gal method.
It's my first line of defense at the dose of 1 tablespoon/gal
here's two books that referance the dosage.

Discus Fish
by Thomas A. Giovanetti

Tropical Fishlopaedia : A Complete Guide to Fish Care
by Mary Bailey

chuck

Ps: Theres so much conflicting info out there, When I was looking up the dosage for Parzi most books state 2mg/liter but Waynes discus book states 60-70 mg/liter is this a typo?? don't know..but it does make you start to second guess... ;D BTW 2mg/liter worked for me....
chuck

[Nightowl]

Hey Ozone.. how's it going? Any more quick spawns? Melafix is Melafix is Melafix.....I sell a lot to pond people...seems to clear up secondary infections on injuries. Have also used it in combination w/ salt from time to time on discus(Tbs. per 5 g salt, dose of melafix) It seems to help minor skin/ slime problems, even when used w/o salt on many tropical fish. Also works to help heal injuries,or at least prevent secondary infection on salt water species. The pond melafix is a better buy, but I would think if you ever needed that much of the stuff there would be something more serious going on anyway. Personally, I'm not big on medications( for me or my fish). I have nipped a couple of bacterial outbreaks in the bud by using salt at 1tbs/5gal, 25% w/c for 5 days readding proper amt. of salt to maintain ratio of salt/gal. Above mentioned use of melafix & salt was at work on transshipped fish. Later, Nightowl

[ozone]

I contactd Aquarium pharm throught their email service and even they said that you could use the pond version in your aquarium. Salt is cheaper and maybe more effective . The only reason I went for Melafix was that I didin't want to increase the hardness as salt does. Upon my first salt treatment the hardness went up to 160ppm- My tap water is about 30-40ppm but the fish didn't seem to mind.However the infection I was treating progressed during the salt treatment so after 3 days I stopped and tried an b/s antibiotic tetracycline. I'm not too keen on using meds on my fish either but when a tough prob arises that dosn't react to basic treatment I guess you've got to try something.

cheers ozone 8)

[Carol_Roberts]

Salt increases the total disolved solids, but not the hardness.

[Paulio]

Take care using MelaFix for ponds that you dont overdose. Absent minded as I am I dosed pond stuff as if it were Aquarium stuff and had an o2 problem almost instantly. Doesnt hurt to increase air (surface turbulence) with any treatment as well.

Paul

[stygian7]

Drs. Foster Smith now sells a concentrated version of the aquarium Melafix. I compared it with the equal volume of pond melafix and the concentrated aquarium stuff is a much better buy ($24.99 vs $31.99). You do have to buy 1/2 gal to get the concentrated stuff though. An earlier post in this string says that pond Melafix is 5.0% Melaleuca (tea tree extract) and aquarium is 1.0%. Aquarium is actually 2.0%; I don't know about pond, but the concentrated aquarium stuff is 5.0%. Also, I noticed a post regarding Melafix about using it after every water change. I agree with those who think this is nonsense. I don't think it hurts, but I also don't think it really helps either-sounds like a marketing ploy to me.