Summarizing, the medications that can be used for freshwater aquarium fish are:
| Disease | Treatment | Safety | Mode of Treatment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ich, Velvet, Costia | Formalin / Malchite Green | Toxic if overdosed | In the water |
| Hexamita | Metronidazole | Very Safe | ONLY in the food |
| Flukes, Tapeworms | Praziquantel | Very Safe | In the water and food |
| Camallanus, Capillaria | Fenbendazole, Levamisale | Very Safe | ONLY in the water |
| Saprolegnia (“Fungus”) | Formalin / Malachite Green | Toxic if overdosed | In the water |
| Columnaris, Fin Rot, Gill Disease, Mouth Rot, Ulcers, Saddleback, Duck Lips, Hemorrhagic Septicemia | Gram Negative Antibiotics: Kanamycin, Doxycycline, Amoxicillin, Minocycline, Ciprofloxacin | Very Safe | ONLY in the food |
| Popeye, Twirling | Gram Positive Antibiotics: Erythromycin, Penicillin | Very Safe | ONLY in the Food |
| Epistylis, Tetrahymena, Hole in the Head, Fish TB | Best treated with improved biofiltration, added aeration and UV sterilization of the water | ||
There is one very important point here. These medications are generally the only disease treatments that are supported by science. There are a few exceptions in that there are a some five alternatives to the formalin/malachite green treatment. But there are no options for the other treatments that are supported by science.
Now if one wants to spend money, one can purchase and treat fish with any of the hundreds of medications whose use is not supported by science. In most cases all these medications are harmless. Burning money is a prerogative in this world. Have at it!
Note that all these medications save formalin/malachite green are very safe medications ingested by humans to treat human diseases and are approved for use in humans by the FDA. So those who say modern medications will kill the fish are simply returning to loincloth folks blowing smoke.
Note that none of these recommended medications (other than the formalin/malachite green) kill more than one type of disease organism. This is quite normal for safe and effective medications. They are safe and effective exactly because they only target one type of organism. In human medicine the only “universal cure” with many uses is aspirin. All the other thousands of human medications have relatively narrow scopes of application. Most fish medications are no different.
Note that the “mode of treatment” is important. Many medication manufacturers have realized they will sell much more products if they tell people to put their medication in the water. They do this even when the medication doesn’t work when it is put in the water.
Note that there are very many disease organisms that can cause a variety of symptoms and death in tropical aquarium fish. Many of these diseases can’t be diagnosed even by a well-equipped lab. Even if a well-equipped lab could find the disease, many of these diseases are incurable. Any experienced aquarium owner will tell you that fish die, frequently! And very rarely you can have an unknown disease kill all the fish in an aquarium room. This is just a fact of life.
Startpage Aquariumscience
Source: Aquariumscience.org – David Bogert
