Is it safe to use fungus eliminator?

[kylie]

i went to our fish shop today to get salt to do salt baths and the guy advised me not to.He said this was a really old method and usually ended with the axie dying. He sold me this stuff called fungus eliminator made by aquatopia australia. Is it safe to use? I'm really confused!

It's got a low dose on it for tetra species, baby fish and scaleless fish (loaches etc) would i use that? it's got malachite green in it isn't that bad? I don't know what to do.

 

[s1ren]

You're right, I wouldn't use that fungus eliminator. I'd follow the advice of the folks here - Local Store Guy may or may not have any experience at ALL with axies or amphibians; but the people here know what they're talking about.

 

[skylar]

malachite green is very poisonous to axies!! don't use it!!

salt may be old but it works, maybe not as fast as a medication would but its much much safer

 

[sharn]

you need to pretty much ignore what most LFS people say to you, theyre in it for the money or just have a stab in the dark. only listen to people that have reputations in that industry and have kept axies for years successfully.

salt baths might be a old method but we all still use them so they are very good! they can cure all but the most stubborn skin problems without going onto the heavy meds which can stress axies out big time. also i think he says 'fish end up dying from them' probably because he doesnt have the knowledge to do one properly and safely. as long as you dont keep them in the bath for more than 15 mins max its ok for them, any longer can hurt their gills. if they look like they want out take them out and put em back into some nice, fresh, salt free water

 

[kylie]

thanks guys. I didnt think it was safe. Stupid pet shop guy. I wasnt critisizing the salt method either thats just what he said. You guys obviously know more thats why i asked. Thank you all for your help. Just one more question what is the best salt to use? do i use 2 to 3 tsps per litre?

 

[jojo]

Yep thats right

About 2-3 teaspoons of non-iodized table salt per litre. And let your axie bath for about 10mins, once of twice a day. Depending on the severity of the condition - id be bathing twice a day anyway

 

[jennifer]

Consider that the largest academic axolotl colony in the US recommends salt baths to treat fungus. Compare their expertise with "the guy at the pet store". Also consider that the pet store won't make any money if they recommend a salt bath.

One other point: fungus usually has a root cause, either a problem with water quality or high temperature. Try to eliminate the root cause, as well as treat the immediate symptom. Good luck!

(Message edited by jennewt on March 10, 2006)

 

[charlie]

Consider the fridge as well.
Speaking from my only experience with what I suspected was fungus, the fridge and the salt bath worked well. 4 days of fridge and twice daily salt baths and he was a lot better, and a couple of weeks later he's a happy axie.
as jennifer has said, LFS's can be clueless. Some are better than others tho.

 

[sharn]

i want getting at ya kylie! we get pretty fed up with idiots at pet shops giving people 'expert advice' which is totally wrong. it causes un-necessary problems with animals and often the problems owners encounter later put them off the hobby! theyre only in it to make a buck and will suggest anything and everything. good to see ya found us here, definatly some of the most up to date info on here and people like ed, joan, cynthia and jennifer are just walking libraries on these topics! you'll get it sorted in no time