Alternative Fish Treatments

Explore safe, natural alternatives to chemical fish treatments including herbal remedies, salt baths, and stress-reducing techniques. Support your aquarium fish’s recovery with holistic care that promotes long-term health and balance.

Introduction

Did you know that apart from using chemical fish medicine, we can also use alternative fish treatments? The cost of treating sick fish using alternative fish treatments methods is much cheaper than buying fish medicine using chemicals. Let’s learn the traditional way

Alternative fish treatments for ornamental fish include natural remedies such as salt baths, garlic juice, and a combination of baking soda and aquarium salt. Salt baths are generally used to treat fungal or bacterial infections, as well as parasites. For a salt bath, two tablespoons of aquarium salt per gallon of water should be used. The fish should be left in the bath for 10-15 minutes, then rinsed with fresh, dechlorinated water.

Garlic juice can be added to the aquarium to help alleviate skin infections. Baking soda and aquarium salt can be used together in a separate tank for Ich (white spot disease). The ratio should be one teaspoon of aquarium salt for every teaspoon of baking soda and the fish should be left in the bath for 15-20 minutes.

Popular Remedies

The alternative medicines to prevent the sick fish are:

Activated Carbon

The first alternative fish treatments are to use Activated Carbon commonly used by many aquarists. Activated carbon works to remove bad odors, discoloration from turning yellow, remove chloramine and chlorine and purify water from pollution.

Activated Carbon can be placed in gravel, sump filters, submersible water pumps and in filter canisters. Activated Carbon needs to be replaced every 6 months to maintain its effectiveness. You are advised not to use Activated Carbon when treating fish using fish chemical medicine so that the effectiveness of fish chemical medicine is not affected.

Aquarium Salt

The use of aquarium salt is very widely used as alternative fish treatments. Arguably whatever the disease, the first thing aquarists do is to put aquarium salt on. Usually, an aquarist will place salt periodically after a water change or during an emergency.

Among the conditions that can cause aquarium salt to be used as a fish treatment are as follows: –

• After changing the water periodically.
• Fish are infected with fungal diseases.
• Fish has no appetite to eat.
• To increase appetite.
• Fish suffer from constipation.
• There are parasites on fish.
• Itchy fish (scratching the body on the filter pipe).
• Fish that are stressed.

The majority of fish can tolerate with aquarium salt. Epsom salt is the most famous aquarium salt as a fish treatment and has been shown to be effective against the symptoms of the disease as above. There are also fish that are intolerant to salt. You should do research to avoid fish loss. Fish such as Discus and Tetra are particularly fond of brackish water due to the natural conditions of Discus that live in the slightly brackish Amazon River.

You can use blue salt, aquarium coarse salt, Epsom Salt and others. Apart from the use of aquarium salt as alternative fish treatments, you can also use chemical products for fish treatment.

Black Water

Black Water is another alternative fish treatment apart from aquarium salt and activated carbon. that you can use. Black Water is very popular for fans of keeping Discus and Arowana.

Black Water is a highly concentrated liquid taken from natural organic matters such as Ketapang leaf extract, citric acid, humic acid, terminalia, peats, almond leaf extract and other ingredients. The dark colored liquid is ideal for creating a natural environment favored by Discus and Dwarf Cichlids. Black Water also helps increase fish immunity to disease.

Among the popular products you can buy are Azoo Plus Triple Black Water, Ista Blackwater and Fish Lab Triple Black Water to create a natural black water atmosphere like in the Amazon River. Aquarium Tips: The use of Black Water can also lower the PH level of water. Most fresh water fish prefer low PH levels including Discus and Cardinal Tetra.

Indian Almond Leaves @ Catappa Leaves

Ketapang leaves also known as Indian Almond Leaves @ Catappa Leaves are a natural ingredient that is abundant in Southeast Asia. Many Ketapang trees are planted by the roadside, in car parks and in recreational parks as a shelter from the scorching heat of the Sun. Ketapang is a very large tree and has dense leaves.

Usage

Dried Ketapang leaves (Indian Almond Leaves @ Catappa Leaves) are known as the ‘cure for all poisons’ for fresh water fish such as Arowana, Discus, Dwarf Cichlids and even some Tetra. The leaves will dissolve the tanning material (dark) and turn into Black Water after a day you put it in the aquarium.

According to the belief of many people, Ketapang leaves can cure various serious fish diseases such as fungus, white spot, ich, fin rot and so on. Your fish will feel fresh after a few days Ketapang Leaves are placed in the aquarium.

Another advantage of Ketapang Leaf is that it can lower the PH level of water. Fish like Discus are very fond of acidic PH and Ketapang Leaf is one of the solutions to make your aquarium water acidic.

Aquarium Tips: Using too much Ketapang leaves will make the PH reading drop sharply. The sudden drop in PH causes the fish to be startled and there are also serious cases such as death.

Aquarium Tips: Do not crush the Ketapang Leaves because by crushing them so that the PH drops quickly, your aquarium filter will become clogged due to the crushed Ketapang Leaves.

Peat Moss

Peat Moss is a special soil used to treat fish from stress. The most famous function is that Peat Moss can lower the PH level so that it is acidic. The low PH is suitable for fish such as Discus, Arowana and other freshwater fish.

Aquarium Tips: Peat Moss should be placed in gravel or in a filter canister, sump filter and submersible water pump. Peat Moss is not suitable to be placed in the top filter. It works in heavy water that has a water reservoir.

Aquarium Tips: Peat Moss needs to be replaced every 6 months or once a year to maintain its effectiveness.

You can choose either the traditional way or using chemical medicine. Both are good and have their own advantages. If fish chemical remedies are expensive, you can use these natural remedies as an alternative fish treatment. Hope this article about alternative fish treatments is useful!

Advantages

The advantages of alternative fish treatments for ornamental fish are:

1. Reduced Disease: Alternative treatments often utilize natural products such as herbs and plant extracts, which can help reduce the risk of disease and promote overall health in ornamental fish.
2. Lower Risk of Side Effects: Since alternative treatments are typically derived from natural ingredients, there is less risk of side effects than when using chemical treatments such as antibiotics.
3. Cost Savings: Alternative treatments often cost much less than chemical treatments and can be used repeatedly.
4. Environmentally Friendly: Natural treatments are usually biodegradable, meaning they do not leave any harmful toxic residues in the water that could harm other fish or the environment.

Challenges

The challenges of alternative fish treatments for ornamental fish are:

1. Ensuring adequate nutrition: Many alternative treatments are not tested for nutritional content and may not provide adequate nutrition for fish. For example, some alternative treatments do not contain enough vitamins and minerals, or they may contain expired ingredients.
2. Price: Many alternative treatments are more expensive than traditional treatments, making them unaffordable for some hobbyists.
3. Safety: Not all alternative treatments are proven safe for fish or fish habitats. Some may contain toxic or contaminating ingredients that can harm fish or cause other problems.
4. Precautionary measures: Alternative treatments are still mostly in the research stage and may need to be used with caution. Some treatments may not be effective in fighting certain diseases, or they may have side effects that have not been studied thoroughly.
5. Availability: Many alternative treatments are not widely available in pet stores or online stores, making them difficult to obtain.

 #HOBBY #AQUARIUM 

What are alternative fish treatments in keeping ornamental fish in aquarium?

There are many Alternative Fish Treatments you can try such as activated cardon, black water treatment, using Ketapang Leaves or known as Indian Almond Leaves @ Catappa Leaves and Peat Moss. These alternatives are way better to your pocket money compared to chemical-based fish treatments.

What is the difference between aquarium salt and Epsom Salt?

There are many types of salt for aquarium use, namely blue salt, aquarium coarse salt, Epsom Salt and others. But what is the difference between aquarium salt and Epsom Salt? Aquarium salt is a type of coarse salt that is suitable for treating fish that are always itchy and rubbing the body onto rough objects while Epsom Salt is effective for treating dropsy fish (a lot of fluid in the fish body), relieving stress and facilitating defecation.

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