# Pimafix+Melafix = Miracle Cure? long story



## Sahr Thundermane (Jan 11, 2012)

I will start from the beginning. My father recently got a promotion which requires him to be away from home a lot more, and prevents him from properly taking care of his fish. I live close to 3 hours away so cannot do this for him, so I "rescued" most of the fish in his tank, which was a 55g. My Aunt and Uncle are taking this others.

This, unfortunately, due to my rental lease, has caused me to overstock my 25g tank. In my 25g I currently have 
2 adult silver dollars
1 5-6" JD (2 yrs old, probably fully grown)
1 3" Firemouth
4 Peppered cory's

The choice was either take the fish and try to make it work in a 25g, or take them to the LFS (chain store, VERY unreliable, always dead fish in the tanks, etc....). Due to the tank not being properly cycled I lost one silver dollar to an ammonia spike (I started with 3).

NOW. Over a month later, after the tank was completely cycled, I decided to upgrade my filter to something to better handle the bio load of these fish. I put in some old filter media, but this wasn't enough. After a few days one of my silver dollars got pop-eye, a lot of body slime falling off, and a progressively worsening case of fin rot (which never got out of hand), basically a full blown bacterial infection, as well as my Firemouth getting a very minor case of fin rot. I blame this on a nitrite spike, due to my carelesness and the fact I had been out of the hobby for several years.

I treated this with Melafix and a small amount of salt (small because of cory's) and a gradual increase in temp. After 5 days the sick silver dollar was eating again, but not looking much better, other than his eye STARTING to look better. He then managed to completely lodge himself under a jagged lava rock during a water change, scales floating everywhere... pretty bad. I lost hope at this point. He still ate but hid most of the time.

I did a couple large water changes over a few days and decided to treat with a combo of Melafix and Pimafix together, minus the salt. 1 day later (today) his eye is almost fully healed, his anal and dorsal fins seem to be starting to heal already, his tail is the only part that still looks somewhat infected.

Please nobody get smart and tell me this tank is too small for my fish. I know that. They have a 55g waiting for them as soon as I move, and the only other option is the absolutely horrible pet store around here. Trust me, they will be much happier cramped for a few months than going there. They seem to get along alright, minus some aggression from the JD, but only chasing and minor nipping, no fighting or injuries.

Sorry for the novel guys :lol: I just wanted to give my opinion on these meds. I reccomend using them together, not on their own, it has proven to have much better results as a combo. Definately not a replacement for antibiotics, but they DO work, alongside frequent water changes. Also wanted to let you know a little about my fish and their story. I am not inexperienced, just a little rusty at the hobby :roll: .

Cheers

Curtis


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## GTZ (Apr 21, 2010)

Welcome back to the hobby and congrats on your successful treatment. :thumb:


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## Sahr Thundermane (Jan 11, 2012)

Got up this morning and his tail is starting to look better. Glad I didn't need antibiotics because I don't have a quarantine tank set up yet


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## GTZ (Apr 21, 2010)

Keep an eye on your water parameters, Pimafix can in some cases have an effect on nitrifying bacteria.


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## Sahr Thundermane (Jan 11, 2012)

Thanks for the heads up. I had read that on a few other sites as well. All seems well so far, fish are happy and healing. Could the Mela/Pimafix cause the fish to flash? They aren't doing it enough to concern me, and they seem healthy otherwise, it's just that they never did it before I added the Pimafix.


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## GTZ (Apr 21, 2010)

It's possible, although I haven't read anything to link the two.


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## Sahr Thundermane (Jan 11, 2012)

Hm. Weird. I won't worry about it. Ammonia is up to .25 right now so that could be it. Will do a 40% change and see what happens. Fish are continuing to heal and get along happily. Is it entirely neccesary to continue treatment for the next 3 days (out of a 7 day treatment) after the disease is gone? If it is affecting my cycle I would rather just keep the water clean to continue the healing...


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## GTZ (Apr 21, 2010)

Kind of a double edged sword. Much like your own doctor would tell you, finish the antibiotics even if you start to feel better.
Dose some Prime or other ammonia and nitrite detoxifier if levels remain high. Every 24-48 hours until normal readings resume.
The ammonia reading could also be a false positive if you have chloramine treated tap water and are testing within 24 hours of a water change. You can test some tap water treated with dechlor to check.


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