"Bausman's Fish Tonic"

Q&A about diseases and their cure

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janiel
Posts: 10
Joined: Sat Jul 05, 2008 7:18 pm

"Bausman's Fish Tonic"

Post by janiel »

Hi Pam,

I have been battling small outbreaks with hydra here and there, probably from my bad habit of occasionally overfeeding and maybe from adding new plants. I read that this "Bausman's FIsh Tonic" will effectively kill hydra while not poisoning the tank with heavy medications, and is in fact a tried and true "tonic," good to boost general health and as a prophylactic against fish ailments. Although the advertising makes it sound a little like a snake-oil medicinal from a bygone era, I looked up the ingredients: methylthionine chloride, acetylsalicylic acid, sodium chloride, sodium potassium bromide, magnesium carbonate, tricalcium phosphate. It seems fairly innocuous, but I have never used methylene blue, or aspirin in my tank and I have limited experience with salts, too. There are folks who seem to think it was effective and did not harm their fish or system, (it's a "tonic," afterall, lol!) but I am wondering if you have any experience with malawi cichlids and this product. Also, I added a couple synodontis petricola (or maybe they are lucippinis?) and I am still learning about them, so I have concerns about them being sensitive, etc.

What do you think? Is it something you might recommend or is there another way to rid my tank of these hydra? What is your assessment of the general "tonic" claim? Would any of these ingredients harm the BB in the tank?

As always, thanks for sharing your expertise!!! :)
Pam Chin
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Re: "Bausman's Fish Tonic"

Post by Pam Chin »

Janiel,

Personally I have not heard of this "tonic" so I can't give you any personal feed back. I don't use any tonics myself, but some people really do think they help their fish. I don't think it can hurt your fish, so you really don't have anything to lose by trying it.

I don't like to medicate my tanks and will do just about anything to avoid it, so I would increase the water changes and really stir up the tank when taking out the water to remove as many as you can. Then add some salt or your tonic and see if that does the trick. If this was in a fry tank, I might be more concerned, but with juvenile fish and adults the only down side to hydra is that it can be a nuisance to look at. In the future give your new plants a bleach dip to remove any hitch-hikers.

Here is a post that tells you more about Hydra and some possible cures...

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=87

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