Does practicing preventative medication make sense?

[Jim Fox]

I have a 55-gallon freshwater tank and it has been up and running for 15 years.  I mainly keep tetras of different types, two plecos, and a few other fish for a total of around 20 fish and have had very good luck over the years with the longevity of my fish, often going several years without losing a fish.  I also started putting live plants into the aquarium last year and feel this has improved the appearance and water quality of the aquarium as well as making the fish less stressed.  I do a 25-30% water change every week or so, use a Fluval canister filter, and keep the water temperature at around 75 degrees and have a Fluval plant light.  My question is whether it makes sense to proactively medicate fish with Mardel Maracyn, Aquarium Solutions Ich-X, and Fritz ParaCleanse a few times a year as a preventative measure or should I just keep these medicines on hand in case an outbreak occurs?

[lefty o]

do you take penicillin  for the heck of it? i say no, will do more harm than good to medicate when there are no issues.

[KaitieG]

I agree with @lefty o, no need to medicate when you see no issues.  I think one time when I might consider preventative medicating is with parasite-prone fish.  I know any fish can have parasite issues, but there are some (like livebearers for example) that are known to be particularly problematic.  I still probably wouldn't treat if I saw NO issues, but if I see slightly skinny fish or possibly questionable poo or anything like that I'll treat pretty readily.

[Wrencher_Scott]

On 3/14/2022 at 10:16 AM, lefty o said:

do you take penicillin  for the heck of it? i say no, will do more harm than good to medicate when there are no issues.

That's a loaded question.

🤣

[AndreaW]

Okay, so whether or not you *do* take penicillin for the heck of it -- *should* you take penicillin for the heck of it?

Probably not...

One of the problems with medicating when its not needed is that you add stress to the fish when you add medication, and you can potentially be creating a more resistant bacteria that will be harder to treat when you really need to.

I know plenty of people that medicate new fish in quarantine to make sure they are free from unwanted diseases or problems, but they don't go on medicating after the quarantine period is done. (Anti-parasitics are a bit different matter though, IMO.) Usually, its the addition of new, stressed fish to your tank that bring the problems in.

I haven't had to medicate any fish in many, many years so I don't even have any medications on hand (they all expired long ago) and I've been pretty lucky that the fish that I've brought in haven't brought anything with them. However, usually I am the person to have a supply on hand so I can treat at the first sign of a problem. 

[Odd Duck]

On 3/14/2022 at 12:14 PM, Jim Fox said:

I have a 55-gallon freshwater tank and it has been up and running for 15 years.  I mainly keep tetras of different types, two plecos, and a few other fish for a total of around 20 fish and have had very good luck over the years with the longevity of my fish, often going several years without losing a fish.  I also started putting live plants into the aquarium last year and feel this has improved the appearance and water quality of the aquarium as well as making the fish less stressed.  I do a 25-30% water change every week or so, use a Fluval canister filter, and keep the water temperature at around 75 degrees and have a Fluval plant light.  My question is whether it makes sense to proactively medicate fish with Mardel Maracyn, Aquarium Solutions Ich-X, and Fritz ParaCleanse a few times a year as a preventative measure or should I just keep these medicines on hand in case an outbreak occurs?

It would almost certainly not help but instead would tend to knock out harmless bacteria and build up a population of bacteria that are resistant to those inappropriately dosed medications.  This would be a perfect recipe for developing a superbug.

[Jim Fox]

Thanks for the replies and the comments make sense.  I will limit the use of medications to any new fish who will get treated in the quarantine tank or the time when or if I see problems in the main aquarium and then treat only the suspected culprit.

[Brandon p]

I do treat fish that are new to me. I would be a afraid that if I used medication especially any antibiotic due to the fact that there are bacteria important to the nitrogen cycle. There are people that take antibiotics and get diarrhea this is mostly because the antibiotic kills the “good” bacteria that helps the body process waste. If you feel there is a problem I would not be afraid to use them though.