I feel like a kid on X-Mas day opening presents!

[starlight]

I called an order in to That Fish Place (Pa) yesterday and it arrived in NY today. I've opened up all my betta-gifts and like a kid I don't know which one to play with first. Actually I want to know if any of you have experiences with some of these products. When I use them, I'll be able to use them correctly.

(1) Maracyn Plus - I thought that this was just a liquid combo of M2 and M. Reading the label "the microscopic biospheres attach directly to the fish delivering the medication where it is needed. Prevents re-infestation during treatment. (yeah!) Treated water may appear cloudy at first due to the presence of the microscopic biospheres; 30 minutes to 1 hour later all cloudiness is gone. Maintain normal filtration (I don't have to remove carbon?) and air.

Wow this is great, not only will the micro biospheres attach themselves to my bettas and protect them against nuclear war, they'll prevent re-infestation of fin rot! Does anybody have any experience with " this isn't your Father's MII?

(2) Amquel Plus. Does anyone know the correct dosage or what would work in the following situation. I know the dosage to prepare new water but I have a different use in mind. I isolate sick betta's in small containers (40 ounce beanie baby containers usually with an airline. How many drops should I add between water changes to keep the ammo down?

(3) PimaFix, If memory serves me well I recall Rachel mentioning this product. Any comments on its use? I ordered it since it works with Melafix. The label indicates that its a medicine. Can I use this as a preventative or should it just be used as a medicinal treatment?

(4) Hagen Mini-Therm 25w heater. I've read several good comments on HB regarding this heater that I had to try it. It cost only 11.19 and will replace my Rena Cal Excel 50w and 25w Visitherm in my spawn tank. The Rena Cal has a good reputation but was probably too powerful for my use. The Visi-Therm was not reliable.
I like the fact that this heater is very slim, my Visi-therm takes us much more space despite the fact that they're both 6".

I'll be using it in a 5G with less than three gallons of water. The water line is around 5 inches. Can I set this heater up standing straight with a bit sticking out of the water? Or must it be fully submersed? I didn't read anything on the label regarding this. I know how to set the temp from posts that I've read here.

(5) On backorder...Mark Weiss' Bacter Vital....I want to use this to speed up tank cycling. The mfr's claims seem impressive. Has anyone used this product?
Thanks!

[ACKislander]

"(1) Maracyn Plus - I thought that this was just a liquid combo of M2 and M. Reading the label "the microscopic biospheres attach directly to the fish delivering the medication where it is needed. Prevents re-infestation during treatment. (yeah!) Treated water may appear cloudy at first due to the presence of the microscopic biospheres; 30 minutes to 1 hour later all cloudiness is gone. Maintain normal filtration (I don't have to remove carbon?) and air.

Wow this is great, not only will the micro biospheres attach themselves to my bettas and protect them against nuclear war, they'll prevent re-infestation of fin rot! Does anybody have any experience with " this isn't your Father's MII?"

I've never used Maracyn Plus. Tell us how it works. Does to treat both gram positive and gram negative bacteria? Is that what makes it "plus? That would be good at those times when you're trying to fight off secondary infections as well as the initial problem.

"(2) Amquel Plus. Does anyone know the correct dosage or what would work in the following situation. I know the dosage to prepare new water but I have a different use in mind. I isolate sick betta's in small containers (40 ounce beanie baby containers usually with an airline. How many drops should I add between water changes to keep the ammo down?"

Well, let's figure the math.
The dose for Amquel is 1 TBL / 10gal
1 tbl = 10gal = 1280 oz
1280 ÷ 40oz equals 32 so you know you need 1/32 TBL to treat your 40oz
There are 180 drops in 1 TBL
180 ÷ 32 = 5.6 drops
Round that up, it'll take 7 drops of AmQuel+ in a 40oz quarintene tank.

40oz is pretty small for a hospital tank, only about 1/3 gal. It's tough to figure proper dosage when you're dealing with meds that don't come in drop form. I was using 2.5 gal for a while and it was a nightmare cutting pills up. I found that a 5 gal took a lot of the stress out of administering meds. Just thought I'd throw it out there.

oops. I just read that you are spawning... Maybe these are what you use when you have lots of sick fish?

"(3) PimaFix, If memory serves me well I recall Rachel mentioning this product. Any comments on its use? I ordered it since it works with Melafix. The label indicates that its a medicine. Can I use this as a preventative or should it just be used as a medicinal treatment?"

This stuff is pretty new right? I think it's supposed to be a medicine, not used for preventative measures. It requires taking out the filter media so you probably don't want to use it all the time. It's an herbal remedy too, like Melafix. I'm still looking into more information on PimaFix and will let you know what I find. Melafix is sort of a funny thing in that even AquariumPharm admits it's not intended for serious bacterial infections. It's a "feel good" herbal remedy that has been known to do more harm then good at times due to the melaleuca present. Basically it contains a mild antiseptic which some people find useful when treating fin rot.

"(4) Hagen Mini-Therm 25w heater. I've read several good comments on HB regarding this heater that I had to try it. It cost only 11.19 and will replace my Rena Cal Excel 50w and 25w Visitherm in my spawn tank. The Rena Cal has a good reputation but was probably too powerful for my use. The Visi-Therm was not reliable.
I like the fact that this heater is very slim, my Visi-therm takes us much more space despite the fact that they're both 6".

I'll be using it in a 5G with less than three gallons of water. The water line is around 5 inches. Can I set this heater up standing straight with a bit sticking out of the water? Or must it be fully submersed? I didn't read anything on the label regarding this. I know how to set the temp from posts that I've read here."

I have heard that these heaters DO need to be fully submersed, but I couldn't find any information as to why. Wish I could help.

?(5) On backorder...Mark Weiss' Bacter Vital....I want to use this to speed up tank cycling. The mfr's claims seem impressive. Has anyone used this product?"

I've used Bio-Spira and it works great. Takes between a day and a week at most to cycle. Some of the other products say they take a month or two, but by that point, I think the tank has cycled itself. I'm not familiar with Bacter Vital. Do let us know how it goes.

[palepinkvase]

Please recount your experince with the Hagen. I have not met anyone who has been disappointed with it and I am hoping to upgrade in the near future.

I have used the Amquel+ at work and am happy with it.

[ACKislander]

oK, I made a boo boo with my math. I thought it was 1 TBL Amquel/10gal, but it's actually 1 tsp. (I double checked last night when I got home)

There are 60 drops in a tsp so you take...

1 tsp = 10 gal = 1280 oz
1280 ÷ 40oz = 32
60 drops ÷ 32 = 1.8
so you need 2 drops of AmQuel + per 40oz of water.

Unless you have really low buffering capacity a little extra won't hurt so if you took my math as it was and added 6 drops last night, don't worry, it'll be fine.

[Rachel]

What fun getting new supplies!

I don't have experience using Pimafix. From what I have heard of the product, it was designed to combat resistant strains of pathogens that other medications are no longer effective against. It is safe to mix with Melafix and is supposed to treat fungal and both internal/external bacterial infections. It is a natural product, much like Melafix, with the main ingredient of West Indian Bay oil. I probably wouldn't use it as a preventative, but would wait for treatment purposes if necessary.

I would love to hear your review of the product once you end up trying it!