Let me start by saying, I’m a huge fan of Cory at Aquarium CO-OP. His contribution to the hobby has been invaluable. One of those contributions has been the recommendation of the fish quarantine medication trio; Fritz Maracyn, Aquarium Solutions Ich-X, and Fritz ParaCleanse. I’ve been using this trio for years now and use it every time I buy new fish.
In this article, we will go over the fish medication trio and why you should use it when you get new fish.
Why You Should Use the Med Trio
Every single new addition to your fish room or single aquarium should be quarantined for at least two weeks before introducing them to your existing tanks. Personally, I wait four weeks to be safe. You might consider this overkill and it probably is.
By using the med trio you can drastically shorten this waiting time. By treating for internal and external parasites and bacteria right away, you can skip the long wait and confidently add the new fish after treatment.
What Is the Med Trio?
The medicine trio includes Fritz Maracyn, Aquarium Solutions Ich-X, and Fritz ParaCleanse. Let’s discuss each of them.
Fritz Maracyn
This medication is a broad-spectrum antibiotic called Erythromycin. It is highly effective for treating many different bacterial fish diseases. It has few side effects, and will not wipe out your biofilter like some antibiotics can.
Aquarium Solutions Ich-X
This is an external parasite medication used to treat various parasites such as Ich and Velvet. The Ich-X ingredients are formaldehyde (<5%), methanol (<2%), and malachite green chloride. This medication is safe for snails and shrimp, and will not harm your biofilter.
Fritz ParaCleanse
This is a broad-spectrum internal parasite medication effective for various diseases such as tapeworms and gill flukes. The ingredients of Paracleanse are metronidazole and praziquantel. Once again, this will not harm your bio filter and this is safe for snails and invertebrates like shrimp
Using the Trio
These three medications are safe to use together all at once, and that’s what makes this combination so good. Some medicines cannot be dosed together for various reasons, so it would take quite a while to treat different diseases.
Instead of following the instructions on the box/bottle, use one packet of Maracyn, one packet of ParaCleanse, and one teaspoon of Ich-X for every 10 gallons of water in your tank.
If you have weak or very sick fish, it might be easier for them if you space out treatments instead of all at once, however, in most circumstances, you should do them together.
