Medication

When treating ponds, medication is often just a fancy word for poison. The trick is to dose enough to kill the parasite and ensure the fish survive. Considering this, you can imagine that pond treatment not only kills the parasites but can also severely impact the fish and filter bacteria. Therefore, always treat cautiously and only when absolutely necessary! Unfortunately, preventative treatments are sometimes administered "just in case." Don't do this; you'll often do more harm than good. If at all possible, try to treat fish outside the pond. If that's not possible, for example, because you have a large fish population and not a large enough treatment tank, at least short-circuit the filter system so that the nitrifying bacteria aren't killed. The last thing a pond with sick fish needs is a malfunctioning filter system.

Precautionary measures

When handling medication, take the necessary precautions. Wear eye, respiratory, and skin protection such as safety glasses, a face mask, and surgical gloves. Protect yourself and those around you (pets, children) by storing the medication properly. Read the instructions carefully and adhere to them. Monitor the fish closely during the first few hours of use and place them in clean water if there are any signs of a problem.

Types of Medication

We can roughly divide the medications used for pond fish into:

• Antiparasitics
• This is essentially poison. This includes commonly used substances such as formalin, methylene blue, malachite green, and combinations thereof (known as FMC mixtures). This must be handled with extreme care, as FMC contains carcinogenic substances!

• Antifungals
• These are antifungal agents. These substances directly kill fungi or prevent them from reproducing.

• Insecticide
• These are agents against crustaceans in the pond and often work by preventing the necessary molting of these types of parasites, so that they cannot reach the adult stage and therefore cannot reproduce.

• Antibiotics
• These are agents that combat bacterial infections by killing harmful bacteria (bactericidal) or inhibiting their growth and/or reproduction (bacteriostatic). Due to the increasing development of resistance, these agents should only be used for targeted treatment and may only be prescribed by veterinarians.

• Vaccine
• A vaccine isn't actually a medicine, but a preventative measure. Vaccination stimulates the fish's immune system to produce antibodies against a specific virus, preventing or reducing the disease the fish will experience if it comes into contact with the virus.

Diagnosis
Treatment with medication is only useful if a correct diagnosis has been made and if the cause of the problem is also addressed.

Joop van Tol (www.koitoday.nl)