Antiparasitic

Performance & sizing

Core numbers for matching this unit to your tank and electrical plan.

Power

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Flow rate

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Noise

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Dimensions

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Price range

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Tank fit (L)

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Consumables & maintenance

Follow the manufacturer schedule for seals, impellers, media, and other consumables.

Description

A bottle labelled antiparasitic tells you almost nothing about what is inside it, and the Merck Veterinary Manual's parasiticide section is the clearest way to see why that matters. The compounds it lists target different parasites and carry different preconditions, and choosing the wrong one costs a week of dosing while the infestation carries on. Formalin has the firmest regulatory footing. Merck records that several brands, at 37 % formaldehyde in aqueous solution rather than the 10 % fixative used for histology, are FDA approved as parasiticides for finfish and penaeid shrimp, and are usually given as a prolonged bath at 15 to 25 mg/L. It also gives an instruction that no product label should have to teach you: vigorous aeration during formalin treatment is essential. Organophosphates work on a different target. Merck describes decades of use in nonfood fish against monogeneans, parasitic crustaceans and leeches, at 0.25 mg/L as an indefinite bath, in freshwater and for ornamental fish only. Their toxicity moves with pH, and acid water makes them more toxic, which is a real complication in a soft-water tank. Diflubenzuron is narrower still: a chitin synthesis inhibitor for anchor worms and fish lice, aquarium fish only, 0.03 mg/L, with a half-life over a week. Copper is where hobby dosing goes wrong most often. Merck is explicit that the total alkalinity of the water must be known before the dose can be calculated at all, so a copper treatment begins with a test kit rather than with a cap measure. Copper also damages the nitrifying bacteria in the filter, and Merck says to expect a rise in ammonia and nitrite for weeks to months afterwards. Salt is the mildest option on the list. Held permanently at 2 to 3 g/L it minimises some parasitic protistans, and the FDA treats it as of low regulatory concern.

Source

• merckvetmanual.com — https://www.merckvetmanual.com/exotic-and-laboratory-animals/aquarium-fish/management-of-aquarium-fish

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