▷ Natural remedies for fish diseases in fish

General information about natural remedies

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Any of the following «drugs» or additives can often prevent or minimize the use of harsher drugs and «chemistry» in the pool. However, it must be said that these natural remedies do not always lead to success with fish that are already severely damaged and that a previous precise diagnosis and the matched drug is often better served.

Using medication based on suspicion or inaccurate diagnoses is in most cases ineffective or even counterproductive. Of course, I cannot guarantee that my suggestions will always be the better choice and always save the fish, but I have to say that they have been used successfully for me and many others.

However, the dosage has been repeatedly changed/improved over the course of time by trying it out, which means that there are widely varying dosage and effect information in the knowledge base of some old hands and also on the Internet, with which you can often only find out by trying it out how it works for your own Pisces is best. It is recommended to always start with a low dose (already at the first sign of illness and not only when the animals are already half dead) and then increase it if necessary.

Danger:

The bactericidal effect of additives (also in commercially available medicines) also applies to nitrite and nitrate bacteria! So at the beginning of the «innovation» it is essential to measure these two values more often and to change the water more frequently at the beginning!

Tips:

For hard-water tanks (livebearers, East Africans, but also rainbows) use salt first for acute treatment, since all other treatment methods lower the KH and pH (albeit only slightly).
For soft water tanks (and especially South Americans) try to avoid salt, as it is often not well tolerated (details under Salt).
The leaves and cones used should be collected in a rural area (little emissions, no sprayed trees) and if collected on a dry day, are packed in plastic bags (black garbage bags), have a long shelf life and are ready to use at any time.
With all treatments, care must be taken to ensure good ventilation using a diffuser and/or membrane pump and outflow stone, since the substances introduced increase the oxygen requirement and the fish may not have enough available. In addition, air vents help against gas bubble disease, which is caused by oversaturation of a gas in the water and the resulting bubbles of gas in the bloodstream of the fish (comparable to the diving disease in humans).

More information about natural remedies

Treatment means:

Long-term tea treatment:

Effect:

To prevent diseases or spawn fungal infections through the astringent effect of the tannins (= tannins) and saponins, making them bactericidal and fungicidal.
Administration of vitamins and/or substances that act like vitamins (polyphenols).

Dosage and preparation: 1l black or green tea (preferably from the health food or tea house, because of various spray residues in the commercially available bags) per 100l of aquarium water. However, it is better to drink the first 2 or 3 infusions yourself – or empty them away – and only use the fourth infusion for the aquarium. The active ingredients of the first infusions are too concentrated for the animals and contain excessive doses of caffeine, which can hardly be detected after the third infusion! Keep in mind that we “only” come into contact with tea in the (equipped) gastrointestinal tract; the animals swim in it (with gills and skin).

If you intend to keep boiled tea in reserve, do not store the tea in a container made of soft plastic (plasticizer!) (-> dark glass or ceramic would be optimal) and aerate it with an air pump. Skim off the foam bubbles (which will form after a while).

Tea emergency treatment:

Effect:

In acute cases of illness with visible signs of illness (fungus, inflammation, mucosal problems, fin rot…).

Dosage and preparation: To brew tea. From the 4th infusion, add 4 liters of tea per 100 liters of water to the aq. (Is only emergency dosage!! – Not standard!). Change 25% to 30% of the Aq water every other day for 2 weeks (due to nitrite) each time adding more tea. Dose again and again (per 100 liters of fresh water, as usual, 4 liters of tea). After 2 weeks, the dosage can gradually be switched back to «normal» (1l tea / 100l aq water).

Additional information about tea

Black and green tea have an antibacterial effect. Black tea is ultimately fermented green tea.

1 tea bag or a corresponding amount of loose tea is used for every 100 liters of aquarium water. The tea is infused several times with 1 liter of water before use.

The first 2 or 3 infusions are not used in the aquarium, but drunk or poured away. This removes undesirable substances in the aquarium, such as tea oil and caffeine. Caffeine, for example, is a neurotoxin that has a strong effect on fish.

After brewing, caffeine is released first. For this reason, the tea water should be poured off and drunk or thrown away after it has been brewed and left to stand for approx. 30 seconds.
This short-term tea has only a weak taste. However, due to its coffee-like effect, it is a first-class pick-me-up.

The scalded leaves are immediately scalded again. After approx. 30 seconds we drain again and drink the tea or throw it away.

To be on the safe side, the procedure can be repeated a third time.

Only the next infusion is allowed to steep for about 5 to 10 minutes. The desired substances that have an antibacterial effect, such as tannins, are dissolved.

The tea brew obtained in this way has to cool down in a container. The tea oil settles on the surface iridescently in a rainbow colour. The tea oil is removed with blotting paper or kitchen roll paper. The tea oil there must not get into the aquarium. Tea oil can damage the gills of fish.

To ensure that too many of the desired ingredients are not lost when the decoction is brewed and discarded several times, tea of superior quality must be used. So-called leaf tea should be used. Broken tea or powdered tea, as is mostly used in tea bags, are less suitable.

The caffeine and tea oil are primarily excreted through the leaf pores, while the desired components take longer to leave the scalded tea leaf.

Bruchtee or Broken consists of crumbled leaves. Valuable ingredients are lost in this tea even with the first decoctions.

Darjeeling leaf tea is a good choice. especially spring tea.

Leaves:

Which foliage: Only autumn leaves should be used (exception: walnut, birch as medicine), green or even dried leaves have caused fish to «gasp» (due to increased oxygen consumption by the degrading microorganisms).
In general, only foliage from (non-toxic) trees should be used, not shrubs or vines (ivy). Ornamental shrubs and (many) houseplants in particular should be treated with care, as they often contain toxic alkaloids.

Successfully tested: Maple, apple, birch, pear, beech, oak, alder, chestnut, hornbeam, hazelnut, chestnut, cherry, apricot, poplar, plum, elm, willow.

There are mixed reports about: Elderberry (contains substances related to hydrocyanic acid), rowan (rowan berries), Ficus benjamini (birch fig), Scindapsus pictus (ivy prickly pear), Monstera deliciosa (window leaf), philodendron (various species), and generally green leaves picked from the tree which have been dried (here again the exceptions: walnut and birch).

Effect:

Mainly to improve the optics in the pool. It darkens the substrate, catfish and shrimp, but also loaches, like to eat it and the brood has great hiding places with plenty of food (detritus, sludge) due to the leaves lying on top of each other.
Some shrimp ((Neo-)Caridina) reproduce little or very little without foliage.
Color the water slightly yellowish to brown, but not nearly as strong as peat or alder cones.
Only a few special types of leaves (walnut, oak, beech, birch) have additional effects such as lowering the KH/pH and antibacterial/fungicidal effects. This will be discussed in detail later.

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Dosage: Depending on how much you fell, only if you bring in a lot of leaves (a few centimeters thick layer on the bottom) can a lack of oxygen in the tank (but this is unlikely) result from the processing by bacteria. The freshly introduced leaves initially float and sink after a few days. To speed things up, the leaves can be poured over with boiling water before being brought in. The leaves dissolve (depending on the pH value – the softer, more acidic, the longer it takes) after about 2 – 6 weeks or are eaten earlier.

extraction: Gathering the leaves from the ground in autumn. Leaves can often still be found until spring, but these are only a second choice due to various colonizations with fungi, bacteria, etc. To reduce bacteria and fungus, the leaves can/should be rinsed with hot water before placing them in the tank.

Storage: If collected on a dry day, the leaves can be packed in plastic bags (black garbage bags) or in boxes (shoe boxes work very well here) without further pre-treatment and can be used for at least a year. When the leaves are damp they should be dried in a shady, warm place (not between newspapers, lead (from the printer’s ink) can sometimes kill invertebrates) and then wrapped up in the same way.

More information about foliage

Oak/Beech Leaves:

It should be noted here that the hornbeam (or hornbeam in Switzerland) is not a beech tree, but is very closely related to the hazelnut. Due to their hard consistency, oak and beech leaves last longer in the tank and often only dissolve after 1-2 months.

Effect:

Only to prevent diseases (slightly antibacterial, fungicidal).
Mainly for optics, as a shelter.
Only slight effect against fungus and bacteria. infections.
Also lower pH and KH (minimal) and color the water a little more than other foliage Dosage: see foliage.

extraction: See foliage, however, especially on young beech trees, dried leaves can often be found in spring/summer, which are very easy to use because they have not or only very little decomposed.

walnut leaves:

Effect:

Helps with injuries of all kinds, fungal infections.
Antibacterial, due to tannins, enzymes, humic acids and chlorophylls.
In addition, they (like oak/beech leaves) are often taken as additional food by shield catfish and antennae catfish and can therefore remain in the tank, where they decompose after an average of 1-2 months.

The expensive substitute would be sea almond leaves or dried (unsprayed)…