General Cure + Focus + Flake?

[JoshF7]

Hi, I usually feed frozen foods almost exclusively, but I have a few fish in QT right now that seem to strongly prefer flake foods. I need to treat for an internal parasite (stringy poop), so want to add General Cure to their flake or I'm concerned they won't eat enough of it. Is it still 1 Tbsp of food (flake in this case) to 1 scoop of focus and 1 scoop of GC once a day for 14 days? I have read different recipes for flake, but not found anything on this forum so thought I would ask directly. Also, to bind it to flake, do you recommend using alcohol to dissolve and bind it with the focus to the flake, or some other/better method like maybe using Selcon somehow? Appreciate any/all advice. TIA!

 

[Manthanol]

Hi Josh, I use Piscine mysis pellets instead of flakes. I use 1 scoop of Focus, 1 scoop of GC and 1 tsp of pellets since is more dense than flakes. I mix the Focus and GC with some Selcon and/or Zoecon first then add the pellets. After mixing the pellets in I spread it onto an aluminum foil to let it dry. Once it's dried I break it into smaller pieces and stored it in a dark container to avoid degradation by light. Then I proceed to feed the fish for 10-14 days twice daily. Fish love it, good luck!

 

[seaplane]

I have great success getting fish that refuse to eat food with medications mixed in by mixing the med + Focus into Masstick . Masstick is like crack for my fish.

 

[JoshF7]

Hi Josh, I use Piscine mysis pellets instead of flakes....1 scoop of Focus, 1 scoop of GC and 1 tsp of pellets...

Thanks, I don't have any pellets like that right now, but other pellets I have tried with them over the last few weeks in QT have not been eaten. Can't say I have ever had a set of fish like this prefer flake over anything else, but there it is. I was thinking the same thing in regards to how much more concentrated flake/pellet can be, but I'm worried about overdosing if I did 1 scoop per teaspoon of flake instead of a tablespoon of thawed frozen.

@seaplane , appreciate the suggestion, but no problem getting them to eat in general, just that they prefer flake so much over anything else I have tried. What ratio do you use with your mix of food?

 

[Manthanol]

You

Thanks, I don't have any pellets like that right now, but other pellets I have tried with them over the last few weeks in QT have not been eaten. Can't say I have ever had a set of fish like this prefer flake over anything else, but there it is. I was thinking the same thing in regards to how much more concentrated flake/pellet can be, but I'm worried about overdosing if I did 1 scoop per teaspoon of flake instead of a tablespoon of thawed frozen.

PE pellets are made mostly of mysis and my whole tank loves it. Most all of my new additions will eat PE pellets or Hikari Seaweed Extreme for the herbivores. My only concern about flakes is that it will stick all together after soaking in the GC+Focus solution and might not be flaky anymore. Give PE pellets a try if others weren't successful.

 

[JoshF7]

You...Most all of my new additions will eat PE pellets...

Thanks again for the advice. I couldn't get any of those locally, so I have ordered some to get here relatively soon. For now, I took some flake, shook it together with a scoop of Focus and scoop of GC, then added a fair amount of Selcon to wet the flakes and let everything stick a bit, then microwaved it for a few seconds with paper towels over the top and under it to dry it back out. It worked pretty well, but I probably microwaved it a bit longer than necessary this first test. It doesn't look like the heat from the microwave would cause any problems to the GC and still let it be effective, but if anyone has anything contrary (that heat destroys it somehow), definitely let me know.

 

[Manthanol]

Thanks again for the advice. I couldn't get any of those locally, so I have ordered some to get here relatively soon. For now, I took some flake, shook it together with a scoop of Focus and scoop of GC, then added a fair amount of Selcon to wet the flakes and let everything stick a bit, then microwaved it for a few seconds with paper towels over the top and under it to dry it back out. It worked pretty well, but I probably microwaved it a bit longer than necessary this first test. It doesn't look like the heat from the microwave would cause any problems to the GC and still let it be effective, but if anyone has anything contrary (that heat destroys it somehow), definitely let me know.

I also had to try a couple of times to get it right. I spread my GC+Focus+food mix onto an aluminum foil to air dry to avoid heating it. Most medications need to be stored below 77F (25C) and protected from light. Light and heat will degrade a lot of things. If you can keep it below 77F in the microwave then you are good to go.