# Maracyn Dosing



## peridotclover (Dec 20, 2011)

Hi! I got a red HM betta about 2 weeks ago, and have been struggling with him a bit since. His tail/fins looked ragged and blackish at the edges, so I suspected fin rot and did 1 tsp aquarium salt in his tank for 10 days. It didn't seem to help, and 2 days ago I noticed a white/gray patch on either side of his face (close to the edges of his "gills"). The patch isn't fuzzy or anything though. I thought maybe that symptom, in addition to the fin disintegration, might point to columnaris or something. 

He's in a 1 gal unfiltered tank with a small heater that keeps temperatures around 76ish. There is a small plant, also. I've been doing daily 100% water changes to attempt to clear up what I at first thought was fin rot. He's refused to eat pellets since I bought him, so he's been eating frozen bloodworms so far (I thought i'd keep him on worms until he's completely over this fin/face stuff, then start the please-eat-pellets battle lol.) He is pretty active, swims around, fins aren't clamped or anything.

So here is my question, haha. I went and bought Maracyn 1 and 2 yesterday, but am not sure how to dose him on it. I think I should use both at once? I'm not really sure how to dose for a 1 gal tank with 100% changes everyday (I don't want to risk ammonia levels rising). I'm thinking: dilute dosages of both into water (that would be for 10 gal) and put in 1/10 the first day, 2/10 the second day after a 100% change, 3/10 the third day after another change, etc., until the fifth day. Does that sound like an okay thing to do?

Thank you to anyone who responds!  My fishy thanks you too! I will try to post a pic if he will stay still long enough.


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

Your best bet would be to pre-mix the water into a bucket.. if you have something that holds 10 gallons that's excellent but if not you can separate 1/2 of each packet and use a 5 gallon bucket to pre-mix it. That way you can just fill the tank with the pre-mixed water with each water change.

76 really isn't ideal for a sick betta and the low temp could be a factor in why he isn't improving. If there was anyway to get a better heater I would look into it. It'll make it easier on the both of you.


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## ThorAndGhost (Jun 23, 2011)

I cut the doses up into little lines, sorta like I'm doing drugs (I know, it's a messed up comparison, but seriously, a credit card and a few lines of the powder, and you can pretty much make up 10 relatively equal doses - and I don't actually do drugs, but, you know ... from the movies ...). I do this because sometimes you need to follow the instructions to the letter and that doesn't always allow for a daily 100% water change.

I'm not really an expert on these boards, so you may want to get more advice before you follow mine, but from experience I can tell you that my method has worked in the past on more than one occasion.


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Peridotclover, this is the best way to treat small tanks with these meds.

Get a 1 gallon jug and fill with 5 cups of dechlorinated water. Add the dosage of one med and mix well. Now pour 1/2 cup of medicated water per gallon into the hospital tank. Since your tank is 1 gallon, pour in 1/2 cup of medicated water. Get a second jug and repeat with the second medication. 

Change the water in his hospital tank 100% every day and redose with the medicated water. With Maracyn II, you'll need to dump the first batch of medicated water because the dosage changes. After that, you can keep the medicated water and use for two day's worth of water changes. Then dump it and make new batches. 

Hope this helps.


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## Pitluvs (Jun 22, 2011)

Sakura8 said:


> Get a 1 gallon jug and fill with 5 cups of dechlorinated water. Add the dosage of one med and mix well. Now pour 1/2 cup of medicated water per gallon into the hospital tank. Since your tank is 1 gallon, pour in 1/2 cup of medicated water. Get a second jug and repeat with the second medication.


This is what we do, well for all the animals in the house that need treatments. Only the rats get Nesquick Strawberry syrup, not treated water lol


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Strawberry syrup, yum.


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## peridotclover (Dec 20, 2011)

Thank you very much for all your responses! I'd read somewhere online that Maracyn lost effectiveness after 24 hours in water or something - I was very confused and worried about overdosing little Stir!

Just to be clear tho - for Maracyn 1, is it:

Day 1: add 1/2 cup medicated water
Day 2: 100% change, then add 1 cup medicated water
Day 3: 100% change, then add 1 1/2 cup medicated water
Day 4: 100% change, then add 2 cups medicated water
Day 5: 100% change, then add 2 1/2 cups medicated water

Or is it:

Day 1: add 1/2 cup medicated water
Day 2: 100% change, then add 1/2 cup medicated water
Day 3: 100% change, then add 1/2 cup medicated water
Day 4: 100% change, then add 1/2 cups medicated water
Day 5: 100% change, then add 1/2 cups medicated water

??? Does each dosage add to the last?


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Dosing fish is hard because the instructions are so darn unclear. It's the second method. Each day, change the water completely and add in 1/2 cup. Each dosage does not add to the last in this case; because your tank is small and requires frequent water changes, it's easiest to just change the water and redose. In the 10 gallon tank that the dosages are written for, you could get away with not changing the water for a week. In that case, the meds would be absorbed and each new dose would replace the last.


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## peridotclover (Dec 20, 2011)

Whew, thank you SO MUCH for the quick response! Or else I might have ended up overdosing him! Yes it is hard, I had googled a LOT and still not figured out if the doses added up, or what! I will do the second method, and hopefully my fishy gets better! THANK YOU AGAIN!!!


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