# Metronidazole dosage



## itamag (Dec 28, 2012)

Hey everyone. I've know bought pure powder Metronidazole for my fish, to treat internal parasites (his symptoms are lethargy, weight loss and white stringy feces). The seller told me that for treated food I should use 1 gram of Metronidazole for every 100 grams of fish food. Is that true? And if so, should I just add 1 gram of Metronidazole to some tank water and dip 100 grams of food in it?

To sum it up my question is how should I make medicated fish food with powder Metronidazole? 

Thanks!


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## Tolak (Nov 13, 2012)

I use frozen brine shrimp, about a half pea size portion. Toss it in a shotglass, let it thaw, sprinkle on some metro so it looks like a small powdered donut. Never had a problem doing it that way, always did the trick.


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## itamag (Dec 28, 2012)

So fishy decided not to play along and eat his medicated food, so I started adding dissolved Metronidazole to the water. I'm adding the Metro over a period of time to prevent shock. At the end, there concentration will be 100mg of Metro per 10 gallons of water. Is that okay? I've seen online that some tend to use higher dosages (usually 250mg). And should I add more Metro to the water over time? 

Thanks


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## Tolak (Nov 13, 2012)

Go with 40mg/gallon, 50% water change daily & remed. Metro has a very short half life in water, around 8 hours. I'm on my way out the door to work, I've got a C&P I've been posting for many years, I'll get that up in about 8 hours. You'll also want to bring the temperature up as high as you think is safe, that is something to do a bit more gradually, the medication is not.


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## itamag (Dec 28, 2012)

Felix is just laying on the floor and hyperventilating. Currently the dosage is 10mg a gallon, as suggested by Seachem. Should I increase the dosage?


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## Tolak (Nov 13, 2012)

My usual blurb is below, yes you will want to increase it. I know what they suggest, and I know what works.

This is what I do for angels, you may want to look into the maximum temp your fish can handle. Metro was originally designed for humans, the closer you can get the tank to 98.6F the better. 

Put the angel in a quar tank, I usually use a 10 gallon. Increase the temp over a day or so to 90-94F. Treat daily with 40 mg/gallon metronidazole, with 50% water changes daily. If the fish isn't eating, don't feed for the first 3 days. After 3 days, get some frozen brine shrimp. Take a portion about the size of a few match heads, and sprinkle on some metro. You have to eyeball this one, make the shrimp look kind of like a tiny powdered donut. Once it thaws, mix it in & feed. Sometimes they still don't eat for a few days, but once they start to mouth the food & spit it out, the meds seem to get in their system real good. Continue medicating the water & food for 7-10 days. Donâ€™t forget to increase aeration, as warmer water holds less O2.

Metronidazole is sold as flagyl, het-a-mit, and a few other names I can't recall offhand, used to treat hexamita & hole in the head. They usually suggest 20mg/gallon, this often isn't enough. Metro deteriorates in 8 hours, so you could do twice daily water changes. I've done this on the weekends when I have time. 

I've also added epsom salt while using metro, this helps with any constipation issues, cleans out the digestive tract. I start with 1 teaspoon per 10 gallons of water, increasing by 1 teaspoon daily for 2 more days to bring it up to 3 teaspoons per 10 gallons. You will have to adjust how much you use when doing water changes. You may want to give this a try.


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## itamag (Dec 28, 2012)

Tolak said:


> My usual blurb is below, yes you will want to increase it. I know what they suggest, and I know what works.
> 
> This is what I do for angels, you may want to look into the maximum temp your fish can handle. Metro was originally designed for humans, the closer you can get the tank to 98.6F the better.
> 
> ...


Hey Tolak. I've decided to not use the dosage you recommended because it wasn't suggested on any other place.. Instead I used 20mg a gallons. After 4 days of treating with Metronidazole in the water, Felix is not looking the slightest bit better. I'm starting to second guess the internal parasites diagnosis.. Currently my options are to either continue as usual with Metro, continue with 40mg a gallon Metro or stop treatment and try a general medication (this is if we assume my diagnosis is wrong).

The thing is that In three days I'll be away for a week. There's no way I could cancel this trip and stay at home..  So I'm very limited in the time I have left to cure my fish.

What should I do? I'd appreciate it tremendously if some other people here at the forum shared their thoughts as well, and Tolak - I couldn't thank you enough! You're a great help!


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## Tolak (Nov 13, 2012)

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/spironucleus.php#4.1.2 Dosage 

4.1.2.1.2 Dose 2 - Severe case or reoccurrence This is where the Spironucleus has not been spotted early i.e. the discus has demonstrated a behavioural change indicative; white poo may have been seen on several occasions and the fish may in fact no longer be passing visible excreta; or this is a repetition of a previous case of _S. vortens_; again has been grossly identified using a compound light microscope.
 •  A 30% water change prior to dosing
 •  A temperature of 30oC
 •  400mg of metronidazole / 10gallons of aquarium water.
 •  After 8 hours 25% water change is performed followed by another 400mg of metronidazole / 10gallons of aquarium water.
 •  This cycle is repeated for three days
 •  The dose of metronidazole can be increased further than this, I have a personal preference of 500mg but greater care must be taken and careful observations are a must.


******************************************************


Trying to find the original research paper from 10 years ago has been an exercise in futility. Per Edward Noga's book; http://www.amazon.com/Fish-Disease-Diagnosis-Edward-Noga/dp/0813806976 up to 95mg/gallon is suggested. Feel free to Google the references at the bottom of the first link, you may come across the paper much of this is derived from.


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## itamag (Dec 28, 2012)

Tolak said:


> http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/spironucleus.php#4.1.2 Dosage
> 
> 4.1.2.1.2 Dose 2 - Severe case or reoccurrence This is where the Spironucleus has not been spotted early i.e. the discus has demonstrated a behavioural change indicative; white poo may have been seen on several occasions and the fish may in fact no longer be passing visible excreta; or this is a repetition of a previous case of _S. vortens_; again has been grossly identified using a compound light microscope.
> •  A 30% water change prior to dosing
> ...


Thank you so much! I'll try that tomorrow


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