***If you have any additional tips or know of sites to order from in various countries, PLEASE reply to this thread so that I can add the information to the OP!***
Unfortunately, the medications that we tend to recommend here are difficult (or impossible) to come by outside of the US. It can be costly or even illegal to attempt to import these medications, so below is a compilation of medication information for various international regions. In many areas, non-medicated treatment options maybe be the best course of action:
In areas where meds are difficult to come by and may need to be imported, it would be wise to procure them before they are needed in an emergency situation. Refer to
this thread for a list of medications to keep on hand.
Canada
- DIY copper medication (copper sulfate) treats ich and velvet. This has a low, tight therapeutic range of ~0.15 - 0.25mg/L and is best used alongside the Hanna High Range Copper Colorimeter (HI702) to ensure accuracy, but the ingredients to make it can be easily sourced from Amazon.
- Thanks to @andrewkw for this source of medications for Canadians in Ontario: Canadian Fish Vet
- Also thanks to @EAChris for this source for fenbendazole: Pets Drug Mart
- Other medications may still be orderable from the US, but plan ahead as mentioned above as they may get delayed by customs as noted by @mikeintoronto: Medication ban in Canada.
UK
Guidelines and detailed dosage information can be found in
@Salmo Si's threads
Emergency Disease Fighting 101 and
Internal Parasites and nphsmith's thread
My Prophylactic Quarantine Regime at
Ultimate Reef. The brief info below was pulled from these two threads and is used with permission.
Note: Some of this information may apply to Europe in general, but it is mostly applicable specifically to the UK.
- Avloclor (chloroquine phosphate) can be obtained via prescription, and treats ich, velvet, brooklynella, and uronema. Dosage is 10mg per 1L of saltwater.
- Seachem Cupramine (ionic copper) treats ich and velvet. Therapeutic dosage is 0.5ppm, but this must be reached slowly and should be checked frequently.
- Copper Power (chelated copper) treats ich and velvet. Therapeutic dosage is 2.0-2.5ppm, more info available here
- Waterlife Myxazin (acriflavine, malachite green and formaldehyde) is used to fight bacterial infections. Often used to increase the effectiveness of a freshwater dip; dosage is 0.5mL per 3L of dip water.
- NT Labs Acriflavin (acriflavine) is used as a 90min bath treatment for brooklynella (similar to Ruby Reef Rally). Dosage is 7.5mL per 1L of saltwater.
- Sera Tremazol (praziquantel) treats flukes and worms. Used as a 6 hour bath treatment at a dosage of 1mL per 11L of saltwater.
- An alternative to Tramazol is Fluke Solve(praziquantel), which is dosed directly into a reef or QT vs. being used as a bath treatment. Dosage is 1g per 250L (55g) of saltwater. Treatment chart provided by @Wyster:
- Another alternative to praziquantel is Panacur (fenbendazole). Note: NOT reef safe, even when bound to food. Use only in a QT setting.
- For internal parasites, dosage is 2mg/litre once a week for 3 weeks.
- For flukes, it is used as a 12 hour bath treatment at a dosage of 25mg per 1L of saltwater, and the fish would need to go into a clean tank after to prevent reinfection.
- @Wyster's local source for Methylene Blue (treats ammonia burn, cuts, cyanide poisoning, more info here)
- Vitamin options: Waterlife Vitazin (contains vitamins A, B1, B2, B6, B12, C, nicotinic acid, D3, E, K, & panthotenic acid) and Selcon (contains highly unsaturated OMEGA 3 fatty acids, Marine Lipids, Stabilized Vitamin C, and Vitamin B12 Cyanocobalamin). Both are good as food additives, along with powdered spirulina. Vitazin can also be dosed directly in the water.
- Formalin: Formaldehyde 37% ACS (preferred because concentration is known) or NT Labs Koi Care Formaldehyde
Australia
Thanks to
@doc for providing additional information on the medication available in Australia: "I wanted to add the following for Australia currently available without prescription locally and without needing to look outside of solutions directly intended for aquarium use." And thanks to
@Autonomy for providing additional sources for some of these meds.
Also from
@doc: "As for importing medicines you do need to be careful as some ingredients are allowed to come in and some aren't. For people in Aus dealing with a more serious issue or are happy to pay for diagnostic services and prescription medication
Welcome To The Fish Vet is an option. Just be aware you need an in home consult prior to any medications being provided. Probably only something for a small niche of people but worth a mention."
As noted previously, if attempting to import medications, plan ahead as noted in the introduction as they may get delayed by customs.
If Cupramine becomes unavailable as mentioned above, the following DIY copper medication will be your best bet:
- DIY copper medication (copper sulfate) treats ich and velvet. This has a low, tight therapeutic range of ~0.15 - 0.25mg/L and is best used alongside the Hanna High Range Copper Colorimeter (HI702) to ensure accuracy, but the ingredients to make it can be easily sourced from Amazon.
Asia
Thanks to
@Sealala for helping to provide this information. Many medications are difficult to get in Asia, but Seachem and API products seem to be readily available, along with a few others:
- Seachem Cupramine (ionic copper) treats ich and velvet. Therapeutic dosage is 0.5ppm, but this must be reached slowly and should be checked frequently.
- Seachem Metroplex/Kanaplex/Sulfaplex/Neoplex, API Erythromycin/Furan-2 (antibiotics), used for treating bacterial infections. Dosages and treatment guidelines vary and can be found in the Antibiotics thread.
- Seachem Focus (for binding medications to food)
- API General Cure (metronidazole and praziquantel), dosed directly into QT water for treating flukes and external worms, and food-soaked for treating Internal Parasites
- Ruby Reef Rally (acriflavine and formalin) is used as a 90min bath treatment for brooklynella and temporary relief of velvet. Dosage is 1 teaspoon per 1g of saltwater.
- Waterlife Myxazin (acriflavine, malachite green and formaldehyde) is used to fight bacterial infections. Often used to increase the effectiveness of a freshwater dip; dosage is 0.5mL per 3L of dip water.
Sites to purchase from: