Pottassium Permanganate Facts

Hey guys,

I've been looking around and i've found some sights that recommend this as a treatment to things like columnaris and other bacterial issues. Is this true? IS it a good remedy?

I've only known it as a good way to clean new plants to ward off invaders like snails etc.

What other uses are there that I'm not aware of? (both in and out of the aquarium)

 

Use it to soak large pieces of driftwood...those that are too large to boil.

It can be used for flesh eating diseases caused by resistant bacteria. Not sure of specific diseases.

Many times can use hydrogen peroxide for early columnaris.

 

Potassium permanganate is a strong oxidizer, and it basically zaps any organic matter that comes in contact including bacteria and parasites. Not effective against internal infections. I use it with my goldfish for external parasites, but it is too harsh for more sensitive fish. You need to be very careful with dosage and procedure or it will zap the fish as well—burn the fins and flesh, damage the gills, and so on. Damage to the gills may not be obvious at first but will affect overall health of fish in a long run. So, PP will do more harm than good unless you know what you are doing.

 

Use it to soak large pieces of driftwood...those that are too large to boil.

It can be used for flesh eating diseases caused by resistant bacteria. Not sure of specific diseases.

Many times can use hydrogen peroxide for early columnaris.

That's cool to hear!... I had no idea it would be so useful

Potassium permanganate is a strong oxidizer, and it basically zaps any organic matter that comes in contact including bacteria and parasites. Not effective against internal infections. I use it with my goldfish for external parasites, but it is too harsh for more sensitive fish. You need to be very careful with dosage and procedure or it will zap the fish as well—burn the fins and flesh, damage the gills, and so on. Damage to the gills may not be obvious at first but will affect overall health of fish in a long run. So, PP will do more harm than good unless you know what you are doing.

Researching goldfish is when I actually found this out. Often used for almost any external issue, especially columnaris and finrot and fungus

 

Hey guys,

I've been looking around and i've found some sights that recommend this as a treatment to things like columnaris and other bacterial issues. Is this true? IS it a good remedy?

I've only known it as a good way to clean new plants to ward off invaders like snails etc.

What other uses are there that I'm not aware of? (both in and out of the aquarium)

It's great stuff. Has allot of uses and can work miracles on fish. Of course it also has the ability to dissolve or otherwise kill your fish should you dose it wrong. It makes anchor worms let go, it removes virtually anything that might grow on the outside of a fish, bacterial, fungal or protozoan, it disinfects except for viruses, it breaks down sludge, it kills algae and the list just goes on.

One bad thing is that, since it is an oxidizer, it is hard on the gills. A fish that has badly damaged gills from flukes or infection might be pushed over the edge by a dip in PP. PP can kill the epithelial cells that transfer oxygen to the fish's blood. This layer of cells is only one cell thick, so..... The safest way to use PP is to use a low dose of about 2ppm over a long period of time (24H), but that doesn't work against everything and fish don't always have a day or two to start improving. A fifteen or thirty second dip in a much stronger concentration can turn a fish around that is covered up in something like columnaris or a true fungus, the fish comes out sparkling clean but well traumatized by the experience. By sparkling, I mean no slime coat remains so the fish is very vulnerable for about 12 hours while it reslimes itself, so you would want to put the fish into a clean hospital tank so bacteria don't immediately attack. PP dips are like chemotherapy on the fish, they're usually not going to be the first tool you pull out when a problem comes up.

You should do some research on methylene blue, another wonderful substance that anyone that owns fish should keep handy. It's a whole lot safer (harder to overdose) to use than PP, but it's not as powerful and doesn't cover exactly the same ground either. Still it has its own strengths and is a good place to start learning how to calculate dosing.

 

That's great to hear. Up until now baths i've conducted have been in a double dose of tetra general tonic, which according to the label is prodominantly meth blue...

Thank you very much for the info!...

 

One thing that I know it is good for is Athlete's Foot Fungus. Now if it can kill that fungus... then it should be able to help with treatment of fish fungi. It is also good for skin eruptions such as eczema and/burns. It cleanses withouth making the damage worse.