Questions About Methylene Blue.

Is it safe to pour this in the yard or down the drain? I know it kills plants and bacteria, and I don't want to mess my yard of plumbing up.

Also would it be bad to use the same bath for treatments over the course of a few days?

 

Good question regarding the disposal. Not sure. I wouldn’t re-use the medicated bath though.

 

The diluted mblue won’t harm your yard. It’s never good to reuse the baths or dips.

 

Okay thank you both

 

I've used meth blue several times and reuse baths. It's best to use a standard 5 gallon bucket with a lid to reuse baths. I typically replace the bath water every other day

 

Dont use the same bath twice. You wouldn't use the same bath water to bath would you? If you're giving them a bath its because they are sick. You don't want to put them back in dirty contaminated water. You want the cleanest water matched to your current tank parameters as possible to limit the stress they are already under not add to it.

 

Agree to disagree. Definitely nothing wrong with using bath water twice. The methylene blue is there to keep the fungus or whatever you are treating dead. I would say the bath water is probably better from an infection stand point than the tank you are keeping them in. It's not a "bath" like we are used to thinking of the term. We take baths to get dirt and grime off of our bodies. We give fish "baths" to treat fungal or bacterial infections usually which is a very different purpose. Meth blue dips I believe aren't supposed to last any longer than 30 seconds of memory serves me correctly but over the years this has changed because of the concentration changes in the product. If a 30 second exposure creates dirty water then the tank they are living in must be filthy even with daily water changes. And it doesn't even have medication in it

As far as the temp goes with that short of time on the dip if you are a degree or two off it shouldn't be an issue. But the temp of water in a bucket is easily controlled.

After about 3 days off open air the meth blue will start losing its effectiveness. This my suggestion of replacing every two days. Regardless op either way you do it should be effective

 

I

Agree to disagree. Definitely nothing wrong with using bath water twice. The methylene blue is there to keep the fungus or whatever you are treating dead. I would say the bath water is probably better from an infection stand point than the tank you are keeping them in. It's not a "bath" like we are used to thinking of the term. We take baths to get dirt and grime off of our bodies. We give fish "baths" to treat fungal or bacterial infections usually which is a very different purpose. Meth blue dips I believe aren't supposed to last any longer than 30 seconds of memory serves me correctly but over the years this has changed because of the concentration changes in the product. If a 30 second exposure creates dirty water then the tank they are living in must be filthy even with daily water changes. And it doesn't even have medication in it

As far as the temp goes with that short of time on the dip if you are a degree or two off it shouldn't be an issue. But the temp of water in a bucket is easily controlled.

After about 3 days off open air the meth blue will start losing its effectiveness. This my suggestion of replacing every two days. Regardless op either way you do it should be effective

I have to disagree. The fish can urinte and defacate in the bath. Closing it up will breed harmful bacteria. It’s not that expensive to risk issues.

 

The meth blue should take care of or at the very least greatly inhibit the growth of bacteria if the combination is done at the concentration suggested for baths. If the fish urinates or defecates to the point where the water is toxic in two days then that's a symptom of something else going on.

All I can say is of the several dozen fish I've had to treat with meth blue, to my recollection the ones I reused the bath water I still own and survived. It's been several years since my first use of meth blue and I've ironically had better results reusing bath water than not. Not saying there is anything to that... Just purely anecdotal.

 

The meth blue should take care of or at the very least greatly inhibit the growth of bacteria if the combination is done at the concentration suggested for baths. If the fish urinates or defecates to the point where the water is toxic in two days then that's a symptom of something else going on.

All I can say is of the several dozen fish I've had to treat with meth blue, to my recollection the ones I reused the bath water I still own and survived. It's been several years since my first use of meth blue and I've ironically had better results reusing bath water than not. Not saying there is anything to that... Just purely anecdotal.

Why save it though? That just boggles my mind.

 

Why save it though? That just boggles my mind.

So I deal with lots of African fish that are wild caught in the polypterid family. These fish often come in with a form of fungal infection and meth blue baths are my first line of defense besides clean water in the qt tank. I typically give these fish two baths a day for multiple weeks to fully kill the infections. Saving the bath water for two days saves me 4 doses and saves a considerable amount of meds. But this treatment isn't specific to polypterids as I've done similar for years now with wild cichlids and such.

I'm just saying in my experience as long as you don't stretch the bath water to long and make sure it doesn't get contaminated with anything else, the risk is negligible

 

So I deal with lots of African fish that are wild caught in the polypterid family. These fish often come in with a form of fungal infection and meth blue baths are my first line of defense besides clean water in the qt tank. I typically give these fish two baths a day for multiple weeks to fully kill the infections. Saving the bath water for two days saves me 4 doses and saves a considerable amount of meds. But this treatment isn't specific to polypterids as I've done similar for years now with wild cichlids and such.

I'm just saying in my experience as long as you don't stretch the bath water to long and make sure it doesn't get contaminated with anything else, the risk is negligible

Gotcha! I could see it in something like that.

 

I bought some Methylene Blue to add to my bettas hospital tank water as a follow up to our battle with dropsy (check my profile if you're interested in reading his dropsy treatment "journal"). He has thankfully and miraculously overcame the dropsy, which was a secondary infection from undiagnosed hole in head. Now that he is done with the heavy duty meds I have just been keeping him in clean warm water with every other day 100% water changes. I decided to get some Kordon Meth Blue to keep him in for a week to assure myself that he won't develop any more issues while his immune system is still trying to recover from the incident.

The bottle says 10 drops per gallon, so I poked a hole in the seal (so I didn't peel the seal off) and that allowed me to just squeeze the bottle and get even drops. I added 20 drops since he is in 2 gallons. I'm worried because the water is DARK. Like I can barely see him swimming around in there. I dont keep a light on this tank since it's just a hospital tank and I like to keep his stress down. However, I'm worried it being so dark might stress him now? Is this normal or was 20 drops too many? This is my first time using methlyene blue in my years of fishkeeping so I was expecting the water to just have a Blue hue like you commonly see in betta cups at the big box pet stores....but its like midnight indigo. It's actually showing up lighter in the picture than it is in real life. Thanks ahead of time!

 

Too much M. Blue IMO. That amount is fine for a 30min bath but for a constant use I’d only do half that dossage.

Of course it won’t hurt the fish at a higher dose, M. blue is very safe and hard to OD fish on IME.

 

Too much M. Blue IMO. That amount is fine for a 30min bath but for a constant use I’d only do half that dossage.

Of course it won’t hurt the fish at a higher dose, M. blue is very safe and hard to OD fish on IME.

He is due for his 100% water change tomorrow, would it be safe to keep him with this dosage for 18 hours or so? Or should I do a 50% WC? I just added about half a gallon of water to try and dilute it but it really didn't lighten the color at all lol

Edit btw the bottle says for a dip the dosage is 1 tsp for 3 gallons...which I feel like that math doesn't add up. 20 drops would probably fill a teaspoon

 

I never really go by the direction when I use M. blue, I eyeball it by color. I think he will be fine until you change the water tomorrow.

 

I never really go by the direction when I use M. blue, I eyeball it by color. I think he will be fine until you change the water tomorrow.

Thank you so much for the advice! I just noticed a weird bubble on his dorsal fin that he's been clamping so I'm glad I can keep him at a higher dosage for a little while. I'll make sure to check on him every so often until I go to sleep just to make sure he doesn't seem too stressed

 

Normally, the equivalent measure is 20 drops per 1 ml if you are using a medicine dropper, pipette or dropper bottle to form the drops. One teaspoon is equal to 5 ml or 100 drops.

How big is your tank? Medication should always be dosed based on water volume, not tank volume. A two gallon tank will hold less than 2 gallons of water.

Typically, when the word "dip" is used you are talking about using a medication at a concentrated dosage for a brief period of time...seconds or minutes, not hours. The instructions for Kordon methylene blue say you can prepare a 50 ppm concentrated dip by adding 5 teaspoons (25 ml) to 3 gallons of water. However, the dip should not last more than 10 seconds.

Instructions for normal treatment say to dose 1 teaspoon (5 ml) per 10 gallons of water to produce a 3 ppm concentration and treat for 3-5 days. That is the 10 drops per gallon dosage you followed. If your tank contains 2 gallons of water, 20 drops would be the suitable dose.

Methylene blue can affect beneficial bacteria. Thus, keep an eye on your ammonia levels in the quarantine tank. It is not recommended for use in the main tank because it can affect the cycle.

At the recommended dosage, you should either wait 3-5 days before doing a water change or do your water change and add more methylene blue based on the amount of water replaced. If you want to do a 50% water change (1 gallon of the 2 gallons), then add another 10 drops of methylene blue after the water change. After several days, do another water change and add fresh activated carbon to the tank to remove the remaining medication.

Do not be surprised if your silicone seals, plastic tubing, etc. are stained blue after the treatment. That is another reason a quarantine tank is recommended.

 

Normally, the equivalent measure is 20 drops per 1 ml if you are using a medicine dropper, pipette or dropper bottle to form the drops. One teaspoon is equal to 5 ml or 100 drops.

How big is your tank? Medication should always be dosed based on water volume, not tank volume. A two gallon tank will hold less than 2 gallons of water.

Typically, when the word "dip" is used you are talking about using a medication at a concentrated dosage for a brief period of time...seconds or minutes, not hours. The instructions for Kordon methylene blue say you can prepare a 50 ppm concentrated dip by adding 5 teaspoons (25 ml) to 3 gallons of water. However, the dip should not last more than 10 seconds.

Instructions for normal treatment say to dose 1 teaspoon (5 ml) per 10 gallons of water to produce a 3 ppm concentration and treat for 3-5 days. That is the 10 drops per gallon dosage you followed. If your tank contains 2 gallons of water, 20 drops would be the suitable dose.

Methylene blue can affect beneficial bacteria. Thus, keep an eye on your ammonia levels in the quarantine tank. It is not recommended for use in the main tank because it can affect the cycle.

At the recommended dosage, you should either wait 3-5 days before doing a water change or do your water change and add more methylene blue based on the amount of water replaced. If you want to do a 50% water change (1 gallon of the 2 gallons), then add another 10 drops of methylene blue after the water change. After several days, do another water change and add fresh activated carbon to the tank to remove the remaining medication.

Do not be surprised if your silicone seals, plastic tubing, etc. are stained blue after the treatment. That is another reason a quarantine tank is recommended.

This is in a hospital tank with no filter just an airstone which is also why he gets every other day 100% WCs (I use a cup to scoop him no net). This is a 5 gallon tank that I use two 1 gallon jugs to fill, so I know the water volume is an accurate 2 gallons (it was more for making dosing the antibacterial meds easier and more accurate but also to it easier for my betta to gulp air). I have severe anxiety and went through a WHOLE lot over the last 14 days pulling him back from the brink of death so I am currently doing a 100% WC and adding less methylene blue This time even though demeter said he should be fine...I couldn't stop worrying lol.

Edit: I added 9 drops this time, the water is still dark but not alarmingly dark like before. Using demeters reasoning I think I've hit a good level of "blue" here lol! Even after all these years I'm still learning new things on this forum. Thanks for the help and advice everyone!

 

Methylene blue is a very strong die. That is why it stains everything, including your skin if you are not careful. You hospital tank situation with a measured volume of water is ideal.

Be careful not to dilute it too much as it will lose effectiveness against pathogens. Following the Kordon dosage recommendation of 10 drops per gallon is not likely to be too much. Remember that they recommend using many times that concentration for a brief dip.

 

Methylene blue is a very strong die. That is why it stains everything, including your skin if you are not careful. You hospital tank situation with a measured volume of water is ideal.

Be careful not to dilute it too much as it will lose effectiveness against pathogens. Following the Kordon dosage recommendation of 10 drops per gallon is not likely to be too much. Remember that they recommend using many times that concentration for a brief dip.

Thank you for that information! I'm wondering if the hole I popped in the lid created drops that were bigger than what would come out of a pipette. Unfortunately I don't have any spares left around so that's why I poked a hole in the lid and did drops that way. I'm figuring I miscalculated on that variable and under that assumption 9-10 drops out of the lid is equivalent to about 20 drops out of a pipette. I ordered some more on Amazon since I use them constantly for water testing and feeding my puffers and next water change I will dose to 20 with a pipette instead, or I will just use slightly less than a 1/4 tsp to measure which would also give me an accurate dosage for 2.5 gallons.

 

Thank you for that information! I'm wondering if the hole I popped in the lid created drops that were bigger than what would come out of a pipette. Unfortunately I don't have any spares left around so that's why I poked a hole in the lid and did drops that way. I'm figuring I miscalculated on that variable and under that assumption 9-10 drops out of the lid is equivalent to about 20 drops out of a pipette. I ordered some more on Amazon since I use them constantly for water testing and feeding my puffers and next water change I will dose to 20 with a pipette instead, or I will just use slightly less than a 1/4 tsp to measure which would also give me an accurate dosage for 2.5 gallons.

You can always purchase an eyedropper from your local pharmacy.

 

You can always purchase an eyedropper from your local pharmacy.

Thanks! I get 200 Pipettes for like 2 bucks on Amazon though

 

Thanks! I get 200 Pipettes for like 2 bucks on Amazon though

Quite true.

I use 5 ml pipettes to measure water for testing water parameters.

I also cut the tips off the pipettes and use the tubes to inject fish foods into the tanks.