API Melafix

Melafix is a tea-tree-derived remedy that aquarists commonly reach for when a fish has torn fins, a minor scrape after netting, or a rough move between tanks.

Key features

• Derived from tea tree (Melaleuca) and marketed as an antibacterial remedy for open wounds, damaged fins and mouth fungus.
• Widely used as a gentle first step for newly settled or recently handled fish rather than as a heavy medication.
• API states that it does not colour the water or shift pH, and that it does not adversely affect the biological filter.

Honest notes before you dose

• Effectiveness is genuinely debated in the hobby. Many keepers find it useful for minor injuries and far less so for an established infection, so identify the problem before treating a declining fish.
• Tea-tree products are widely reported to leave an oily surface film that slows gas exchange, so extra surface agitation is sensible. Labyrinth fish such as bettas and gouramis breathe air at the surface and are often reported to react badly to it.
• We do not publish dose rates here. Use the volumes, dose and course length printed on the bottle, and ask us if anything is unclear.

Often used together with API Pimafix. The rest of our API range is here, and you can bring a water sample and a description of the symptoms to the Lethbridge store and we will talk it through with you.