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A Fish Medicine Cabinet

There are certain things you should always keep on hand in case something nasty turns up in your fish pond.

The most important thing, and the element that may save you from having to use fish medicine, is to have good water quality test kits on hand. But they're not helpful if you don't use them. Regularly test the pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels to make sure they're where they need to be. Poor water quality makes your fish susceptible to infections and parasitic infestations.

Aquarium salt is helpful for treating a variety of conditions, including many parasitic infestations. Do not use table salt in your pond as it may contain harmful additives. Instead, opt for kosher or rock salt. Malachite green and formalin remedies are effective in treating ich, the most common parasite to affect pond fish. Methylene blue is handy for treating fungal infections.

Always keep chlorine bleach on hand for disinfecting items that will go in the pond, but be sure to completely rinse all bleach off the item before putting it in the pond. One antibiotic and an antibiotic food are useful in case a bacteria infection appears. A commercial copper remedy will take care of even severe parasitic infestations.

If a large fish sustains an injury, net it and disinfect the area with mercurochrome or Betadine to prevent an infection from developing. Be careful to keep these preparations away from the fish's eyes and gills.