Recipe for homemade melafix substitute

[sarahbella]

Just found this recipe, has anyone tried to make it before?    I've never used it but i saw it mentioned on a few different forums.  I keep pure tea tree oil on hand for everything else, it would definitely be an economical alternative to store bought meds if it worked.  

1%   pure tea tree oil
99% distilled water

5ml of the above solution for every 40L of tank water

[mseguin]

Thats pretty much exactly what Melafix is, and Pimafix is Indian bay. :-)

[repeej]

I have melaleuca oil at home and was wondering myself.  Now why would you need distuilled water if you're adding it to an aquarium?

[sarahbella]

I just made a batch of this stuff.  I have a crowntail betta that seems more prone than the rest to getting fin rot.  Maybe i could use it as preventative medicine when i do his water changes...  

repeej, i dont see why you couldnt use it straight from the bottle but youd have to do the math to figure out exactly how much you need to use.  For me it would be far quicker to make the solution and add accordingly than it would be for me to do the math to figure out how much pure oil to add  If your good at math you can let us know how much undiluted oil to add to 10g of water

[repeej]

The quantity of oil is likely so little that you're better off with the watered down solution...unless you have a dropper.

[henry]

How does it say to emulsify the water and tea tree oil? Oil on the surface I would want to avoid.

[zapisto]

How does it say to emulsify the water and tea tree oil? Oil on the surface I would want to avoid.

excellent question.
and that the secret of melafix

[Mettle]

Where does one buy tea tree oil?

[Laura]

FYI,
I tried my bottle of teatree oil to see if it was a true oil, and found it is not water soluable - it floated on top of the water.
I tried mixing some baking soda with it (baking soda and borax are commonly used for emulsifying the oil and water in homemade hand creams) and it didn't emulsify it, although I didn't blender it, I just stirred it.
Teatree oil is readily available at any healthfood store, Herb and Spice,  or any place that sells essential oils.

Cheers,
Laura

[sarahbella]

Steph, I make soaps and lotions etc etc so i have an online supplier for oils of all kinds.  I believe you can get it at the phamacy but its $$$$$$.  

I used it last night and it does stay on the water..  i wonder what melafix uses as an emulsifier.  Does anyone have a bottle nearby and could check the ingredients??  
Im wondering how safe food grade lecithin would be to the fishies, of course it wouldnt take much to emulsify 100ml, but then you may have preservation issues if you dont use it all up at once...    hmmmmm   the other option would be a smidge of dishsoap

my Betta has a touch of fin rot  (OT does anyone know if disease resistence is an inherited trait?? im guessing it is... )  so i am treating him with the tea tree and we'll see how it goes.   I hate to use Pinky as a guinea pig, but he was a rescue, i knew when i got him he had had it before and he's had it a few times since and the walmart meds arent helping so i guess there really is nothing to lose...

[mseguin]

Only ingredient listed is melaleuca. And I doubt contacting the company will get you any farther :-).

[jaracas]

Melafix is composed of:

1% Melaleuca oil
1% emulsifier (Crovol PK-70 nonionic emulsifier)
0.2% defoamer (FG-10 by Dow Corning)
97.8% deionized water"

An aqueous solution without emulsifier and defoamer can be used, but the mixture must be shaken vigorously for 1-5 minutes first.

hth
steve

[sarahbella]

jaracas thats awesome!!!!   thanks for posting, where did you find the ingredient list??  

so its not 100% natural?  im guessing the defoaming agent and the emulsifier are not natural chemicals are they?? if im wrong please correct me   the emulsifier must be what makes it foam...   im going to go se what i can find out about those 2 ingredients in particular and see if i can find a suitable substitute for the emulsifier.  I should be able to come up with something safe for the fish.

[jaracas]

i can't remember where i got it from to be honest, but i knew it would come in handy one day.

the foam actually comes from mixing the oil, water and emulsifier, air is trapped during the shaking/mixing which is what we don't want otherwise we would have Margarine   so the defoamer breaks the polymers in the mix so the air bubbles can't form and the mix stays fluid, if you dont use the emulsifier the air bubbles stay mobile and break apart easily.

personally i don't bother with the emulsifiers and defoamers and put up with a good shake when needed

[sarahbella]

so you find the treatment is as effective whether the oil is on top of the water or dispersed throughout???  

I certainly dont mind shaking if this is the case.  I really dont like using additives in anything if i can avoid it (hence the reason i make my own soaps and lotions )

[jaracas]

if you shake it hard for a couple of minutes it does mix through, then when left for a few minutes it seperates again.

we use Tea Tree oil for lots of stuff, it is a really good cure-all, along with quite a few common kitchen herbs and spices

[sarahbella]

i agree, tea tree is FABULOUS!!!   its AWESOME on cold sores and for acne and foot funk etc etc...  i wouldnt be without it.  Im absolutely tickled that i can use it in fishkeeping, its VERY convenient.  

I have quite a bit of melafix substitute  stuff mixed up so if anyone wants to give it a try pm me and ill bottle some up, i'll never use it all quick enuff.    Im in the west end....

[Nerine]

I love tea tree oil too! I've used it for years but I never thought to use it in my fish tanks until I found melafix! and there's a customer who comes into our store who uses pure tea tree oil in her tanks, said she never has any problems. Natural is always better than chemicals
thanks for the info on the home made meds

[Nerine]

http://164.195.100.11/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=/netahtml/srchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=5882647.WKU.&OS=PN/5882647&RS=PN/5882647
there is the us patent for melafix interesting stuff , just did a bit of reading, it really isn't tea tree oil, but something simular, so if you wanted to make EXACTLY melafix, you have to find another tree oil! but tea tree is in the same family

[repeej]

To demonstrate Melaleuca Oil's penetrating property, do this:

Inflate a balloon.
Apply a few drops of Melaleuca Oil to your hand.
Ask a volunteer to hold the balloon against the oil on your hand until the balloon pops.

Melaleuca Oil penetrates the surface of the balloon causing it to pop. On most skin types Melaleuca Oil penetrates below the top skin layer - gently and non-caustically - to carry its healing power below the skin surface.