Metrozol

[Brian]

Well I've seen this product. Basically capsules of Metronidazole (250 mg) for fish. No other ingredients are listed. The thing is the only directions are to put a capsule in water. (For the fish). Now the thing is I seem to have been able to dissolve a capsule in water. In smaller amounts of water 125 ml and below especially not everything disolves or disolves easily. Also when I force more to disolve be heating the water I do get crytalization when the water cools.

This leads me to wonder how the capsule disolves in water and if so is something helping it.

The reason why I'm curious is that I could have these on hand without something needed to disolve it into if it contains something else to help it suspend.

[Christopher]

Hey Brian. A lot of medications for fish contain things other than the active ingredient. These are usually inert binders or stabilizers that precipitate out and are removed by mechanical filtration in water.

Seachem used to put out pure, reagent grade metronidazole in a tube that dissolves completely in water unlike some of the pill forms available on the market. I usually use metronidazole when treating fish disease and found this to be one of the better versions available. As far as its suitability for herp use, you may want to consult a vet.

Christopher

[Dr Alan]

Metronidazole suspension 50mg/ml is a very handy product, not just for herps but for small mammals as well. For some reason is no longer FDA approved in this country. It is an inexpensive over-the-counter item in Mexico and I used to have a "Texas connection" that kept me supplied. I think a 60ml (2 ounce) bottle retails for $8-9. If I become aware that friends are vacationing south of the border, I always have them pick up a couple of bottles for me. Any compounding pharmacist in this country can legally prepare the same thing with a veterinary prescription, but the expiration dates will probably be in weeks or months rather than years, and the costs will range between $40-80 for the same two ounces of medication.

[Christopher]

Dr. Alan:

This is the product I referenced in my post before:

http://petchauffeur.net/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?page=TPCS/PROD/SCHEM/ASM801

This is available "otc" and is often sold in pet stores. Do you think that this would be safe for use in herps / small animals? If so, must a solution be made with compounding liquids or could water or fruit juice be a substitute for small quantities (ie, what one might use in 7 to 14 days)?

Just curious.

Thanks.

Christopher

[Christopher]

Also, info direct from seachem:

http://www.seachem.com/products/product_pages/Metronidazole.html

[Dr Alan]

I'm sure it is what is says it is; 5 grams (5000mg) of crystalline metronidazole. What I'm not sure of is the solubility of the product (what vehicle for dilution would be best) or the stability of the drug in water or fruit juice. And clearly you'd need some pretty accurate scales and volumetric measures to get correct dilutions. Working with a product like this one would be not much different then taking standard (and dirt cheap) 250mg or 500mg metronidazole tablets, powdering them and mixing with some kind of liquid vehicle for delivery.

[NeoScales]

I know I've explained in depth what you need and how-to compound a Flagyl suspension. Just do a search in this forum...

[Brian]

Oh I saw that. It is really useful thanks.

What I'm wondering though is why my pills dissolve in water if the chemical is supposedly insoluble. I'm pretty sure it dissolves since it does recrystalize if forced out of solution via cooling. Also, how would it treat fish in water if it didn't disolve?

I'm sorry if someone answered it and I just didn't understand. If it's ground up real fine or pure does it dissolve better or something? I mean I think I see why it doesn't want to dissolve if I remember my O Chem. Not sure how they get it to dissolve though.

The reason I'm interested is if the stuff disolves by itself somehow then I could just use ddH20 to dilute to a desired conc. I think.

[Dr Alan]

What I'm wondering though is why my pills dissolve in water if the chemical is supposedly insoluble.
It's not insoluble, just a little challenging; thus suspensions are a lot easier to make up and work with. In fact there is a medical grade metronidazole intravenous solution that is a crystal clear liquid.