Ocean Rider Seahorse Farm and Tours | Kona Hawaii › Forums › Seahorse Life and Care › Male erectus problems › Reply To: Male erectus problems
I have been working with a PhD molecular biologist/diver/reefer on this issue. After very brief research (that’s a disclaimer: I’m waiting for a full report) on Diamox, the first thing out of his mouth as a potential alternative was Zinc. Then he explained something about how it works…opening pathways something…and I can’t explain it here without a PhD myself. About the same time that he was researching, I ran across an article that advised feeding peas to fish to deal with buoyancy & swim bladder issues, though it was about freshwater fish. But guess what: peas are high in zinc. Zinc is used in reef tanks as an additive so I knew it was safe-ish but I had to go to my local fish store to calculate the safe amount to add. That requires a water analysis to be precise. Without that (it takes time to get results), I started with zero because Fred the Seahorse was in dire straits and zinc depletes quickly. The amount of zinc I added was tiny: 0.1 mg daily for my 20 gallon hospital tank. So, I added the recommended amount for the recommended 3 days. Miraculously, Fred’s bubble pouch expansion slowed down substantially. However, after the 3 days, I took the recommended break and the expansion started again. After three months of being a good sport, Fred stopped eating and passed away. His girlfriend had zero negative effects from the zinc addition and managed to survive post-depression.
The lesson here is that non-prescription Diamox substitutes exist. The exact way that Diamox works is a scientific mystery but we’re working on it (my PhD friend had immediate COVID vaccine solutions that ended up being legit AND knew what the J&J vaccine would do before it hit the papers; he’s brilliant so I’m optimistic). As soon as I get more info, I’ll broadcast it to the world.
As for Diamox itself, if you use Duck Duck Go, you may find legal online options. And it’s also used for altitude sickness, like when going to Colorado, and is commonly prescribed for such trips. Disclaimer: I’m not suggesting illegal methods but just informing about the reasons why and how Diamox is prescribed; these are all legitimate purposes and methods so don’t lie or do anything illegal to get Diamox.
Just a side note: As a diver, my PhD friend loved the idea of putting Fred at the bottom of my heated pool but it was winter and I didn’t think it was deep enough anyway. The pressure from my extra large commercial trash bin wasn’t enough so I was stuck with making a tough decision, and I opted for no.