|
| |
| FAQs on Freshwater
Antibiotic, Antimicrobial Use Related Articles:
Choose Your Weapon: Freshwater Fish Disease
Treatment Options by Neale Monks,
FW Disease Troubleshooting,
Freshwater
Diseases, Nutritional Disease,
Ich/White Spot Disease, Methylene Blue,
Formalin/Formaldehyde,
Malachite Green,
Related FAQs: Freshwater
Medications, Salt/Use,
Aquarium
Maintenance, Ich/White Spot Disease, African Cichlid Disease 1,
Cichlid
Disease,
|
|
Nitrofurazone... use, effect
on nitrification 2/14/08
Looked all over your site for the answer?
<You did?>
let me start at the beginning, I've seen collectors using Nitrofurazone (yellow
water) to store recently collected fish. In some cases I've heard of wholesalers
using it to fend off disease.
<Yes... not uncommon with FW...>
Question
Is this a good idea to use constantly in a quarantine tanks for all new arrivals
<Mmm, not IMO/E>
Will it affect the biological filter? (a little) (a Lot)
Fred
<Furan compounds generally do not affect nitrification (directly), but can do so
in established, closed (e.g. hobbyist) systems. Bob Fenner>
|
Maracyn medication and
scaleless fish 2/3/08
Hiya, I have a 100 gallon tank with a jaguar cichlid who recently got fin
rot and body fungus. I was going to treat it with Maracyn (powder form) And I
wanted to know if it was a effective medication. However I have loaches and
scaleless fishes and I didn't know if I could use it so I wanted to check with
you before using it. Does Maracyn contain any copper or harmful materials to
scaleless fish? Please help. Thanks a ton.
<Maracyn is generally safe with most types of fish. It's an antibiotic,
essentially a repackaged version of the Erythromycin widely used in human
medicine. Now, the bigger question is *why* your Jaguar Cichlid (Parachromis
managuensis) has Finrot at all. Finrot is almost always associated with either
physical damage or poor/varying water quality. It very rarely comes out of the
blue. If you don't identify the cause, and remedy it, then treating the cichlid
will become a bit pointless -- the fish will likely get sick again. Cheers,
Neale.>
Re: Maracyn medication and
scaleless fish 2/3/08
Yeah, I usually do 50 percent water changes every week, but I had to skip a
week because I was too busy with my work and everything. I will be constant from
now on. Thanks Neale an everybody!!!!
<So long as you know the problem, and won't let it happen again, that's fine.
Cichlids are strangely sensitive to nitrate, and missed water changes cause all
kinds of problems. Compared with 'hole in the head' you got off lightly this
time. If you are busy, turn the temperature down a tiny bit towards the low end
of the tolerances of your given species, and the feed half rations. This will
slow down metabolism and reduce the amount of ammonia in the system. Good luck,
Neale.>
Re: Maracyn
medication and scale less fish
2-4-08
Hi again Neale, sorry to bother you. I just got home from work and I
my tank was cloudy. I did a water change yesterday and I wasn't sure if
the medication is supposed to make the water cloudy. So my question is
is Maracyn supposed to make your water cloudy or is it not normal?
Thanks for your time.
<I haven't personally used Maracyn (it isn't sold in the UK) so can't
comment from experience. But I have read that this is sometimes a
temporary side effect. Provided the water quality remains good (do a
quick nitrite test) and the fish seem healthy (no gasping or heavy
breathing), there's not too much to worry about. Cheers, Neale.>
|
Hospital tank filtration with
antibiotics 7/29/07
<<Hello, Geri. Tom here.>>
I can't seem to find an answer to the following dilemma: I understand that the
biological filtration should be established first when setting up the hospital
tank. However, as soon as antibiotics are added as a treatment for a diseased
fish, doesn't the biological filter get wiped out?
<<A valid question and a good one. Antibiotics can, and will, damage/destroy the
bio-colonies established in our hospital tanks and their filters. These
medications are indiscriminate about which bacteria they go after. Bear in mind,
though, that there are antibiotic medications that “kill” bacteria
(bactericides) and others that inhibit reproduction/growth of bacteria (bacteriostatics).
It’s incumbent upon the hobbyist to make the appropriate choice based on the
disease the fish is/are being treated for.>>
Then what happens to the ammonia and nitrite that builds up in the tank?
<<Let’s look at this one from a realistic viewpoint. How much ammonia is going
to be produced by a sick fish? (Not being sarcastic here at all, by the way.)
The amount it eats will be minimal, at best – and you should feed it with that
in mind. Ammonia will be excreted through the gills as the fish breathes but,
alone, this shouldn’t present a big problem in terms of water toxicity as long
as you practice the proper maintenance of the tank. There are two points to keep
in mind where “hospital tanks” are concerned. First, you’re, hopefully, treating
a single fish outside of the display tank, i.e. the remainder of your livestock
will remain unaffected by any adverse reactions to the medication(s). Second,
not all “hospitalization” requires antibiotics. Your pet apparently does but,
there are many reasons for treating fish in a separate aquarium that don’t carry
the same “baggage” that you have to deal with now. In short, you’re concerns are
specific to you, and rightly so, but they’re not common to the whole concept of
“hospitalization.”>>
I know partial water changes should be done daily or every other day in this
situation but even a little ammonia and/or nitrite is hazardous.
<<True enough but consider which “condition” is primary and which is secondary.
Hazardous as the ammonia/nitrite toxins can be, these can be controlled through
water maintenance/changes. Concentrate on treating your pet, first, and, with a
proper regimen, the other concerns will take care of themselves.>>
Lastly, why even start up the biological filtration to begin with if it just
gets wiped out?
<<As I stated previously, not all hospitalization requires the use of
antibiotics. Many treatments in a hospital tank have no effect on the beneficial
bacteria whatsoever. I’m afraid you’re looking at the “concept” from a narrow
perspective. I completely understand it, under the circumstances, but you have
larger issues to deal with right now.>>
Help, my angel is dying and I must get him to the hospital!
Geri from Newton, MA
<<Do it, Geri, and stay on top of the water changes. Best of luck. Tom>>
Could Maracyn
Make a Fish Sick/Red Streaks? Mmm, yes. Goldfish misplaced in a
ten gal. sewer 6/18/07
I have had my goldfish for nearly 3 years. About 2 weeks
ago, I noticed his fins have been fraying on the edges, but no
red streaks and good appetite.
<Likely environmental...>
But it's true - he's about 6" long and in a ten gallon tank
<... def. env.>
with good Marineland filter, but he needs more space. He's been
in this tank for 2 years and has been sick before - I brought
him back from a bad case of septicemia a year ago with Maracyn 2
and the homeopathic remedy belladonna 30C potency. No other fish
in the tank.
<...>
So earlier this week, I did a 50% water change - readings were
regular "normal": before hand:
<...>
7.9 PH, 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite and some what high nitrate of 40
<Toxic...>
(the water here is heavily buffered so PH is naturally high and
the nitrate comes out of the faucet at 10, so hard to get it
lower.)
<I would NOT consume this source water myself... see WWM re>
I added Maracyn.
<For?>
The tank got cloudy after the 3rd dose and he seemed lethargic.
Fourth dose was yesterday evening, but today we noticed big red
streaks in his tail and that he was sitting on the bottom with
his fins closed. I did another 50% water change, put in a new
filter, added Cycle
<Not worthwhile>
to boost the beneficial bacteria, but the last thing I expected
when I decided to add the Maracyn was that he would get worse.
He is swimming around in his usual lively fashion right now
after the latest tank care, but I think the Maracyn did
something to bring on the streaks. When I used it last year (to
no effect) and then the Maracyn 2 to deal with the septicemia,
it did not turn the tank cloudy. I plan to try the homeopathics
again after a couple of hours for the tank to run. At the
moment, I am loath to give him more antibiotics.
Suggestions welcome.
<Good speculation... An antibiotic can have such an effect...
not-so-selectively killing off microbes... But the real issue
here is overall health... and your system is just too small to
accommodate this one large goldfish... as evidenced by the
hemorrhaging, the high accumulated Nitrate (and much more)...
What you really need to do is read and heed here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/gldfshsystems.htm
and the linked files above. Bob Fenner>
Getting Erythromycin For Infected Toad – 2/25/07
Can you tell me where I can find erythromycin?
< Any good tropical fish store will have this or a derivative.-Chuck>
Using Oxytetracycline
Good day! Just thought I should say your website has been a great help, and
a good thing to browse through. Also, I need to ask about a medication I'm using
for my fish. I have a thirty gallon tank with some angels, mollies, betta,
snails, live
plants, and one platy. (Sounds a bit crowded, doesn't it? I'm planning to get
a larger tank for the angels very soon, so no worries there.) Anyway, I had a
few guppies in there, but just a few days ago I noticed that the male had
started to swell. I'd previously had a female betta develop dropsy, (to my
horror, of course) so I knew what to look for, and how the symptoms played
out. I separated him into a small quarantine tank, added a bit of Melafix as a
buffer, and kept the water as clean as I could for the last two days. Today I
was asking my mother about going and getting some Epsom salts or some fish meds
(which are particularly hard to find in my town), and I told her what I had read
about for treating dropsy in guppies. She said that we had some
oxytetracycline I could use. We have a cattle ranch, and use the medication as
an injection for infections. So, figuring out the dosage from 1/4 teaspoon per
twenty
gallons of water, I treated him just a couple of hours ago. He's been swimming
around very well even though he's been infected, so I'm not too worried about
him. He's a tough little fish, and he's lived a good life, and I'm doing what I
can for him. If he's destined to get better, then he will.
Anyway, my real question is, if this treatment works, (which I'm hoping
desperately that it does), then can you tell me a bit more about oxytetracycline
and using it in my big tank? Is there anything you'd suggest against? I'd like
to keep my plants and snails healthy and in the same tank, so I'd move the fish
if necessary. I've scoured the Internet for information on its affects towards
my thirty gallon's inhabitants, and found nothing. So I was curious that if I
were to add it into my large tank as a buffer, or as a treatment as needed,
would I need to do anything special to the tank? (example, remove filters,
remove plants, so on and so forth.)
Your help is greatly appreciated! Thanks, Kati
< About 20-30 years ago this was the big antibiotic for South American fish
coming into Los Angeles. It turns the water blood red and is pretty ineffective
in hard alkaline waters. Now after saying this. Stuart Grant who live on the
shores of Lake Malawi in Africa use this medication on his cichlids. He uses a
dosage much higher than what is recommended from the manufacturer. So I guess
you can overmedicate to get some curing effect but I would not try this around
here. A better way to treat your betta would be the following. Do a 50% water
change, clean the filter and vacuum the gravel. Organics affect the medications
ability to treat diseases. Treat with Metronidazole and Nitrofurazone or Clout.
Add some salt to the water and make sure the water temp is up around 80 F. All
medications will have an affect on the good bacteria needed to break down fish
waste so watch out for ammonia spikes.-Chuck>
Baths for freshwater fish? 9/18/06
Hi Bob,
Once again fighting tail rot in Betta Terrence. Doing my best to
keep the water quality good with frequent small water changes,
gravel vacuuming, the tedious process of wicking the dissolved
solids off the surface of the water with paper towels, light
feeding, etc... He's in a 2.5 gallon heated, filtered tank with 10
watts of fluorescent lighting.
As the tail rot has been persistent, I'm thinking of treating him
with an antibacterial.
<Yes, this is what I would do. Likely... Oh, I see this below>
I was wondering if, instead of treating the whole tank, I could give
Terrence a bath in the Nitrofurazone/Furazolidone/potassium
dichromate medication that I've used before. Same
dosage/concentration as for a full tank treatment?
<Yes>
(I read up on dips/baths on WWM, but only found info about
dips/baths for marine livestock.
<Are more useful for marines... as they "drink" their environment,
but can be used with good purpose on external complaints of
freshwater aquatics>
I have heard from other sites of saltwater baths for FW fish...
would that be more gentle/any more effective than an antibacterial?
<Mmm, not as much here>
He has Doc Wellfish's salt in his tank all the time, 1 tbs/5gal.)
If this would be ineffective or a bad idea, I can certainly treat
the tank. I have an extra sponge in there that I can pull out and
maintain in a Tupperware container to keep some good bacteria going.
Just wasn't looking forward to dying the tank green and wiping out
my filtration,
<Yes... I would use the immersion bath instead here as you state>
plus I anticipate the gravel will absorb some of the medication.
<You are correct>
Thanks for any insight you can give!
Rachel in NC, where it's finally cooling down a little
<BobF in sunny S. Cal., with a persistent cough/cold!>
Re: Baths for freshwater fish? 9/18/06
Bob,
I just did what I realized was the obvious thing to do... put
Terrence in the 3/4 gallon Tupperware with a heater and a
proportionate amount of medicine. Planning on doing large, possibly
complete, water changes every day or every other day. So never mind
about the bath! Sorry to bother you. It seemed like such a
brilliant idea at the time!
<Is a good idea. BobF>
Gar With Sores On His Head - 09/07/06
I have a spotted gar that has developed some type of disease. It has
white film and ulcers, deterioration, on it's head. I have been treating it
with Maracyn-two. Following the directions for the 6 day treatment. Not much
improvement. Since their skin is not the typical fish type, would this be the
correct treatment? Also, by putting aquarium salt for freshwater fish in the
tank harmful to him? Could this cause a problem. Thanks.
< Gars are actually pretty tough critters. There could have been some damage
to his head as he tried to jump out and now they got infected. I would try
Nitrofuranace. It treats a wider range of parasites and it also has some
antifungal properties. Salt wouldn't harm him unless it was an unusual
amount. Do a 50% water change, vacuum the gravel and clean the filter. This
medication may harm the good nitrifying bacteria so watch for ammonia
spikes.-Chuck>
Maracyn Treated Tank 7/22/06
Hello...
<Hi>
I have added Maracyn to cure a supposed gill disease in my 29 g fw tank. I
pulled out the carbon, and noticed
my water is getting foggy. Is this common for this broad spectrum. antibiotic?
Thanks!
Jenn
Tony
<The tank is getting cloudy because it is recycling. Most likely the Maracyn
nuked your biological filtration. The cloudiness comes from the unprocessed
biological materials and to some degree the recolonizing bacteria.>
<Chris>
Furazone-green 6/4/06
On the advice of my local aquarium shop, all of my new fish are put in a
quarantine tank for 15 days. I put one fish only in a 10 gallon tank at a time.
I use the water from my 125 gallon tank to get it going. There is plenty of
aeration and I monitor the ammonia levels and do a 25% water change every other
day.
<Well done!>
I put one capsule of Furazone-green in for the first 7 days only then leave the
fish there for the next 8 days. Am I doing the proper thing for the fish trying
to be preventive with the medication or am I doing harm, or better off doing
nothing in reference to the medicine. Thank you, Tony
<This product is used by many folks in the freshwater livestock trade as a
standard practice. Is quite effective, non-toxic... In businesses where it has
been a matter of my discretion, I have used it routinely... seems to act as a
sort of gentle anti-microbial, dyes the water a bit, providing a calming
effect... Bob Fenner>
|
Elephantnose trtmt.... 3/24/06
I found some Furan-2 Capsules, so do you think this is safe for
my little Elephantnose?
Should use full dose as per directions?
<Yes>
(Furan-2 Directions - Contains 2 furan based compounds to combat a
variety of gram positive and negative bacteria. Effective against
gill disease, mouth fungus, fin and tail rot, dropsy, furunculosis
and black molly disease. Use one tablet per 10 gal. daily for up to
four days.)
<250 mg. per ten gallons of system water, yes>
Also, I have 4 DAY and 6 week old Boesemanni Rainbow fry in the tank
(waiting for their tank to finish cycling) can I use this med or
should I just wait until they are moved out.
<I'd move these first>
(Mr. Elephantnose is getting the spots –bacterial gray-wht spots- he
started to break out the other day, I use Melafix, which only held
for a few days- this morning it is back and bigger. And I think this
all came from one of my large Rainbows,- see pic - he has Gill
Disease and he has been treated 8x's just can't kill it all off.
(any ideas, already tried PP, but he just did more damage to himself
but trying to jump out out the holding tank and ramming into the
lid.
FYI - My Tank:60
3 - Rummynose Tetra
2 - Cardinal Tetra
2 -Yoyo Loach
3 -4” Boesemanni Rainbowfish (1 female, 2 males)
1 – 5” Elephantnose
1 – Candy Striped Pleco
1 – Golden Algae eater
Eheim pro 2026, 1-Ebo-Jager 250 watt heaters,1 Coralife Turbo Twist
6x 18w,1 Rena 400 air pump, sand/gravel mix bottom, with live
plants, drift wood, and stones.
PH 8.0
No2 0
<Should be zip... this is way toxic>
No3 0 - .05
NH4 0
KH 161
GH 35
I do a weekly water change of 1/3 or more water along with cleaning
filter.
What am I doing wrong?
<I would not use the "Fix"... and you should investigate the water
quality needs/ranges, compatibility of these fishes... not a good
mix>
Thank you again for all of your help. Lesley
<Bob Fenner> |
|
 |
Furan compounds - 03/14/2005
I must ask one question if I may. Where does one fine
Nitrofuranace? I have looked all over the internet and I would love to
have some on hand just in case it is needed. I didn't know you had a
post until just now, and I am not sure how to post on it if/when need to
ask for advice.
Thank you again.
Lesley
<Ahh, search for either Nitrofuran or Furanace... or even "Furan
compounds".
Bob Fenner>
Getting Good Medication 9/7/05
Thanks for advice. You'll find it pretty funny but our pet stores don't have
any medicines for treatment of disease. Can I use erythromycin that is used for
humans.?
< No. Go online to DrsFosterSmith.com. You will find everything you need there.>
<<Actually... there is no difference in "pet-fish" antibiotics and those for
humans. RMF>>
If, yes then in what amount and for what time? Should I add to tank or keep
them in separate tub or container containing that medicine.
I shall be grateful to you if you solve my problems.
< Hospital tanks are always better than treating the main tank. Check out
articles and FAQ's about quarantine tanks too.-Chuck>
White slime coat
What is a very fine white sheen that seems to be in the slime coat and seems
to only cover portions of body?
<Possibly a bacterial infection, perhaps a reaction to poor water quality... rarely a true fungus>
I know ich and it is not that. I lost 20 cichlids in my 150 gallon tank with sump and gravel filtration. It was
stocked with electric blue, a variety of peacocks, and red empress which were over a year old that I had raised together since they were 1" fry. One
day I noticed a white spot on the eye of a female red empress. It grew larger the next day, so I checked with the LFS and they gave me Amoxicillin
for Popeye. I gave four treatments every other day over seven days. The eye cleared up at the end of treatment, but most of my cichlids developed a
very fine white sheen over parts of the body, mostly on the side of the body and some had it around the head also. Ph was 8.0, Ammonia was
.5 ...
<This is definitely a problem... toxic by itself at this concentration... the antibiotic killed off your nitrifying/biological filter>
...and the fish were hanging at the top of the tank and had a very poor appetite. I
put my carbon filter back, did a 30% water change and added Amquel to remove ammonia. The next day the fish began eating and acting fine again, but the
white sheen continued. Two days later the Ammonia went up to 1.0
<... yes, the fishes continued to produce/excrete ammonia...>
and the pH dropped from 8.0 to 7.8. I vacuumed the gravel and added stress coat. The
next morning all 20 of my 3-4" beautiful cichlids were dead on the bottom of the tank. I checked the ph and it was 7.4 with ammonia at .5. My tap water
is 7.6 from a well. I'm sure the pH change and obvious crash of the tank killed the
fish...
<Yes, I agree>
...but I don't quite understand what caused such a drastic pH change and would love to know what the fine white sheen was?
<All likely related... the pH drop was consequent to general decomposition of the dying filter biota, fishes... the sheen a chemical reaction of your fishes to the high ammonia, drop in pH... bought on mainly by the antibiotic killing off your bio-filter>
Side note: They did extremely well all year with many females reproducing. I cleaned
out all the dead fish, rocks and plastic plants; surprise of all there was one little peacock fry swimming at the surface. He is now in another tank
with all the fry produced from this tank of cichlids.
<Am sure you see the logic now of not treating ones livestock in their main/display tanks, and the meaning of the word "anti" (against) "biotic" (life). Bob Fenner>
| |
|
