Bacterial Infections

Humblefish · Jan 22, 2018

jeff williams said:
Humblefish will this also kill ueronima? My understanding is this can servive without a host. Also how about mycobacterium marinum aka (TB)

TB yes; but with uronema I am uncertain because it also feeds on organic debris/detritus. So, high populations are likely to be found in the rocks, sandbed, down in your sump, etc. and those may not be pulled out by the UV. I guess one way to combat uronema is to keep a really clean tank.

drstardust · Jan 29, 2018

@Humblefish as a general rule do you recommend using broad spectrum antibiotics as a bath or bound to food? Both?

Humblefish · Jan 29, 2018

drstardust said:
@Humblefish as a general rule do you recommend using broad spectrum antibiotics as a bath or bound to food? Both?

I recommend dosing antibiotics into a QT if the fish has an external infection; bound to food if an internal infection is suspected.

However, provided the fish will still eat the medicated food (sometimes they will not) there is no downside to food soaking for an external infection as well.

drstardust · Jan 30, 2018

Humblefish said:
However, provided the fish will still eat the medicated food (sometimes they will not) there is no downside to food soaking for an external infection as well.

This was my actual question. Thank you for figuring out what I actually meant and answering it as well

Bthomas · Apr 10, 2018

I have 3 fish in quarantine currently (2 clowns and royal gramma) the gramma has developed one cloudy eye. I've ordered some kanaplex to treat with but should i wait till I can move the clowns out of the quarantine (the 30 day copper treatment ends Thursday so they would be good to go to display then) Or do i need to treat all 3 fish since they have been in there together? (Are bacterial infections contagious?)
Also, do i need to remove copper before treating with antibiotics? If so will i need to repeat the copper treatment before moving the fish to display?
I suspect my copper level is too high (due to the issues with coppersafe) So i didn't want them to stay in it any longer then needed but don't want to have to repeat treatment

JMM744 · Apr 10, 2018

This guy is in qt with copper. The fish is flashing some on the side we're the spot is. It's eating very well and acting normal. I hate to chase it down to dip and or give a bath but will if necessary. After reading through threads it looks like that would be a last resort but I prefer asking. Oh, tank has a slight have to it again. I had done a100% water change last week.
Thank you, Jim

Humblefish · Apr 10, 2018

@Bthomas Can you move the gramma and treat in a separate QT? Odds are an eye infection (which is most likely gram positive) will not spread to clownfish.

@JMM744 I think I would dose Kanaplex in conjunction with copper. If his condition worsens, you will need to add Furan-2 + Metroplex. How long has he been in therapeutic copper?

Bthomas · Apr 10, 2018

Humblefish said:
@Bthomas Can you move the gramma and treat in a separate QT? Odds are an eye infection (which is most likely gram positive) will not spread to clownfish.

@JMM744 I think I would dose Kanaplex in conjunction with copper. If his conditions worsen, you will need to add Furan-2 + Metroplex. How long has he been in therapeutic copper?

I only have the one fish qt so i cant move it to another but the clowns can be moved out on thursday as long as it's safe to do so.
What about the copper in the qt, can I remove it after the 30 days is up and then start kanaplex without having to redo copper treatment?

Humblefish · Apr 10, 2018

Bthomas said:
I only have the one fish qt so i cant move it to another but the clowns can be moved out on thursday as long as it's safe to do so.
What about the copper in the qt, can I remove it after the 30 days is up and then start kanaplex without having to redo copper treatment?

Is the 30 days in copper up on Thursday? If so, I would remove it and then start dosing Kanaplex. If you can’t isolate the infected specimen from the other fish, better to treat them all just to be safe.

JMM744 · Apr 10, 2018

Started the 3rd of the month. I will have to order most of that. I have sulfaplex,bifuran,malalchite green and methylene blue along with melafix. Thanks Humblefish, appreciate the help. Mind telling me what it is?

Bthomas · Apr 10, 2018

Humblefish said:
Is the 30 days in copper up on Thursday? If so, I would remove it and then start dosing Kanaplex. If you can’t isolate the infected specimen from the other fish, better to treat them all just to be safe.

Yes the 30 days is up on thursday. Are u saying to remove copper now (couple days short of 30) and start dosing instead of waiting till Thursday? I can isolate him by moving the clowns to the display if its ok to do that now but it's only been 28 days on copper treatment

Humblefish · Apr 10, 2018

JMM744 said:
Started the 3rd of the month. I will have to order most of that. I have sulfaplex,bifuran,malalchite green and methylene blue along with melafix. Thanks Humblefish, appreciate the help. Mind telling me what it is?

It’s a bacterial infection of some kind; I wouldn’t be able to be more specific than that without a skin scrape of the affected area and scope ID.

Working with what you already have on hand, I would start with Bifuran and then add-in Sulfaplex if his condition doesn’t improve after a few days. You may not see much improvement until after the copper is removed, as copper is an immunosuppressant.

Humblefish · Apr 10, 2018

Bthomas said:
Yes the 30 days is up on thursday. Are u saying to remove copper now (couple days short of 30) and start dosing instead of waiting till Thursday? I can isolate him by moving the clowns to the display if its ok to do that now but it's only been 28 days on copper treatment

No, wait until Thursday, remove the copper and then start dosing Kanaplex. You are close enough to the (copper) finish line that it warrants holding off till then.

Bthomas · Apr 10, 2018

Humblefish said:
No, wait until Thursday, remove the copper and then start dosing Kanaplex. You are close enough to the (copper) finish line that it warrants holding off till then.

What about the clowns? Would i be able to go ahead and put them in the display on thursday or would I need to treat them as well

JMM744 · Apr 10, 2018

I found that I did have kanaplex so got it dosed. Thank you!!

Humblefish · Apr 10, 2018

Bthomas said:
What about the clowns? Would i be able to go ahead and put them in the display on thursday or would I need to treat them as well

I would treat them as well, just as a precaution.

Bthomas · Apr 10, 2018

Humblefish said:
I would treat them as well, just as a precaution.

Will do. Thanks for your help

PoeticInjustice · Oct 12, 2018

I’m changing my QT protocol for antibiotics from NFG to AAP Spectogram so I can do it with copper, if needed. Just have some questions for those who have used Spectogram:

Here’s the instruction from the site AAP site for Spectogram:

• USE: Add 1 capsule to each 10 NET gallons every other day. Minimum of THREE treatments suggested (a 2nd course of treatment MAY be used).
Can be safely over dosed up to double in difficult cases

With NFG, I’m treating for 10 days and changing 25% of the water daily.
So for Spectogram, we can do 6 days of treatment with no required daily water changes?

Also, on a 20 gallon long tank with 16 gallon net water volume, can I add 2 capsules every other day?