In tank antibiotic treatment options?

[RadReefer]

Has anyone successfully treated bacterial infections using antibiotics in a reef tank with a variety of SPS and LPS? What, if any, antibiotics are safe for coral? I would like to use ampicillin or cipro if possible.

 

[Pastey]

Problem is that there are all sorts of bacteria in our aquariums and not all of them are bad. Broad spectrum antibiotics aren't very picky when it comes to killing them. If you suspect a fish has a bacterial infection, I would recommend pulling the fish and treating in a separate tank.

 

[HumbleFish]

While I won't endorse using any med, other than Prazipro, in a reef... I will say this...

A lot of folks use Chemiclean to rid their tank of cyanobacteria. Chemiclean is basically just erythromycin (the old formula was anyway). The same erythromycin we use to treat gram positive bacterial infections. So, I would conclude that using erythromycin in your reef tank is as safe as using Chemiclean. Of course, how "safe" Chemiclean is... is still a matter of some debate.