infections

[mpoletti]

What do you treat your fish with when they get an infection?

I am not talking about ich here. I have a tang that got tail slapped by another tang and right under his eye, there are clear signs of infection. I have caught the fish and it is in QT.

Thanks

 

[philter4]

I don't have a specific treatment, but I do know a little about aquatic bacteria. Most are gram negative, only 10% are gram positive, (this is a stain test that tells wether the bacteria has a cell wall or not). There are two types of treatment options, one that kills the bacteria called an antibiotic, and one that interferes with the reproductive cycle of the bacteria called antibacterial. Either one will work as long as you use one specifically for gram negative. On the pacages of all the brands it will list wether it works on gram neg or gram pos. It is important to use one that is as specific as possible as any bacteria that survive will be medication resistant and harder to clear up in a later infection. Keep the fish well fed and as stress free as possible and it should clear up with medication in your qt.

 

[mpoletti]

Thank you. I am gathering some parts for another QT that I can use medication in.

 

[jmaneyapanda]

What are you seeing that makes you think its infected? I would speculate that the vast majority of traumatic injuries do NOT become infected. Especially if the tank and fish were healthy to begin with.

 

[philter4]

I need to edit myself: most disease causing aquatic bacteria are gram negative, I don't know about the aquatic bacteria species in total.

 

[mpoletti]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12699626#post12699626 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jmaneyapanda
What are you seeing that makes you think its infected? I would speculate that the vast majority of traumatic injuries do NOT become infected. Especially if the tank and fish were healthy to begin with.

Tail rot, a hole in its lip and white growth where the laceration was

 

[mpoletti]

Thanks again guys. I am trying a neomycin treatment until I can get my other medication in.

 

[jmaneyapanda]

white growth sounds like fungus to me. Post a pic, please.

 

[mpoletti]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12703388#post12703388 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jmaneyapanda
white growth sounds like fungus to me. Post a pic, please.

He is in a QT tank right now. I too believe it is a fugus. It is exactly where the laceration happened. I do not know when I can get a picture as I am taking care of my daughter as my wife has other things to do today.

 

[jmaneyapanda]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12703440#post12703440 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Marko9
He is in a QT tank right now. I too believe it is a fugus. It is exactly where the laceration happened. I do not know when I can get a picture as I am taking care of my daughter as my wife has other things to do today.

Just make sure you knwo what you're treating. Different meds do different things. Too often people just immediately prophylactically treat for no real reason or rhyme. Good luck.

 

[mpoletti]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12703498#post12703498 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jmaneyapanda
Just make sure you knwo what you're treating. Different meds do different things. Too often people just immediately prophylactically treat for no real reason or rhyme. Good luck.

Thanks for the tip. I definitely do some homework before I pull the trigger on something. Thanks again.

 

[gatordvm]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12703498#post12703498 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jmaneyapanda
Just make sure you knwo what you're treating. Different meds do different things. Too often people just immediately prophylactically treat for no real reason or rhyme. Good luck.

You hit a real pet peeve of mine. Anyhoo, short of doing diagnostics and confirming the organism(s) present, I'd venture to say 99.9% of marine hobbiests are just guessing at what's wrong.

As for your fish, true fungal infections in marine fish are VERY uncommon. Neomycin isn't particularly effective by itself. First line choices for most bacterial infections are Furan 2 or Maracyn 2 if you are working with meds from your LFS. Plus, Furan2 has some touted efficacy against fungi. I would also add stress coat or aloe to the water if he has an open wound. Just remember any antibiotic that has spectrum against gram negative organisms (which includes neomycin) will compromise any biologic filtration present. It is also important to keep water quality optimal in QT to decrease stress and improve healing.

Pics are nice, but understandably, not always possible or diagnostic for that matter

 

[mpoletti]

Thank you gatordvm.

I went searching for maracyn2 yesterday and I will be hitting the LFS on the other side of town today. I did add a little stress coat and even a few drops of lugol's to aid in the healing.

What products would you recommend?

I was directed towards
http://www.seachem.com/products/product_pages/KanaPlex.html
http://www.seachem.com/products/product_pages/NeoPlex.html
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=4836&c=3578+4629

 

[mpoletti]

All I found yesterday was

http://www.aq-products.com/GelTek/neomycia.htm
http://www.aq-products.com/GelTek/erythromycin.htm

I guess its better for the fish stores if they do not carry the right medications

 

[gatordvm]

Furanase has basically the same active ingredient as Furan2. I mentioned the Furan2 and Maracyn2 because they are commonly available in LFS and broad spectrum. I don't have any personal experience or opinion with the brands you have referenced so perhaps someone else will chime in with their experiences with the manufactures/brands.

If you wanted to continue with the Neomycin treatment, I would combine that with erythromycin for more broad spectrum action. I used that combo several time for a pipefish with tail rot and it works well.

 

[mpoletti]

Thank You. The LFS's were out of maracyn 2; luckily the has both of the seachem products.