Metro/Focus and Ick????

[reeferstace]

There has been growing support within my local reefing community for metro/focus as a treatment for Cryptocaryon infections. I always though that metronidazole was more for anaerobic type protozoans instead of aerobic ones like Cryptocaryon.

I am interested in looking at some empirical evidence that metro does kill Crypto. Anecdotal evidence does not interest me. Anyone?

 

[cngreg]

Aerobic vs anaerobic refers to bacteria. Protazoans are effected by metronidazole as well as anaerobic bacteria. I refer to Ed Noga's Fish Disease book and James Carpenters's Exotic animal formulary and see no scientific backing to show metro working on kryptocaryon however it does have effects on some freshwater protazoans and flagellates that live both externally and in the lumen of the GI tract. It does not mean that it doesn;t work it jsut means nobody has put it into the literature using the scientific method for peer review. Nitrofurazone and metro ahve worked for me jsut trying it.

 

[cngreg]

I had to run at the end of that message and wanted edit that nitrofurazone, hydrogen peroxide, and methylene blue come up anecdotaly almost as much as metronidazole for treating crypto however the evidence based ways to treat it is with copper based drugs, formalin, hyposalinity, tank switching every 2 days or so, or chloroquin. If you are trying to treat a display then good luck...let us know if metro works for your marine protozoans.

 

[reeferstace]

Thanks for your input. I am very familiar with aerobic and anaerobic bacteria. There are many types of protozoans which are considered anaerobic as well.

My personal philosophy with regards to treating Crypto infections pretty much match your own- copper, hypo, and tank transfer.

I teach microbiology to high school kids and am thinking about having them do a bit of research with this issue.

 

[snorvich]

My personal philosophy with regards to treating Crypto infections pretty much match your own- copper, hypo, and tank transfer.

Likewise

I teach microbiology to high school kids and am thinking about having them do a bit of research with this issue.

Excellent idea. How are you going to design an experiment or is it going to be reading research? If the latter, be sure to include works of marine biologists such as Stephen Spotte.

 

[h2so4hurts]

Stacy, sounds like a cool project. If you need help finding any of the scientific papers on crypto, send me a pm. Edward Noga's fish disease and treatment book has a load of information on this topic too. But does not mention metro or focus (nitrofurantoin)

You can adjust black mollies to saltwater and they are easily infected with crypto. They'd be much cheaper to use in your class experiments than any SW fish, even chromis

 

[Ralph ATL]

tagging along.........

 

[reeferstace]

Hi Ralph!