Internal Vs. External Antibiotics

[tttnjfttt]

Ok, i know this is a fish illness question, but it really isn't an emergency, i know what I am dealing with, and more had a question about meds.

A little back ground info...6 days ago, i found my favorite clown loach had a spot of columnaris. I treated the tank for 5 days with Maracyn (eythromycin) and saw some improvement, but not a cure.

Tonight i went to a different LPS for more meds, and found a gell product which fish eat rather than medicating the water. The meds in it were ampicillin.

Are internal meds more effective? Can I keep treating with a combo of maracyn/maracyn 2 because I have no clue how much of the meds the clown loach is actually willing to eat (i saw him pick at some of it, but then got shy and swam away).

Anyone have any experience here?

 

[Tolak]

Internal antibiotics generally are more effective, depending on the medication. Most of your meds for internal protizoans & parasites are more effective this way as well.

I would use the medicated food along with the meds in the water, e-mycin is a different class of drug than ampicillin. There are many medicated flakes on the market, this is usually the best way to approach it if the fish has an internal infection.

The biggest drawback is that fish have a poor circulatory systen compared to mammals or other land animals, and at times the oral meds won't get to the problem with a high enough concentration to do the job alone. Often a combination of oral as well as meds in the water works well.

Certain antibiotics, Gentamicin in particular, do best in the water as they can be adsorbed through the gills. Gentimicin is probably the best gram negative antibiotic on the market for fish.

Nelson Herwig's "Handbook of Drugs and Chemicals Used in the Treatment of Fish Diseases: A Manual of Fish Pharmacology and Materia Medica" is an excellent book on treatment of fish, anyone interested in the hows & whys of medicating fish should have this on hand.

 

[tttnjfttt]

thanks for the info. Unfortunately, i haven't seen Gentamycin at any of the LPS, so my choices are maracyn, maracyn 2, tetracycline, and tripple sulfa for water based meds (if memory serves correctly). I'll go add another dose of maracyn to the tank; hopefully this combo will knock out the columnaris.

The good thing is the rest of the internal meds (a blue gel that is dropped in the water, i have never seen this product before tonight) did disapear, so i'm hoping that means someone ate it.