Penicillin

[neptuneviv]

Hi,

I've been keeping Bettas for about a year or so, and I'm still having trouble with finding an antibiotic that will cure fin rot, which is really the most common sickness I've seen them get. I keep my bettas in regularly-cleaned 1.5 gal jars without filter or heating (there are no sudden temperature swings, though, and ammonia/nitrite are 0) or in a partitioned tank that's well established. They've got fin rot in small tanks just as easily as in the large one.

I live in Switzerland, so I don't have access to the same medications as in the US (it's impossible to buy antibiotics for aquarium use here, except for Furanace/Furanol, an internal antibiotic, and Melafix, which doesn't go very far with bad infections). I managed to order some Penicillin (by Aquatronics) and some Trisulfa (by Mardel) in the States.

I've tried using the Penicillin before and I've had no results (whilst the Trisulfa works great - but I'm low on the stocks and need to treat a couple of badly affected males urgently). So I'm asking here if any of you have already tried Aquatronics Penicillin and had trouble with it, so that I don't lose any time with faulty stuff. It seems to collect at the bottom of the tank rather than dissolve properly into the water. Is it still effective? I know I can up the dose (I've done this successfully in the past with antibiotics), but it won't be useful if the stuff isn't working...

What's your opinion? Any experience in the matter?

 

[Alien Anna]

I think your answer has got to be in prevention, rather than cure. You may not have filters on the jars, but making sure the jar is cycled before use would go a long way to prevent future illness.

Unfortunately, you may be getting fish who've already been damaged by poor water conditions before you go anywhere near them.

The following Dutch site sells to Europe and has a good selection of aquatic medicines:

SeaMe.Com

 

[AquaNut]

I agree. Fin rot is almost always a result of poor water conditions. Unfortunately, adding antibiotics or other chemicals will only further deteriorate the already precarious balance in a tank so small. I replace my bettas' water with water from my larger aquariums, thus ensuring that they're in well conditioned water. If anything, I'd add something that is sold here by the name Stress-coat. It is a dechlorinator, but also helps aid in the repair of slime coats on stressed or ill fish.