When Treating Against A Bacterial Infection...

[Eines]

...what does one do with the filter? If the medicine kills all bacteria, it'll also kill everything in the filter. If one has to re-cycle the tank, I would have the thought the stress would kill the just healed fish. If one uses a small hospital tank, can one simply put the sick fish into it without a filter for a few days, till the medicine works? Annoyingly, one can't do water changes, because that would reduce the medicine. My hospital tank is currently housing a lot of young swordtail fry, so if I were to treat my main tank, I suppose I could take some of the gravel from that tank and place it into my main tank when I'm done, but I don't know how effective that would be. Unfortunately, I can't run the filter from my main tank on the smaller one, because it is waaaaay to powerful. Any suggestions/tips?

Disclaimer: None of my fish actually need treating right now, but I have had fish die of bacterial infections, and I would like to know for future reference.

 

[WILDER]

What med its it. Is it jbl furanol.

If you use antibiotics in a main tank is does wipe the benefical bacteria out in the filter.
If you have other tanks you can just kick start it again my using some mature sponges from other tanks. Once the antibiotic has been removed with water changes and black carbon.
Or you can run the filter in a bucket of water with a heater and keep adding flakes to keep the beneifcal bacteria alive.
But you would need to run an airstone and do water changes if you don't use the filter in the tank.

Same with the hospital tank without a filter, airstone and water changes.

 

[Eines]

I have a med (German) called bactopur, which I believe kills all bacteria. Running it in a bucket is a good idea, I would have to try to see if it works...

 

[WILDER]

Ok.
Good Luck.

Just take the tank water before you add the med for the bucket to run the filter in.

 

[Tolak]

With nearly all antibiotics your best bet is to do a 50% water change & remed. This eliminates any problems caused by the meds affecting your nitrifying bacteria, provides fresh water, which in itself aids healing, and assures a constant level of active medication in the tank.

Most antibiotics do deteriorate in tank water, they will not stay in there indefinitely, or you would not have to add more medication. Fish, while different from other animals, are similar in many respects. Most antibiotics you get from your lfs give directions to medicate for an all too short period of time. If your doctor prescribes antibiotics for you, it is generally at least 7 days, if not 10-14. If you have any experience with dogs or cats it's the same medication length. Many times it's the same medication, this also applies to fish.

If the antibiotics for fish all said to medicate for 10-14 days, with a daily water change of 50% and remed many casual aquarists would not buy the product. In many cases it costs more for the medication than the original cost of the fish, daily 50% water changes are too much trouble, and a smaller tank is not available for treating the fish to make the cost and time reasonable.

A bucket with an airstone and a heater is often fine for these applications, I also suggest a dechlorinator that deals with ammonia, as any ammonia that may build up in the 24 hour period between water changes is converted to ammonium. Double dosing with a product like this assures ammonia won't be a problem.

 

[Eines]

okay, thanks for the tips! So a 50% water change should suffice for removing ammonia for ten days, so as not to kill the fish?