I know some people that kick the dog when they have a headache :-) Ditto what Harro & Julie had to say.
EM tablets are good for one thing and one thing only. Getting blue-green algae under control using it at 1/2 dose. Then figure out what is wrong in your aquarium, fix it so you don't get the blue-green algae back. It isn't for everyday use.
Bacteria lesson. EM works on GRAM POSITIVE bacteria. There are NO GRAM POSITIVE bacteria that infect our fish, therefore EM is WORTHLESS for fish. Tis true what was said about fungus, it's worthless. On the human side our pathogens that are gram positive have been resistant to EM for decades so the reasoning not to use EM because you'll create more resistant bacteria really isn't valid anymore. IT is a very valid argument for other antibiotics though. We keep seeing our friends in the far east using exotic and black market antibiotics all of the time, which helps push resistance in our human pathogens.
The suggestion of removing one of the bad actors is a good idea. If they are both bad boys try one and then the other. Individuals sometimes just can't play nice in the same tank. I too agree though that all incisus are bad :-) The millenniums are much better at playing nice.
Help with fungus. I'm not really into smoke and voodoo.... but this MelaFix has worked quite nicely on damaged scales and fins. Pimafix is along the same lines but I haven't had much experience with it. I think that the MelaFix has gotten a positive review on this board before. Again I would isolate instead of subjecting the entire tank to the medication.
One of my favorites is gasp, isolation and salt. You can salt the heck out of most fish (not plants) and they will do fine and heal themselves.
cheers,
gary lange
Harro Hieronimus <harro.hieronimus at t-online.de> wrote:
No personal offence: Using antibiotics in aquaria is in most cases more than stupid as useless. The only thing we do is creating a resistant bacteria stock. Before using antibiotics you have to make a resistance test and see what still works. One of the greatest problems hospitals have to face are multi resistant bacteria. They cause thousands of dead people. So the best thing is not to use antibiotics in aquaria at all. Using antibiotics against fungus is like shooting a cow if you have headache – it can’t work.
Regards Harro
-----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----
Von: Julie Zeppieri [bowluvr at hotmail.com]
Gesendet: Montag, 14. Februar 2005 04:30
An: r_m_l at yahoogroups.com
Betreff: RE: [RML] Tank bullies
Hi,
Erythromycin is not effective agianst true fungus ("EM", as it is called, is
an antibiotic, so is made to treat bacteria, not fungus). If what you are
treating really isn't fungus (some of the things we think are fungus are
not), then antibiotics ARE called for. Make sure you have someone truely
knoweledgeable diagnose what your fish have. Then you will be sure you are
using the right drug for the problem.
Also EM is an old drug, used for literally decades, and the majority of
bacteria found in aquarium fish are resistant to it. In other words, EM is
essentially useless for most of what you would ever buy it for. :-(
Treating with antibiotics (for fish AND people) should not be done lightly,
as resistant bacteria are always developing as a result
<snip>
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No personal offence: Using antibiotics in aquaria is in most cases more than stupid as useless. The only thing we do is creating a resistant bacteria stock. Before using antibiotics you have to make a resistance test and see what still works. One of the greatest problems hospitals have to face are multi resistant bacteria. They cause thousands of dead people. So the best thing is not to use antibiotics in aquaria at all. Using antibiotics against fungus is like shooting a cow if you have headache – it can’t work.
Regards Harro
-----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----
Von: Julie Zeppieri Tank bullies
Hi,
Erythromycin is not effective agianst true fungus ("EM", as it is called, is
an antibiotic, so is made to treat bacteria, not fungus). If what you are
treating really isn't fungus (some of the things we think are fungus are
not), then antibiotics ARE called for. Make sure you have someone truely
knoweledgeable diagnose what your fish have. Then you will be sure you are
using the right drug for the problem.
Also EM is an old drug, used for literally decades, and the majority of
bacteria found in aquarium fish are resistant to it. In other words, EM is
essentially useless for most of what you would ever buy it for. :-(
Treating with antibiotics (for fish AND people) should not be done lightly,
as resistant bacteria are always developing as a result<snip>
--0-2019924191-1108410536=:97526--