Please STOP CIPROFLOXACIN DIPS and other antibiotics

[Magnapinna]

Thanks for the clarification.
For the record, I presume the resistant bacteria is already out there and it remains to be seen, with time, if it will become dominant in the ecosystem or if the weaker ones will prevail even with their susceptibility to antibiotic treatments?

But all that aside, the less we dump into the environment the less we will have to clean up later, if we even can.

Yes; many resistant bacteria already exist, including to cipro. Some bacteria however are more likely to become resistant than others, for example Staphylococcus aureus develops resistance especially quickly, and is also among the more concerning pathogens, especially as it's an abundant member of the normal human microbiome, and can therefore be exposed en masse.

It's a race against natural selection at the end of the day. We can't stop it, short of driving the bacteria to extinction which is also bad. As long as a species exists, it can mutate. All we can do is slow the process down, which is still an extremely important means of defense as it buys us time to develop new treatments.

The less resistant bacteria that enter the environment, the more likely they are to be outcompeted. Larger microorganisms of all sorts feed on bacteria. We'll never be permanently defenseless, but lacking a swift response even for a short period can be devastating

 

[Spare time]

You must have a horrible infestation of squirrels that need treatment?

I hope we find a suitable solution to kill those evil varmints.

Edit, forgot the smiley.

Lol I actually like squirrels

 

[Tired]

One thing to note with bacteria- they can actually pick up DNA from other bacteria. That's why, when certain strains of harmful bacteria are in your drinking water, you have to boil it for far longer than the bacteria themselves could survive. It's not to kill the bacteria, it's to destroy the DNA. Otherwise you'd have bacteria-free water with harmful-bacteria DNA in it, and new bacteria from the air could land in it, pick up that DNA, and become harmful themselves.

Same thing applies with antibiotic resistance; you could have an antibiotic-resistant saltwater bacteria get washed down your drain, which doesn't seem like a problem until you realize it might well trade that resistance with, say, a normally minor pathogen that thrives in drains. So it's not just about whether that specific strain will do well in a given environment or whether that specific bacteria is harmful to humans, it's about what bacteria might get to trade with that one.

 

[brandon429]

Managing Tissue Necrosis | Reef Builders | The Reef and Saltwater Aquarium Blog

While we have come a long way in the hobby and have improved our husbandry skills for keeping corals immeasurably over the past four decades, we still have much to learn, especially in the area of…

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thats a great example of training the masses on things they can no longer acquire. what if Mike developed a technique we could actually use, that would be impactful.

 

[Cell]

Promoting abstinence is great, but given that the use of Cipro and other antibiotics in this hobby is likely not going away anytime soon, I wonder if it would also be beneficial to layout a clear and effective protocol for proper disposal of water when antibiotics were used, I know there have been some suggestions here and there throughout this thread. Cipro threads pop up semi-frequently on the forum, if not total prevention, then proper mitigation should be a goal.

 

[brandon429]

how are they going to get the crack though, from avail stores in click shops? if so that'll run out soon.

I'm thinking they flat out won't be able to score in a few months, they'll have to go cold turkey- no more reef crack.

 

[Tired]

Well, it would still be helpful to inform people of how to responsibly deal with the medication they do have left. It's not as though they're going to somehow generate more cipro by responsibly handling what they do have. Also, I'm pretty sure that's not a worldwide ban on the sale of cipro in literally any form, nor does it evaporate what people might have in their cabinets already.

 

[brandon429]

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/ciprofloxacin-in-display-reef-tank.1041265/

The tide is changing, not just due to supply chain but due to knowledge that cipro dosing into a reef is harmful even if it seems temporarily beneficial to a target coral. After a few years of unavailability for the masses to abuse cipro by buying it, calculating their own dose and using it in the tank, alternate methods that aren’t harmful to a reef tank will develop. Death of cipro use in the hobby is underway. Can’t wait for it not to be an option in all of reefing.