Sick fish! Need help!

[FishFamily]

Please read & select from options 1-5.
Note: We keep multiple tanks and this concerns our freshwater 35g, solitary black moor. Fish was diagnosed with columnaris and has been fighting infection since October 2022.
Neoplex in tank - last dose was 6/20.
Neoplex in food - last dose was 6/22 as we ran out. He’s been on this combination for 6wks or so and was doing really well until the last 48hrs.
This was the most recent in a long line of treatments, each of which has brought improvement as follows:
first with steady improvement,
then typically has a week or so of bigger improvement (we’ve even gotten as well as ONLY having a spot or 2 left!)
then around that 6week mark there’s a - BOOM - where he takes a major turn and gets MUCH worse over 24-48 hrs (we typically assume this means he’s become resistant).

Question:
What’s the next step in terms of strength and combinations? Leaning towards mixing maracyn 2 into food and treating tank with neoplex as scheduled on Tuesday.

OPTIONS:

1. Assume setback is caused by missing the food doses the last few days so just continue neoplex in both tank and food. (We ran out while sick w/Covid.
2. Maracyn 2 in food and cont treating tank w/neoplex
3. Sulfaplex in food and cont treating tank w/neoplex
4. Polyguard in food and cont treating tank w/neoplex
5. Change both food and tank, treat w/alternative combination not mentioned above (please detail in your comments).

We’ve previously tried:

• Methylene blue and kanaplex (great results and then had the BOOM described above)
• kanaplex on it’s own in tank and food but didn’t work)
• kanaplex tank treat and neoplex food treat (worked but had the BOOM)
• neoplex food treat and kanaplex tank treat (some minor improvement but BOOM hit after only a few weeks)
• neoplex (worked really and did best w/treating both tank and food simultaneously. BOOM *just* happened).
• I think we also tried fin cure, before this last round of neoplex but had covid ourselves over this period so it’s a little blurry.

Lastly…
Below is a breakdown of antibiotics from NGoodermuth’s older post which you may find helpful to reference. Note: malachite green is no longer manufactured.

I've compiled a brief guide to commonly used antibiotics/medications for treating bacterial infections. This gives a run-down on which are helpful for what, and which are able to be used together.

Note: The majority of these treatments should be done in a hospital or QT tank with no rock or sand and plenty of aeration.

Acriflavine: Antiseptic. Used as a bath or dip in a separate container (5g bucket), effective when used in conjunction with antibiotics for treating aggressive infections. Also has anti-parasitic qualities, can be used to help combat Brooklynella. Common sources: Ruby Reef Rally, Acriflavine-ms, API Fungus Cure.

Methylene Blue: Antiseptic. Used as a bath or dip in a separate container, helpful as a “first response” in treating injuries and ammonia burns.

Kanaplex (kanamycin): Wide-spectrum antibiotic. Effective in treating a range of bacterial infections, also can be combined with Furan-2 and Metroplex when treating severe infections. Kanaplex can be bound to food using seachem Focus, and fed to fish to treat INTERNAL infections, or as a last-resort, in-reef antibiotic treatment.

Furan-2(nitrofurazone/furazolidone): Wide-spectrum antibiotic. Effective in treating a range of bacterial infections; can be combined with Kanaplex and Metroplex for severe infections. Can also be used with Triple Sulfa or Sulfaplex to treat severe infections if NFG is not available.

Metroplex (Metronidazole): Anti-parasitic. Primarily used as an anti-parasitic against intestinal flagellates, uronema, and brookylnella, although it also has antibiotic properties. Can be used in conjunction with Kanaplex and Furan-2 for severe infections.

Neoplex (neomycin): Antibiotic. Same active ingredient as the topical ointment, Neosporin. May help in treating injuries/abrasions. Also, some evidence that it could be useful in treating INTERNAL infections when bound to food with Focus.

Enrythromycin: Antibiotic. Commonly used to treat eye infections. Can be mixed with minocycline (Ex. Maracyn 1 + Maracyn 2) for a wider spectrum. Can also be used with Epsom salt for pop eye/swelling.

Nitrofuracin Green: Wide-spectrum antibiotic. Very effective in treating severe infections, and the dreaded gram-negative bacteria. Combines nitrofurazone, Sulfathiazole sodium (another antibiotic), methelyne blue, and sodium chloride.

The Sulfa Drugs: Sulfaplex and API Triple Sulfa. Antibiotics. The API drug can very effective in clearing infection, but generally harsher on the fish than some of the other options listed above. Contains sulfacetamide sodium, sulfamethazine, and sulfathiazole. Can be used with Furan-2 for severe infections if NFG is not available.

I hope this post is helpful in deciding which course of treatment is best...I learned most of what is written here from @Humblefish on the fly during my own QT adventures [emoji23]

Happy reefing!

 

[vetteguy53081]

Please read & select from options 1-5.
Note: We keep multiple tanks and this concerns our freshwater 35g, solitary black moor. Fish was diagnosed with columnaris and has been fighting infection since October 2022.
Neoplex in tank - last dose was 6/20.
Neoplex in food - last dose was 6/22 as we ran out. He’s been on this combination for 6wks or so and was doing really well until the last 48hrs.
This was the most recent in a long line of treatments, each of which has brought improvement as follows:
first with steady improvement,
then typically has a week or so of bigger improvement (we’ve even gotten as well as ONLY having a spot or 2 left!)
then around that 6week mark there’s a - BOOM - where he takes a major turn and gets MUCH worse over 24-48 hrs (we typically assume this means he’s become resistant).

Question:
What’s the next step in terms of strength and combinations? Leaning towards mixing maracyn 2 into food and treating tank with neoplex as scheduled on Tuesday.

OPTIONS:

1. Assume setback is caused by missing the food doses the last few days so just continue neoplex in both tank and food. (We ran out while sick w/Covid.
2. Maracyn 2 in food and cont treating tank w/neoplex
3. Sulfaplex in food and cont treating tank w/neoplex
4. Polyguard in food and cont treating tank w/neoplex
5. Change both food and tank, treat w/alternative combination not mentioned above (please detail in your comments).

We’ve previously tried:

• Methylene blue and kanaplex (great results and then had the BOOM described above)
• kanaplex on it’s own in tank and food but didn’t work)
• kanaplex tank treat and neoplex food treat (worked but had the BOOM)
• neoplex food treat and kanaplex tank treat (some minor improvement but BOOM hit after only a few weeks)
• neoplex (worked really and did best w/treating both tank and food simultaneously. BOOM *just* happened).
• I think we also tried fin cure, before this last round of neoplex but had covid ourselves over this period so it’s a little blurry.

Lastly…
Below is a breakdown of antibiotics from NGoodermuth’s older post which you may find helpful to reference. Note: malachite green is no longer manufactured.

Maracyn 2 yes but not in food, add the powder to the tank as its absorbed and effective. Also add one teaspoon of aquarium or epsom salt per 10 gallons to your tank.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Please read & select from options 1-5.
Note: We keep multiple tanks and this concerns our freshwater 35g, solitary black moor. Fish was diagnosed with columnaris and has been fighting infection since October 2022.
Neoplex in tank - last dose was 6/20.
Neoplex in food - last dose was 6/22 as we ran out. He’s been on this combination for 6wks or so and was doing really well until the last 48hrs.
This was the most recent in a long line of treatments, each of which has brought improvement as follows:
first with steady improvement,
then typically has a week or so of bigger improvement (we’ve even gotten as well as ONLY having a spot or 2 left!)
then around that 6week mark there’s a - BOOM - where he takes a major turn and gets MUCH worse over 24-48 hrs (we typically assume this means he’s become resistant).

Question:
What’s the next step in terms of strength and combinations? Leaning towards mixing maracyn 2 into food and treating tank with neoplex as scheduled on Tuesday.

OPTIONS:

1. Assume setback is caused by missing the food doses the last few days so just continue neoplex in both tank and food. (We ran out while sick w/Covid.
2. Maracyn 2 in food and cont treating tank w/neoplex
3. Sulfaplex in food and cont treating tank w/neoplex
4. Polyguard in food and cont treating tank w/neoplex
5. Change both food and tank, treat w/alternative combination not mentioned above (please detail in your comments).

We’ve previously tried:

• Methylene blue and kanaplex (great results and then had the BOOM described above)
• kanaplex on it’s own in tank and food but didn’t work)
• kanaplex tank treat and neoplex food treat (worked but had the BOOM)
• neoplex food treat and kanaplex tank treat (some minor improvement but BOOM hit after only a few weeks)
• neoplex (worked really and did best w/treating both tank and food simultaneously. BOOM *just* happened).
• I think we also tried fin cure, before this last round of neoplex but had covid ourselves over this period so it’s a little blurry.

Lastly…
Below is a breakdown of antibiotics from NGoodermuth’s older post which you may find helpful to reference. Note: malachite green is no longer manufactured.

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

First thing, who diagnosed Columnaris and did they use a microscope? I’ve always found Columnaris to be a more acute infection and have never had a single fish suffer from that for months like this.

Since Columnaris has a strong relation to environmental issues, you can help control it by lowering the water temperature to below 75 degrees. Since this is a goldfish, you can go even lower of course. Columnaris loves organics and high temperatures.

Jay