Need an antibiotic recommendation

[CS31]

My husband and I have a 55 gallon reef tank that has been up running nearly two years without any major problems. Recently we bought a clown tang to add to our yellow tank, mandarin, firefish and blood shrimp. We also have several mushrooms and soft polyps. About a week after purchasing clown, tank broke out with ick. We were half expecting it as we were told that tangs can be very prone. Our LFS rec'd a product called ChemMarin, which was reef safe. After finishing this treatment, yellow tang and other fish were much better but clown still had patchy spots. Our LFS told us he had probably developed a bacterial infection on top of the ick, and advised us to treat with Maracyn. We have just finished this treatment, and still he looks no better. He behaves normally most of the time, occasionally will sit in front of the powerheads. We have done frequent water changes, and all chems are testing normal. Anyone have a better idea for treatment? I work at a veterinary hospital, so I have access to many types of antibiotics, but not the dosages. Any help is greatly appreciated.

[jhnrb]

Welcome to the forum. sorry to hear you are having a problem. if the area is patchy and not like salt speckles, then it is most likely not ick. I would recommend you go to the helpful articles and on page one you will find an article labled fish diseases( very long article). since you have some background you may want to scroll down several pages and twards the bottom of the articles you will find the various diseases listed, information on identification, and treatment. hope this helps. once you have all under control i would recommend a couple cleaner gobies, or a cleaner wrasse, and may be a couple cleaner shrimp. good luck keep us posted on your progress.

[NIGHTSKY_042006]

My Clown Fish Has A Bubble Over His Eye .i've Tried To Treat It ,but No Luck.can Anyone Help Me!

[jhnrb]

Cannot answer your inquiry in this thread as it belongs to another. recommend you post your question by starting a new thread. thankyou in advance. I will watch and try to help then.

[jhnrb]

On the original question from CS31. Have you considered AMYLOODINIUM. This disease is sometimes incorrectly call saltwater ich. Properly identified as Amyloodinium Ocellatum, it is also know as Oodinium ocellatum, coral fish disease, or velvet disease. It is extremely difficult to recognize until it becomes advanced, because the individual trophonts are too small to be distinguished with the naked eye. Often no signs of the disease are noted before losses begin. This disease has no equal in the speed and presistence with which it causes havoc in a closed system.Behavioral signs of an Amyloodinium infection will likely be failure to feed, a rapid respiration rated (greater than about 80 respirations per minute for clownfishes), swimming into the water current, and scratching in an unsuccessful attmept to rub the gilol irritant off. Through a microscope you may note the parasites as small spheres. Blemished cloudy areas (most notable on the fins) or excess mucus at particular places on the fish may be noted in advanced stages. the cloudy aareas are the spots that have been liquefied by the parasite's feeding. The treatment for this is lowering salinity, cleaning and vacuuming system, and if by day 3 it presists, to start a copper treatment. Specific gravity can be lowered to not lower than 1.010-1.012 . the depressed specific gravity should be kept for a couple months but if the fish is not better by day three the treatment with copper to 0.20 mg/L and begin bringing the tanks specific graity to above 1.018 take a day or more to bring up the specific gravity. days 4 through 13 monitor the copper every day with a test kit and add more as needed to keep the lever at 0.20 mg/L. The treatment is ineffective if the copper level drops. Monitor the tank for ammonia. Monitor the fish. Protracted treatment of Amphriprion ephippium and A. bicinctus seems to kill them or at least to invite tears in their skin and subsequent bacterioa infections. Treat these species with copper, under carful scrutiny and remove the copper early and add and antibiotic if needed. Day 14 remove the copper using carbon, poly filter pads, or water changes.

I do not know if this is what you have so proceed slowly and make sure you identify the disease 1st before treating. naturally you cannot use copper in the main tank. If you want to keep clown fish I would recommend the following book: Clownfishes by: Joyce D. Wilkerson ISBN-1-890087-04-1 good luck.

[CS31]

Thanks for the reply, and actually after doing other research this is the illness I am leaning toward being the problem. But I have a reef system with several inverts, shrooms, and soft polyps so I cant use copper in the sytem. My q-tank is only 20 gallons and couldn't possibly support all of stock for the length of treatment. So I am still stuck as to what to do. We have a cleaner goby who has been preening the clown tang almost constantly, while worry that he may now get this (so far not showing any symptoms) I think this is the only reason the tang still seems to be doing ok. He is eating well, swimming normally, but still occ. sits in the current. Its just the color change (grey patches) that worry me. Yellow tang still has a slight irridescence in one eye. Guess I'll just keep trying. Thanks again.

[jhnrb]

The only recommendation I have to add here is to consider a uv sterilizer and if you are running one make sure the water flow is at the rate for sterilization and that it is properly sized.