Septicemia...which to treat with???

H

hamburgler

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Sep 3, 2006
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I have a fish with what am i most certain is septicemia. After searching it seems like there are numerous suggestions for treatment...

Some being...
melafix, pimafix, salt
tetracycline
copper sulfate
maracin, maracin 2

I'm not sure which to go with...suggestions? Much appreciated, thanks!
 
Pimafix and Melafix are definitely a start as they work with bacterial infections. I'm not familiar with Septicemia. If it's internal at all your local fish store will carry foods with medication in them. I believe Jungle is one such brand that makes it.
 
septicemia is almost always a result of poor water conditions - unstable parameters, cycling, rotting food in gravel, overfeeding, etc.
before you treat with anything, vacuum the gravel like there are demons hiding in it, then do a large (50-70% water change). perform basic filter maintenance - if you have a canister filter, thoroughly rinse the foam pads and put in new carbon; if it's a HOB, put in new carbon, etc. in most cases, the septicemia will clear up on its own once you clean the tank this way and continue with regular maintenance.

also, since many meds will kill beneficial bacteria and cause a mini-cycle or a new cycle, i'd recommend staying away from those if possible. with septicemia, it's crucial that the water stay clean and parameters stable. therefore i definitely recommend salt and heat treatment. i had great success with this method when my goldfish came down with septicemia about nine months ago. it will take a week or two for it to clear up fully, but you should see major behavior changes almost immediately after you do a thorough tank cleaning. the fish will perk up right away.

you could also start feeding an antibacterial food, as theotheragentm mentioned above. these are good for helping boost the fish's immune system and clear up the septicemia without affecting your filter bacteria colony. i have used Jungle Labs antibacterial food many times. it's fantastic.

good luck, keep us posted.
 
Septicemia is an internal bacterial infection, targeting the kidneys and heart really. I agree w/ flaringshutter, feed your fish some jungle anti-bacterial medicated food, found here, they have large pellets and small pellets. Clean water will help tremendously also. Good luck!
 
First off. get that fish in a QT asap.

Only thing i would suggest would be Maracyn-2, and do it ASAP. Follw the instructions on the box. I agree about it showing up in poor water conditions, so keep up WCs in the main tank. Apparently it affects any fish with an open wound as a point of entry.

Best of luck, and let us know how it worked out.
 
Maybe its not septicemia if poor water is the cause. I have been doing 40% changes every few days to get rid of tannins from some recently introduced driftwood (even though it was rinsed for weeks). And i have sand substrate with a lot of flow so virtually all the waste ends up in the filters (which have been maintained recently.) Its a 55g mostly mbuna tank, i had a bactera problem after introducing new fish a few months ago. Now one fish has started to show, water params have been stable. I recently raised my KH by a few degrees from adding more crushed coral to accomodate the driftwood, but the PH and GH have remained stable.
This is very random, and the fish, although already with red color, is showing red streaks in the back portion of its body, fins are fine, and it is lethargic.

I have started with melafix, pimafix, and salt. But the weird thing is, of all fish its a jewel cichlid. One of the few non mbuna in the tank. There are even pictus cats in there that are doing fine, along with the other ~15 fish. SO i have my doubts it being a result of the slight changes in water hardness.

Thanks for the input!
 
The redness towards the rear is what i have recently noticed, along with lethargy.

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I ended up with neoplex by seachem as recommended by a LFS. They were all raving about it, and since i can't pinpoint exactly what is i don't want to start dosing with more harsh meds.

Thanks all.
 
Neoplex is neomycin an antibiotic. It contains the same active ingredient as Neosporin ointment. It is produced by the actinomycete Streptomyces fradiae (a type of fungus). It has been shown to have quite a few severe side effects when taken internally so you must be extremely careful about dosage. Follow the directions exactly!!

Septicemia is a very broad term for a bacterial infection that enters the blood stream. It can be any number of different pathogens that may or may not be associated with a weakened immune system. It can be a primary infective mechanism or a secondary infection. I had 2 fish in my tank come down with this several years ago. So I treated with antibiotics (it really doesn't matter which one as long as you used them the full recommended dosage) and also gave a good general treatment for parasites and fungal infections. It took 2 weeks for them to heal up completely but they've both done very well since then. After that experience I've gotten very lazy and treat for fungal, bacterial, and parasitic infections if my fish slow the slightest signs of illness. I don't guess what it is, just treat for it all. Of course I wouldn't recommend doing this unless you have fully researched all of the drugs that you use.
 
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