From: demma@south (Tom Demma x7-4308)
Subject: Need Help with Marine Infection...
Organization: GE Medical Systems, Magnetic Resonance
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.1 PL6]
Date: Tue, 5 Jan 93 16:48:41 GMT

I'm hoping that someone can give me some advice on treating what appears to
be a bacterial infection with my marine fish.  Since this site has decided
that some Usenet hierarchies promote an unprofessional work environment,
I'll cross-post to rec.aquaria and alt.aquaria to increase my chances of
getting a response.  Please post replies to alt.aquaria, or E-mail me at
the address in the .signature.


First, let me describe the tank environment and conditions.  It's a 55-
gallon tank, utilizing a UGF driven by two Penguin 550 powerheads for
biological filtration, and a Skilter 250 filter/protein skimmer combi-
nation for mechanical filtration.  I know, I know, UGF's aren't the
greatest thing.  I went that way because I wasn't that experienced or
knowledgable at the time I purchased the setup.  I'm testing with the
"Dr. Wellfish" Dry-Tab testers; ammonia is essentially non-existant,
and the nitrites are less than 25 ppm (I'm coming into a water-change,
by the way).  A 5% water change is done on a weekly basis in order to
clean the substrate of any possibly excessive debris.  The tank temper-
ature is normally at 78-80 degress Fahrenheit.

The occupants of the tank are three Yellow Tangs, an Achilles Tang, a
Long-Nose Butterfly fish, and a Mandarin.  About a week ago, I noticed 
that two of the Yellow Tangs developed red-colored streaking about the
dorsal and caudal fins, which developed into red blotches on the body
with loss of the bright yellow color that they normally have.  They're
still yellow, just not as bright as the one that appears unaffected.

When I noticed this condition, I checked a couple of references and con-
cluded that I was dealing with a bacterial infection.  I decided to pro-
ceed to treat the affected fish within the 55-gallon rather than a
quarentine since a) it was probably running throughout the tank as well,
and b) putting two Tangs by themselves didn't strike me as a particu-
larly good idea since they can get pretty aggressive with just two.
The last time I used Mardel's Marycyn and Marycyn-Two I ended up with
a couple of dead fish - and then I read other posts describing prob-
lems with these products.  I decided to try another form of medication,
instead.  I've used Fritz Complex-Plus Nitrofurazone for a week so far.
The dosage has been one capful per ten gallons of water every two days.
Two days after the third dose (total of six days of treatment), I re-
placed the carbon in the filter and performed a water change.  After that,
I added some Biozyme (?) to repopulate the bacteria in the substrate,
since Fritz notes that the medication can damage the bacteria in the
biological filter.  At that point, the redness had subsided to a faint
orange on the Tangs.  I had planned to continue treatment after a day
of rest to make sure there wasn't damage to the fish or the tank.

After about ten hours, the redness had increased in intensity on the 
affected Tangs, so I removed the carbon element and redosed.  The red-
ness had subsided by this morning, but I noticed a faint white patch
on the Achilles Tang.  Yet the other fish aren't affected at all.

The fish aren't losing weight or they're appetites.  They're still feed-
ing, and they're nibbling on the vegetable block in the tank so I know
that they're getting their greens.  I've turned up the temperature to
82 degrees to attempt to shorten the life-cycle of the bacteria, if
that's what it is.

Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions, or even comments on whether
I'm taking the right approach?  I'd like to get advice on the treatment,
since it seems that every fish store has a different treatment or method
to apply.  

Thanks in advance for your help.



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Tom Demma, Ultrasound Software Engineering                demma@sol.med.ge.com
GE Medical Systems
Milwaukee, WI

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Newsgroups: sci.aquaria