[tech1]

howdy all. I have decided to use some antibiotic for a strong possible bacterial infection to some of my fish. Does anyone know of a broad spectrum antibiotic that will not harm crabs and shrimp? thanks for any info.

[Reefland]

Hi tech1,

I would be very weary of adding medication of any kind into the tank. If you decide to medicate you should do so in a quarantine tank. Before medicating, you might try to enrich the fish food for a while with selecon and supplement with garlic to see if this helps any.

[Poseidon]

I agree, treating the whole tank is risky. I would treat in a small tank, say 10 gallons that way it is 1) cheaper to dose, 2) no risk to your display. You can get a small 10 gallon tank for dirt cheap, and just fill it with water from the display. THen use 10 gallons of ASW to add back to your display, like a water change. Make sure to grab a hand full of rock, sand from the display too, BUT this rock can NEVER be returned to the display tank as it will also be medicated!

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by tech1

howdy all. I have decided to use some antibiotic for a strong possible bacterial infection to some of my fish. Does anyone know of a broad spectrum antibiotic that will not harm crabs and shrimp? thanks for any info.

It's not safe to use an antibiotic in a reef tank because it may very well kill off the beneficial bacteria that are necessary to process nitrogen. The only safe way to use antibiotics is in a separate hospital tank.

Many of the medications that are supposed to be reef-aquarium safe are not completely safe in spite of the manufacturers' claims.