Need antibiotics!

[HayleYoyo]

Anyone know were I can get some kanaplex?

I've seem to have a bacterial dropsy outbreak in my tank. I spoke with a vet, and they suggested it.

Thank you!

[tanksalot360]

Ask the same vet to prescribe you the kanamycin antibiotic -because most pet related medications were pulled from the shelf starting at the beginning of the year, with our access now being limited to veterinarian or pharmaceutical prescriptions.

Dropsy is difficult to treat as it's usually an internal infection or difficulty in regulating fluids.

Our new standby treatment methods include
waterchanges, almond leaves, aquarium salt and UV sterilization. I would look to epsom salt dips for your current dilemma, as it might help draw out fluids and provide some relief.

[HayleYoyo]

The vet doesn't live here. It's an online vet that's been helping me figure out the issues the last few days.

I just did an Epson salt treatment, and added almond leafs yesterday.

What is uv sterilization?

[nerdRVT]

With due respect, a vet can't diagnose a bacterial infection inside the body of a fish without a culture or at least a fluid sample to look for rods or cocci under a scope.

Above suggestions are good. Dropsy is a nebulous term for a number of conditions that cause fluid buildup inside the body of the fish. Any of the above listed supportive measures can help a great deal. And keep in mind, epsom salt is not the same as aquarium salt. Depending on species, I have had great success with edema and abdominal fluid buildup in fish at 3-5ppt salinity. It allows them to de-stress, takes the work of fluid regulation down a notch, and can allow their immune systems to do the job. It'll often knock down bacterial load, too.

I'm currently looking into papers on low dose hydrogen peroxide therapies for bacterial loads in tanks, but it is a work in progress. Lots of great work being done in aquaculture to find safer alternatives to traditional antibiotics for various fish ailments.

[HayleYoyo]

I used the epsom salt Incase the problem was caused by constipation, she was in the solution for about 15 mins. I then moved her to another solution which was 1/4 as strong for 15 mins, then moved her back into her regular tank water. She seems about the same, and no poop.

The vet never said it was definitely a bacterial infection. She said she'd suggest that medication because it sounds like a bacterial infection.

Either way, I don't seem to have that luxury. I'm looking into uv sterilizers. They are really expensive, and I don't know if they will fix the problem.

I bought six Female bettas from big als, and they all are dying one by one. This is the second with dropsy. Normally I'd assuming something is wrong with my tank, but there is less hearty fish in there, doing fine...

I'm just at a loss...

[nerdRVT]

I've seen a number of bettas with "dropsy" that was in fact kidney failure. Abdomen was full of clear, sterile fluid from cystic kidneys leaking into the abdomen. Kidney failure or cystic kidney disease is not all that uncommon in goldfish and bettas. Its possible a virus causes it, but no one is completely sure. Can also be caused by acute exposure to toxins like an inappropriate use of meds, or even a parasite that messes up the kidneys like a myxozoan. I've managed a couple bettas through kidney failure for a few months but it never ends well.

Not saying this is what your fish have but its always a possibility.

That vet needs to read up on judicious use of antimicrobials... otherwise we'd not be in the situation we are in today with a lack of meds being available.

I hope your fish issue resolves with therapy, but consider humane euthanasia if your fish keep getting ill and therapies are not working.

[HayleYoyo]

Unfortunately my betta has passed.

I have two females left. One seems perfectly fine, the other keeps hiding. Might be because there is no pecking order.

I ordered a uv sterilizer, when it gets here tomorrow, I'll hook it up.

I have other fish in that tank, and they are all fine. It's only the bettas I got from Big Als that seem to be going through it.

I didn't give them any meds, so I don't think that was the problem. What's the odds that 5/6 bettas had kidney failure 

[nerdRVT]

It is just as likely that there is a pathogen in your tank that the bettas were naive to, and once they were added they got sick. Could be a virus, bacteria, protozoa, nematode, etc. The other fish may even carry that pathogen without symptoms, but the bettas had no defenses.

As I said, the symptoms that are referred to as "dropsy" are caused by a ton of different things. One of those things can be a bacterial infection. Other things can be protein loss due to heavy gut parasite load, kidney failure, internal trauma, issues with osmoregulation due to generalized poor health...

[HayleYoyo]

So what do you recommend doing?

Is a uv sterilizer enough?

I'm going to do a 10% water change every day for the next 3-4 days. My hope that I can remove the problem

[nerdRVT]

UV sterilizers have mixed reviews for hobbyists, I think. We use them in labs running 24/7 because we need to prevent pathogens from spreading from tank to tank. However, we understand that running a UV sterilizer will fundamentally change the microbe ecosystem in a fish's environment, and not always for the best.

I think there are folks on here who can likely give you more guidance on using UV sterilizers on a home aquarium than I could ever do. Hopefully they chime in.

[HayleYoyo]

Our new standby treatment methods include
waterchanges, almond leaves, aquarium salt and UV sterilization. I would look to epsom salt dips for your current dilemma, as it might help draw out fluids and provide some relief.

Do you think a uvc and a 10% daily water change is a good idea? I figure I will keep that up for a week, and hopefully that will kill off anything bad in the tank