Maracyn 2 is a synthetic form of the tetracycline class of antibiotics and is more broad spectrum than others. This is a very effective antibiotic which can be combined with Maracyn or used by itself. It is one of the best antibiotics that can be purchased for fish disease. It is also very safe so overdosing shouldn't cause any issues. One thing to note is that this product like all tetracycline type antibiotics become dangerous after they have expired. Once the expiration date passes it must be disposed of.
This medication is especially effective for septicemia and fin/tail rot. It can also be used to treat popeye and dropsy. Another benefit of this antibiotic is that it acts as an anti-inflammatory, helping to reduce redness and swelling.
Make sure you remove any carbon/chemical media from your aquarium filter when using this. If you keep this media in, it will absorb the medication and potentially cause antibiotic resistance. Also make sure you treat for the stated time. Like any antibiotic, not following the proper dosage and timings can make it ineffective and again lead to resistance as only some bacteria are destroyed while the others that survive mutate and proliferate.
Also just a tip, add some Aquarium Salt to the aquarium while treating for disease as this will help in healing, as well as help prevent advantageous parasites from complicating things further. Do not use regular table salt as it contains iodine! Aquarium salt is cheap, available on Amazon and it will last you forever.
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Update:
Just thought I would add some more info to this post as this is really the only available antibiotic for fish diseases on Amazon.
This antibiotic is effective in freshwater but not really in salt water aquarium's. Hard water will also reduce the effectiveness of this antibiotic as it is absorbed by dissolved calcium in the water.
Although this antibiotic can be used to treat dropsy, it can be especially taxing on the kidney's. Because dropsy is caused by the kidneys failing to remove water/fluids from the inside of the fish, it can make things much worse. Kanamycin is the best for this disease.
I have had pretty good success with mixing this antibiotic with fish food rather than treating the aquarium water. If you have a large aquarium, or don't have access to another tank, this method may be more economical and even more effective.
To treat this way you have to 1st be sure your sick fish are still eating!
-Take a small cup and throw in some pelleted fish food. Add some hot water, just a bit more than what would be necessary to cover all the food, then mix in half a packet of the Maracyn-2.
-Leave it for 1-2 hours to allow the food to soak up the solution. You should also swirl the contents a few times.
-Dispose of the leftover solution and place the treated pellets in the aquarium. Make sure your fish are eating them!
-If you choose to go this route, you should feed the fish these medicated pellets daily, and continue to do so a few days after the disease appears to have been cured.
You may want to try soaking the pelleted fish food you have in some tap water 1st to make sure they wont just completely dissolve in the water.
"New Life Spectrum THERA A" is a fish food available on Amazon which by itself, help's with fish diseases. I have found that these pellets do not breakup and are able to absorb quite a bit of the solution. It is available in numerous pellet sizes. Be sure to get the Thera A version.
If anyone has questions about this or treating fish diseases, leave a comment. I have had to learn quite a bit about fish diseases over the years as I attempted to extend the life of a fish that had Tuberculosis.
Maracyn-Two works very well. It actually cured dropsy in one of my fancy goldfish about 2 years ago. You should keep it on hand ready to use, because you have to act fast (if it is dropsy). It also works well on fin rot and I have used it 3 or 4 times for that. You don't have to be in a big hurry if it is fin rot.
I don't use a hospital tank. I treat the whole 30 gallon tank with this stuff. It does not seem to hurt the beneficial bacteria that get rid of ammonia. It also does not bother the other fish in the tank that are not sick. Doesn't faze them a bit, although you would think so, since it does make the water look a little yellow and cloudy. I can't think of a worse thing to do to a sick fish than to take it out of its home and into a hospital tank. Besides, it takes a month to get a new tank up and running (cycled). Just treat the whole home tank. Will take a lot of packets of this stuff, so the little 8 packet box won't do much good. Get the 24 packets. Don't be afraid to use this stuff. It won't hurt anything.
The directions are pretty good. Read them all, not just on the box, but inside. The diagnostic chart inside is very good. The only thing I thought was vague in the instructions was what to do if you want to do 2 5-day treatments back to back. I think the best advise is to stop after the first 5-day treatment and do the water change and put carbon in, for 3 days. Then after that 3-day "rest" period do the second 5-day treatment. But you probably won't need it. If you do, another approach would be to try a different med, like Maracyn Plus maybe. These Mardel meds are the real deal.
Note this Maracyn-Two is for freshwater. I think there is a separate product for salt water.
By the way, I would not use potted plants in the aquarium. The little bit of dirt on the root ball will have lots of foreign bacteria that your fish have never encountered before. Dropsy bacteria are in dirt. My fish that had dropsy, it started 4 days after I put a potted plant in the aquarium.
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