Maracyn Plus, wrong treatment for BGA?

[jflng]

Hi,

I have a tank that is becoming infested with BGA. I researched ways to combat this scum, and decided on using Maracyn.

The only reason I decided on medication rather than a blackout is for the sake of a dwarf puffer. He is a puny picky eater. He likes ramshorn snails but can't seem to suck them out unless I smash them first (which I am tired of doing). The other fish pick on him. Even guppies get the better of him. I finally found that he loves mosquito larvae. I have been collecting them and feeding him a lot daily to fatten him up. I do not want to quit feeding him for a 3 day blackout. I'm hoping that the medication doesn't turn out to be worse for him.

:help:
So here's my question. I bought Maracyn Plus because I found it cheaper than Maracyn II at my LFS. I sparsely dosed for a few days and saw no improvement. Turns out, the bottle does not list erythromycin as one of its ingredients. The active ingredients are Sulfadimidine and Trimethoprin. Is this then totally ineffective against Cyanobacteria? Have I not dosed enough, or did I just waste my money? I have searched and found no mention of the effectiveness Maracyn Plus has on BGA. How disastrous could it be if I switch my dosing to erythromycin instead of Sulfadimidine and Trimethoprin?
:help:

Also, I can remove my affected sword leaves and maybe some of my java fern, but I cannot really vacuum my gravel (which is becoming quite infested in certain spots). I have recently planted hairgrass throughout the substrate and would rather not disturb it now. Should the bottom patches concern me or will frequent water changes be enough to remove the decaying BGA; that is once I've killed it.

Thanks,
Please give me some good feedback.

 

[J double R]

well, ethromycin IS the medication you need, and im not sure of anything else that will work medication-wise.

the other thing is, your puffer will be perfectly fine for 3 days with a blackout... he'll be fine for up to a week if need be. dont worry about him, fish arent like humans and dont need to eat EVERY SINGLE day.

 

[Madcrawdad]

JRR is correct...erythromycin is the med that you want to add to kill BGA. unfortunately, you bought the wrong stuff.....you need to buy Maracyn (not II or Plus). neither Maracyn II or Maracyn Plus contain erythromycin... Maracyn does.

I recently successfully treated my tank for BGA with Maracyn.....try only using it at 50% of the recommended dose, as it can kill your bio-filter. as far as your switching meds, not sure how your tank will like it....your bio-filter may definitely take a hit. either way, you might want to run some carbon in your filter and then do a partial water change before dosing w/ the Maracyn.

 

[J double R]

something i might add is that the blackout method is VERY effective.

 

[jflng]

Any other time I would definitely opt for the black out method. I generally use all other options before medication. This however is a time I’d rather medicate first. My poor fish is pathetically skinny. I realize fish have a fat storage they can live off of, but this little guy is obviously malnourished. I don’t think he can tolerate the lack of food right now. I’m sure I found this food source in the nick of time. I’ve been dosing a steady supply of larvae in the tank for the past couple days now. He is a bad hunter, which I attribute to his anorexia. He’s too weak to thrive like a predator should. The other fish easily out compete him, so they’re getting overfed while he is steadily and slowly being nursed back to health. I wish I had another tank to move them into.

On top of this, my recently planted light hungry hairgrass is just becoming established. I’d rather not interrupt that.

In the end I will probably black out the tank. I’d prefer not to, but if this plague gets much worse I will. I am also a bit hesitant about getting the regular Maracyn and adding a third antibiotic to the tank. That might just be an overkill, literally.

Is erythromycin really the only antibiotic that works? In the past when I had bronchitis, I had many antibiotics to choose from. I have to believe that other antibiotics will be just as effective at killing the BGA.

I was kind of hoping that you guys would tell me Maracyn Plus is even more effective than Maracyn. It does say “Plus” after all. I didn’t really believe you would but I had my fingers crossed.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Before dosing the EM, syphom out as much of the bga as possible and do a large water change. Normally it should take only a single dose of EM to whack the bga, however a 2nd dose is sometimes needed.

It is important to to do a vac and wc after dosing kills the bga as when it dies it can add to the bio load if it is left to rot in the tank.

I have used EM in conjuction with a blackout to knockout out a particularly nasty infestation.

 

[jflng]

Well I bought the regular Maracyn with erythromycin. I removed all the BGA I could. I did a 50% water change, and added carbon as recommended. Hopefully I cleared out enough BGA and removed enough of the original medication for this to be effective and safe.
Last attempt before blackout. Lets all cross our fingers, knock on wood, pray or whatever works to send my tank good vibes.
Thanks guys.