Title: Septicemia | Tropical Fish Keeping
Headings: Septicemia
Categorized | Bacterial Infections, Featured Articles, Tropical Fish Diseases, Tropical Fish Keeping
Septicemia
Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia – VHS
PHYSICAL SYMPTOMS:
Septicemia
CAUSE:
TREATMENT:
PREVENTION:

Content: Septicemia in the blood can quickly overcome an infected fish and an antibiotic treatment regimen is the quickest and most effective way to treat this disease. Although most aquarium antibiotics are made to dissolve in the tank water where they can be absorbed by the fish, Septicemia is an internal bacterial infection that requires a medicated antibacterial fish food to better target the infection. Amoxicillin, gentamicin, ofloxacin and sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim are the drugs of choice for the treatment of Bacterial Hemorrhagic Septicemia. Aquatronics Osymanna flakes have been around since 1980 and are extremely effective for treating freshwater and marine fish. Soaking pellets in a concentrated mixture of Mardel’s Maracyn and Maracyn 2 is also an effective method of treating Septicemia. Just chop up the amount you would normally use to treat the tank, add a few drops of water, soak several pellets in the mixture for 10 minutes or so, and feed the affected fish. Add the pre-measured mixture to the tank as per directions. Because there is no way to accurately measure exactly how much medicated food the fish is eating, especially with the loss of appetite that is commonly associated with the disease, the method is not fool proof. This is why it is so important to administer the medicated food while the fish is still eating. If the fish is no longer eating, employ the standard method of adding antibiotics to the tank water.