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Freshwater/Saltwater/Reef/Pond
Why Treatments Fail
There
most assuredly is going to come a time in the life of every hobbyist
when their fish get sick and treatment becomes the only solution for
saving them. Sometimes, even after the most careful approach, the
success rate is dismal. You would be understandably upset if this
occurs, and would like to know the reasons why your medications didn’t
work. In a large percentage of these failures we can usually determine
the likely reasons and, for the vast majority of these failures, we can
offer some guidelines as to the cause. Here are what we have ascertained
as the major causes of "failed" treatments.
Most fish disease
problems coincide with poor water quality, and should not be treated
until water quality has been corrected.
Somewhere along the line to get to your fish tank, most fish,
at one time or another, are exposed to smorgasbord of disease and
parasites. Most of these organisms lie dormant in your aquarium just
waiting for the right "stress" factor to arise in your
aquarium so it can "attack" your fish. (See
article "Stress, It’s Role in Fish Diseases" )
Poor water quality, such as a low pH value, high ammonia, or nitrite
level, may be the "stress" factor that weakens your fish and
makes them vulnerable to attack by various parasites and diseases.
At the first signs of discord with your fish you should immediately
check your water quality and make any changes necessary to get the
parameters corrected. Remember that while medications such as
antibiotics and anti-parasitic drugs are destroying the bad bacteria or
parasites that are harming your fish, they do not discriminate between
bad or good, and will also destroy the beneficial bacteria in your
aquarium that are keeping your water quality parameters, such as ammonia
and nitrite, in check. Treating a tank with poor water quality only
increases the stress on the fish and negates the effect of the
treatment, and further decreases the water quality.
A wrong diagnosis has
been made.
As everyone will realize, aspirin will not cure a broken leg.
Therefore, if you don’t make the correct diagnosis and consequently
use the wrong treatment, not only will you not effect a cure you will
often make the problem worse as any chemical introduced into the aquatic
environment can cause some stress.
Treatment has been
instituted, but the protein skimmer, and/or charcoal filtration has been
continued.
Depending on the efficacy of the skimmer and the amount and
quality of the charcoal, much of the active ingredients of the treatment
will be removed, ensuring a negative result.
Many aquarists are
unsure about the amount of water in their tank, and often forget to
include in their treatment calculations the water in their sump, etc.
Also they sometimes do not allow for the water displaced by large
amounts of live rock, etc.
Too little or too much medication, can have a negative
effect. Too little will enable the parasite to continue it’s life
cycle. Too much can have the effect of causing severe adverse effects in
the fish. Before beginning treatment, it is most essential to calculate
and then recheck the amount of water you’re treating.
The fish are in an
advanced stage of infection before treatment is started.
When you begin the treatment too late, then it is very hard
to bring back fish that are already at death’s door. These reasons
account for, by far, the majority of failures in treatment. Pay careful
attention to them, as well as the points above, and your success, as
well as your level of expertise will move into a high percentile. The
satisfaction, not to mention the good feeling of saving your fish, and
consequently not losing lives and money, will add enormously to your
self confidence, and no doubt many fellow hobbyists will seek you out to
advise them also.•••
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