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Re: Re: Carpeting algae




>Maracyn
>IT NEVER RETURNED IN 3 YEARS

>I did examin possible contributing factors and corrected them. Improved
>filtration, cut back feeding of the fish, and so forth.

>I do not understand some peoples adversion to using anti biotics. Its
>safe, easy and completely effective.


I appreciate your experience, but I have to disagree somewhat.  You seem to
claim that the Maracyn is why it never came back, but in the same paragraph,
your explain other corrective changes you made.  Therefore, we can never
know if it was the Maracyn alone that did it.  Maracyn is gone after a few
water changes, but BGA cysts are ubiquitous in our environment, so your
tanks will more than likely have BGA in them even now.  Given the right
environment, it will thrive and take over a tank rather quickly.  Therefore,
I suspect the real reason it hasn't come back is that you corrected the root
cause of the problem after the treatment.

When I had my first experience with it, I used maracyn.  Worked like a
charm.  A few months later it was back.  This time, I took the time to learn
about correct the underlying problems and didn't use maracyn.  It took much
longer to go away, almost a month, but it has been gone now for years, and
my fish and plants are healthier for it.

Also, I think most everyone here will agree that there are beneficial
bacteria in our tanks, and erythromycin is not very selective in what it
will kill.  It will kill gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria
indiscriminately.  So, you could end up totally screwing up the
micro-ecosystem in your tank.  This could take a while to recover, and in
the mean time, your fish and plants may suffer from the unstable chemistry
this can cause.

Although unlikely, indiscriminate use of antibiotics can also lead to the
rise of resistant bacteria.  The last thing you want is to not be able to
treat an infection when truly necessary.

If one is in a hurry to get rid of it, Maracyn will work short term but DOES
have risks.  But its NOT a long term cure, nor is it completely safe or
effective.  Correcting the root cause is the only real cure, and it is far
easier to do when you can watch the BGA's reaction to your changes.