Antibiotics & Copper

[MediaOne]

I read in Fenner's book once that some people choose to feed their fish food soaked in antibiotics while they are treating them with copper. Does anyone do this on here? What will happen if I don't bother? and what does it help with exactly?

My feeling is that it just helps the fish fight off anything that might be trying to attack it internally during its weakened period in the quarantine tank.

 

[davelin315]

Copper is a heavy metal that will kill of invertebrates of any sort if it is present in a greater concentration than occurs naturally (there is a tiny tiny tiny bit of it in the oceans already). It can also result in poisoning to your fish if you're not careful. After using copper, you want to remove it (some stores run it in their systems all the time, so make sure you ask if you buy a fish and want to put it in a reef). As far as treating with antibiotics, it's the same as people taking them. The caution here is that treating with antibiotics is very imprecise when feeding it in food, and if you are trying to treat a specific illness, it may not be effective. Also, you may not fully cure the illness, and it could become immune to future treatments.