Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Thanks Janet....you are great! I am still looking for solutions but will hang tight until I see if there will be any more deaths..

Article on medicated foods approved for use in food fish by the FDA.

http://www.aquanic.org/publicat/usda_ra ... /473fs.pdf

That is interesting. I can easily get oxytetracyclin here but am not sure how to mix it in with the pellets I already have. I could crush them in a blender, add oil and Tetracyclin blend again, dry and feed?
Noot sure how the fish would do on powdered feed that sinks...I can see if they are eating it but not sure how effective that would be.

Worth a try

It sounds like the medication is a powder that you mix with a binder like gelatin or oil. (I like the idea of gelatin just so you don't oil up the water.) I think you could toss the medication suspended in binder with the whole pellets like tossing a Caesar salad or making caramel corn. Then let dry. The medication would lightly coat the pellets.

In total, I'm not sure how I feel about medicating the fish. It certainly knocks them out of the 'organic' league. On the other hand, nearly every bit of meat that has passed my lips has been medicated, I'm sure. I'm hoping that if we can get you over this hurdle, that things will settle down. You can a maintain minimal-stress environment and disease won't be an issue. Tilapia are supposed to be very disease-resistant.

I'd certainly welcome some input from the other fish experts here. Anyone?

After more reading, I think Janet is right and the problem should be fixable with Tetracyclene. I am just not sure how to administerit. I have read that pouring tetracycline directly in the water is not very effective in Tilapia. However, how to get the fish to line up fore a spoonfull of the stuff?

Thanks Janet, I posted over you...
I have done a lot of reading and http://www.skepticalaquarist.com/docs/h ... ctin.shtml has some strong opinions on things but good info. In one place what my fish have was called the RED PEST. Disconbcerting but not the end of the world.

Am now looking for dosages....I can get gelatin and I have pellets....

dthawk- I would use peroxide before bleach. Peroxide will kill bacteria, fungi, viruses, etc. If you are starting over, it would sterilize your system. The 35% food-grade doesn't have preservatives in it (usually mercury based), but direct application to the fish would injure or kill them. It needs to be diluted 11-1 to bring it down to the normal dosage of 3%. If you want to dip them (simple, cheap, etc), I would dilute to .25% to 1% max.

I would look at dipping all the fish first, if you still have problems, put a low concentration in the water (but don't circulate it through your gravel for 24 hrs, and aereate the heck out of it to off-gas the ozone), then if you are going to start over, sterilize with 1%.

The peroxide is a strong antibiotic and antiviral, but is non-toxic and doesn't build up in the system of food fish.

greenedo,
If I understand you correctly, then maybe my best course of action would be to unhook the grow beds, reduce the amount of water in the fish tank, and then add hydrogen peroxide to 1% for a period of time with plenty of aeration. m Then I would add new water to dilute the peroxide and after 24 hrs put the growbeds online. am I understanding that correctly?

Greenedo, will peroxide work on an internal infection? It's hard to diagnose this without seeing the fish, but I think we're working with red bruise-like marks rather than fuzz now.

DT, if there's any way you can get clear pictures, that would help us a lot.

I would like to get that pic but I really don't want any more to die...
but if any more do....

I am going to see in town what the vet has for oxitetracycline. It is commonly used for chickens here so should not be a problem getting..... still researching the dosage.

Janet- The peroxide would work internally, but may need to be low concentration. Topically, it can be used at 3%, but internally, 3% is too strong. In the gut, 3% peroxide expands 10-100 times due to offgassing of O2 and O3. Very low concentrations are quite healthy, (as you may have bought water that is purified by "ozonation" which produces a very mild peroxide).

DTHawk- You have the right idea. I would probably go for a lower concentration the longer you have the fish in the peroxide solution:
This gives some guidelines for peroxide bath for fish.
http://www.fishjunkies.com/Treatments/hp.php

http://www.skepticalaquarist.com/docs/h ... dper.shtml
This says that 30-60 min is tolerated at 150ppm for fish. That would come down to .015%

The peroxide will off gas over time, so the aereator will help that happen. if it is low enough concentration, it can help oxygenate the water.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen_peroxide

Dt- I don't remember your tank size exactly, but from these places (that have more first-hand experience with peroxide & fish), I would recommend no more than 1:200 dilution for the fish. And if you're going to have them in there for a while, you may want to go closer to 1:1000. I have treated small animals by adding small amounts of peroxide to their drinking water with excellent results, I have also used it on myself, but have not used it on fish yet.

Aereating for 24 hours, and then diluting before hooking back up to your beds would reduce the damage to your system's bacteria. If you want to sterilize the growbeds and start over, then you may want to run a higher concentration through the beds than the fish can tolerate.

The tetracycline would be more immediate, and is more proven technology, but may make the fish unfit for human consumption. The peroxide is more out on a limb, but would not contaminate the meat.

Your call.

-Doug

DT, possible source of bacteria... Didn't you cycle your system with water from a pond or something. I remember sewage treatment pond rings a bell. That could have been someone else....

Tim , That was another test system I put together in Honduras just to see if I thought this all could work. Another time, another place..... This was cycled with fish, 50 fingerlings in 2400 liters of water. and a small growbed...