antibiotics

[hammondegge]

if rtn and stn are thought to be bacterial infections, could a whole tank treatment of antibiotic help? no? has it been tried? what about antibiotic dips?

[Richard]

They have been tried...no worky too well.

I believe Borneman has shown RTN not to be a straight forward bacterial infection.

Here's some reading...
http://www.reefs.org/library/talklog/eb_jl_111598.html

[hammondegge]

thanks richard

[Reef69]

IMO..I dont think is a bacterial infection, although ive seen on numerous articles that it is highly contagious..which i think its a big lie... I really think its stress related..and water conditions apply to that stress..also wether the coral likes high or low flow..)...So, I dont think either STN and/or RTN are infections. Ive seen many cases where the STNing abruptly stops and the coral begins to rejuvenate. I have a frag of a. samoensis that did this a while back and now is a beautiful baby blue color. The STNing stopped and, although the tissue never grew back on part of the base, the rest of the coral kept growing as it should be.

[hammondegge]

that is what i have experienced with 2 species of acro. over a weeks time they have both receeded very slowly. one has stopped and the other is receeding so slowly that it is very difficult to see the difference from one day to the other. i adjusted the flow patterns slightly and the stn has appeared to stop. we'll see. the progression has been so slow that i chose not to frag. these two were close to each other. but that could indicate flow as well as infection

[Reef69]

Well, the reason i know its not a bacterial infection, but more of a water issue..is..wild colonies tend to RTN/STN more in percentage than aquacultured pieces. The odds of a wild colony to perish overnight due to RTN are bigger than the chances of that happening to an aquacultured colony/frag. Its just light wild caught fish and captive bred fish..Aquacultured are much more resistant to rough water parameters. So, best advice i can give..keep your water quality high, Ca. and alk. in check (or as perfect as possible) READ THE REQUIREMENTS for each coral (which ones like high flow, low flow..higher light..lower light)..not all corals are the same.."One of my 2 acros died!!."..maybe because each one has different needs..so, if you give them what they need, no STN/RTN for you..