preserving the biofilter

[judy]

am prepping my hospital tank to treat a discus that has an open wound with white edges. Is still eating and swimming normally, but the wound has shown no signs of repairing itself for about four days and may even be worsening slightly (or I am paranoid). But it's a big gouge, so I will be using Furan 2, which I know knocks out the biofilter. The question...
would it be better to:
a) remove all the filter sponges, wring them until they are just nice and damp, and store them in plastic bags in the fridge for five days, then put them back on the tank after a full WC
b) move all the filters to a large bucket of water, toss in a bit of food and perhaps a little of the vacced goop (poop, mostly) from the DT and let it run independently, replacing the filters when treatment and a complete WC are complete

Thoughts, o Forum Wise Ones?

[jimg]

I put them in a small tank with heat run them and add enough ammonia to keep 1ppm overnight

[Maria Ashton]

I'd be tempted to run the filters in your other tanks alongside what is already in there.

[Moon]

I'd be tempted to run the filters in your other tanks alongside what is already in there.

That's what I do.

[Sean Buehrle]

Where did you find that furan2 hurts a bio filter? I looked at 5 different sites that said it doesn't harm a bio filter.

Do you guys/ girls know something the drug companies don't?

Not knocking you,just wondering.

[Melissa]

Wondering the same thing. I've used furan2 in the past with no obvious effect on the bio filter....

[judy]

really.......?
but it treats gram neg and gram pos bacteria-- and biofiltration is almost entirely gram-neg. I would stick them on another tank, but room is tight at the lid level....

[jimg]

from what I remember most of the beneficial bacteria in a filter is gram pos. all anti bio's will effect a filter to a certain degree. whether gram neg or pos

[Sean Buehrle]

from what I remember most of the beneficial bacteria in a filter is gram pos. all anti bio's will effect a filter to a certain degree. whether gram neg or pos

I've been reading up on furan2 and it has 2 separate compounds 1 for gram neg 1 for gram pos, so

It must be engineered like any other antibiotic to attack a certain bacteria.

It must have a target and not total wipeout.
I would assume that's why it's only suggested for use for a few types of afflictions.

[judy]

While the product does list specific infections it targets, it is a broad-spectrum antibiotic, so does handle many "off-label" situations.
There are diametrically-opposed reports about whether Furan2 is bio-safe, so I am chancing the Furan 2 and continuing the biofiltration. The wound is looking cleaner after just a few hours, but it's quite a hole-- a good quarter-inch in diameter. I am mystified as to where it came from.
The tank will have nobody in it after, and I will have time to recycle should it become necessary.

[brewmaster15]

Hi,
my experience with furan 2 is that it can impair the bio filter bacteria, most don't notice it because they often do huge water changes while using med with discus. However if you slack with the water changes you may see an ammonia spike to some degree and often there is a more serious nitrite spike several days after treatment.
The best way to minimize this is keep up with the water quality andreally rinse out the filter material after using the meds.

Can you post a pic Judy? That wound should heal by itself,not sure I would use furan 2 or anymeds if its a scrap.might be better to topically swab with iodine or peroxide.
Hth,
al

[MostlyDiscus]

Hello,

I was thinking the same thing Al. Most times if a fish has a cut thats not too bad(like childern"Are you bleeding" No? then go outside and play) I leave them in the tank. Cut back your feeding to a couple of times a day and keep the water clean.
Ed

[judy]

Here's a shot-- it looks better today, at least the edges of the wound are clean, whereas before I began the Furan 2 (yesterday) there was a fair amount of white stuff that looked like decaying flesh around it. I know he's not by any means a perfect specimen-- but my late husband bought this mated pair for me as a Christmas present, and he's precious for that reason. I haven't a clue how he could have got this gouge. There has been some kerfuffling in the DT as one of the pairs has been laying eggs and get VERY nasty about their piece of turf. Maybe they drove him into something sharpish.

70266

[Maria Ashton]

Poor guy, looks like a nice fish. I have a few which are not perfect but I love them nonetheless and given that he was a gift from your late husband I can see why you want to get him well quickly. Good luck

[brewmaster15]

Judy,
I can understand why you want to save that fish.

I can't tell from that picture how deep or infected that wound is..but diameter wise, it looks like it could be treated by swabbing and placing in a hospitol tank with very clean water...Discus are amazingly good at healing...contrary to their reputation as a weak fish.

If you net the fish and try to swab that area , have q-tips and peroxide or iodine ready

on the side already...I would leave the discus inthe net, cover with a wet paper towel and then use a dry q-tip or dry paper towel to blot the wound..then follow up with a q-tip soaked in peroxide or Iodine.

Just trying to swab this area may give you a better idea of the seriousness and depth to the wound.

hth,
al
BTW... if you have plecos in the tank...that could be the cause.

[judy]

I checked depth when I moved him to the hospital tank, where he is now... the wound is about an eight of an inch deep (a little over a millimeter if you're metric). As of this AM's water change, it has improved some, and I will keep him in the hospital tank, finish the Furan 2 round, and see where it goes from there. He'll be parked there until he heals...
there are three ABNs in the tank, but they are all small and have shown no interest at all in any of the discus, and this is definitely too deep, so I am sure it wasn't them-- I can see fish fillet colour in the centre of the injury, so it's right down into muscle tissue.
I am increasingly convinced he got slammed into an object by somebody guarding eggs. The snakeskins are also at it again.

[judy]

Wound is almost half-healed. Now I'll just ride the water quality. Am curious to see just what if anything the Furan 2 did to the biofilter.