I often received calls from clients wanting antibiotics because they’ve tried treating their fish with everything was available at their local fish shop, but to no avail. The following paragraphs are excerpts from ‘Lewbart G, Bacteria and ornamental fish. Original Research Article, Seminars in Avian and Exotic Pet Medicine, Volume 10, Issue 1, January 2001, Pages 48-56.’ My comments are italicised and in brackets. It is a great explanation for the difficulties pet fish owners and fish veterinarians face when dealing with bacterial infections in fish.
“In the United States it is against Food and Drug Adminstration (FDA) regulations for pet stores to sell and prescribe medication for fish and in most states it is illegal for non-veterinarians to make a diagnosis and institute therapy. However, these laws are rarely enforced because most regulatory efforts focus on keeping drug residues out of the human food supply. [Much of this is relevant in Australia. The Australian equivalent of the FDA is the APVMA.]
Two interesting studies examined the problem of over the counter medications and resistance of bacterial pathogens to a wide variety of antimicrobials. The investigators found that the manufacturer’s recommended dosing regimens were grossly inadequate to control pathogens and that aquarium water frequently contains bacteria resistant to one or more antibiotic agents. For example Citrobacter freundii (218 strains) were 100% resistant to penicillin, 99% resistant to tetracycline, 74% resistant to sulphonamide, 56% resistant to kanamycin, 47% resistant to chloramphenicol and 24% resistant to nitrofurantoin. In another more recent study, 42 isolates of Aeromonas hydrophila and A. sobria were tested against 12 antimicrobial compounds. All of the isolates were resistant to ampicilin and over 70% were resistant to tetracycline. In this report, all of the isolates were sensitive to ceftiofur. [I have also found similar results in practice]
Antibiotics commonly used by veterinarians in the US to treat bacterial diseases of ornamental fish include amikacin, enrofloxacin, ceftazidime, florfenicol, nitrofurazone, tetracycline and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole.” [Note that veterinarians are only allowed to prescribe medication to a patient under their care. (i.e. they must have seen the patient at least once that year)]
Excerpt from: Bacteria and ornamental fish Original Research Article
Seminars in Avian and Exotic Pet Medicine, Volume 10, Issue 1, January 2001, Pages 48-56
Gregory A. Lewbart
