Erythromycin VS Cyanobacteria in the Freshwater Aquarium

[@JONminiminiME]

Hi, my LFS guy who's very knowledgeable on these and Aquascaping suggested EXACTLY what you were saying, "clear as much as you can, then do a water change, then add one packet per 10G and leave it for a week". I smiled when I saw your video suggesting exactly what he said

[@sandygk53]

Great experiment. I feel much more confident to treat my aquarium and not hurt my fish. Thanks for sharing this good result!

[@GirlTalksFish]

Perfect timing! I had a tiny bit of cyanobacteria (also growing in an area with decent flow and few nutrients) and was able to get rid of it using the blackout method. But if that method wasn't successful, my next step would have been erythromycin like you. Glad to see that it works!

[@TMAquatics]

During this treatment I noticed no negative affect on the biological filter, although it has been reported than it can. With this treatment, as when using ANY medication, closely monitor your fish and water parameters. 👍

[@rantsandreviews]

Glad that worked for you. Great info, thanks for sharing.

[@TCgirl]

Other videos I’ve watched said to do a water change and vacuum the bottom really good before treating. I’m just wondering why you decided not to do that?

[@ESF19791111]

INTERESTING :) THANK YOU FOR SHARING :) THANK YOU FROM ISRAEL :)

[@WildFishTanks]

I’ve never dealt with cyano but if I do, I’ll know what to do! Thanks Tom and great point about identifying the root cause and that being the ultimate goal

[@siapa8904]

Dosing You used was 1 pack per day or only 1 pack for whole week?

[@TheWalk23]

What was the root cause ? Too long a lighting period.

[@swamudripa]

Sir, I have tank of almost 6 gallon. Facing some problems with cyanobactaria. Here api erythromycin is not available please suggest me how much erythromycin 200 tab I have to use for above.

[@nathanwilliams415]

How did this turn out long term for you? Did it ever come back with the same severity? I'm trying this out tonight in my tank.

[@TMAquatics]

It worked well and stay clean for a while but it did eventually return.

[@TigerLilyPearl]

@@TMAquatics Did you ever find the root cause? TIA.

[@Lumpydog]

Did you loose the beneficial bacteria cycle on this aquarium due to the E.M. Erythromycin treatment? Please let me know.. Thanks

[@TMAquatics]

Lumpy, I’ve never had a issue with it. But, that’s not to say others haven’t. I don’t stock my tanks heavily so perhaps that helps? 🤷‍♂️

[@NobodyButYouU-f7v]

I’m just curious if erythromycin is safe for shrimps and snails? And also do i need to remove filter medias when dosing erythromycin? Thanks! :D

[@TMAquatics]

Never had problems using it with inverts. There are some who claim it does affect the biological filtration, but I’ve never had an issue with it. Use at your own discretion and monitor your tank for signs of stress. 😉👍

[@NobodyButYouU-f7v]

TM Aquatics thank you for you response! Glad that it won’t affect inverts. My tank is currently infested with BGA, it’s not that severe compared to what happen to yours but as much as possible i want to get rid it before it’s too late. This will be my last resort. :D

[@StanTheObserver-lo8rx]

2 years later and I got tired of BGA just not going away 100%..I would think I won..and then it would start in some quiet spot. SO today I dosed with Ery at 10 tablets for 240 gallons. I was told on an aquarium board that would be enough to kill the algae. I might later in a few days go over with Maracyn2. The store I was in don't carry it. The half dosage is based on the idea the bacteria is not a disease..so,less will do they said. That's the problem with big tanks..everything costs 5x more.

[@nathanst.pierre1026]

It’s funny, my blue green algae bloom is most severe where my oxygen pumps and current pumps are

[@1969hippiechick]

Yes! Mine started on the outflow of the HOB filter!

[@nathanst.pierre1026]

@@1969hippiechick I found this an issue, especially after scraping and some gets sucked into the filter! This video helped solved my alage problems !

[@scissordub]

Aren't you contributing to the potential for antibiotic resistance by not following the dosage schedule? That's the general problem with antibiotics at large. Widespread misuse leads to resistance.

[@ragingcalmness7815]

I still have cyano too, man I only tried chemiclean which even in overdose with 50x turnover rate, the cyano s still sending me winks from some spots a week later. Maybe because the product can only bind itself to a limited amount of cyano mass which makes sense to me even if i aint some scientist. I am considring using this API product next time though to see if it s better, but lets be real, who wishes upon themselves a "next time" of cyano lol

[@AquariumCop]

em is getting hard to come by recently .. I hear humans in less better conditions are using it for human consumption in other countries... stock up!💞

[@whathappensif3810]

😂😂in my country it's hard to find the api em erythromycin and it's 10 times expensive than that for human consumption, can I use the erythromycin for humans for my fish?

[@bidconapa]

Sorry confused.... 1 package per 10 gallons IS the instructions? You said you did not follow the dosing instructions so confused. guessing you may mean you did not repeat? Thanks!

[@monkeymanchronicles]

I believe by not following the instructions he did not do any water changes as the packaging insisted. I figured he did not not want to chance disturbing the biological filtration more than the EM already did.

[@TMAquatics]

I believe it says to repeat dosage daily for a few days. Disregard that. 1 pack per 10 and leave it with no additional dosages or water change for one week.

[@StanTheObserver-lo8rx]

Without a doubt in my mind,using sand promotes blue green algae. Sand,from my trial,is of no help filtering the tanks..whereas gravel does. Even if you dont use an undergravel filter...the water just flowing over the gravel helps polish the water. Cyanobacteria outbreaks are so common now. The practice now of using fine sands is the main cause.

[@rantsandreviews]

Maybe i'm just lucky then. I have been using sand exclusively for the last 20 years and intermittently for 23 years before that and never had an issue with cyanobacteria. I have been hit with diatoms a few times but that's it.

[@StanTheObserver-lo8rx]

Sand combined with hi light levels is a bad combo. I went decades also never having even had a single cyano outbreak until I set up a 100 gallon plant tank and put 4,40 watt grow bulbs. In that case,it was a gravel and sand mix tank,but after a couple years it was heavy in the broken down wastes...but ever since,sand has seemed 100% chance to start up with the growth with high lighting and sunlight too. Now,I went with very little white sand on my 240 ..and with window lighting bringing in lots of sun,its a fight to keep it away. At this rate,I might remove the sand and go with sand blasting gravel- a white gravel that's smaller then aquarium gravel,but not a real sand. I thought the sand I'm using looked nice..but its a trojan horse Gerald! btw- If chemiclean at $4 doesnt get the job done,then back to about $25 worth of MARACYN. At least that does the job perfect.

[@rantsandreviews]

You mentioned blasting media....I have had Black Diamond blasting sand in 4 of my 40 breeders and in the 220 for about 3 years now. I wish I would have discovered it sooner. It's a heck of a lot more affordable when your looking for black sand. As for algae in general...I really believe it's a constant battle until a tank is really, really well established. Beyond the obvious (lights on a timer, don't over feed, use or lose the nitrAtes) there are still many factors that can contribute to algae or diatom growth that are not so obvious or easy to control. But apparently guys like us enjoy the battle or we would not have done it for decades. LOL...I have 34 tanks in my fish room and I wouldn't part with a single one.

[@MissGlassButterfly]

Always dose per instructions please and thank you. Antibiotic resistant bacteria is a thing and it’s an issue. Also just because you don’t see it doesn’t mean the treatment got it all.

[@mattcali8725]

I have heard this from myself and my tank did have high flow and not a lot of nutrients. Just another example of how people believe what they here without testing it.

[@TMAquatics]

First

[@popeyeschicken7865]

Use snail.