# Erythromycin for BGA



## Maryland Guppy (Dec 6, 2014)

Chemiclean has good reviews and I believe it does not disturb BB.


----------



## Kylesaltandpepper (Aug 30, 2014)

I checked out chemiclean and it seems really good. I just had one question about it. How much should I put in my 55g to get rid of the bga? I don't have invertabrates either and my fish are very hardy so overdosing won't be too much of a problem.


----------



## WaterLife (Jul 1, 2015)

Kensfish carries API Erythromycin E.M., Maracyn (get "#1" -doesn't actually have a one on label, just called "Maracyn", not Maracyn 2 or Maracyn Plus) and ChemiClean as well (red and blue box). Free economy shipping on orders over $50.

As for Erythromycin for humans, I would assume it would work, but I am not sure what amounts to use to go about dosing aquariums.


----------



## badbart (Jul 28, 2009)

Won't antibiotics kill your bio filter?


----------



## dzega (Apr 22, 2013)

badbart said:


> Won't antibiotics kill your bio filter?


No.
___________


----------



## abrooks12376 (Nov 5, 2015)

badbart said:


> Won't antibiotics kill your bio filter?


Debatable, I've used erithromycin on a couple occasions to deal.with bga and it didn't seem to alter the bio filter. Than again it is designed to Kill certain bacteria so..



dzega said:


> No.
> ___________


----------



## Dantrasy (Sep 9, 2013)

dose chemi clean as per instructions included in the packaging. 

a tiny spoon is provided. 1 spoon per 10gal. 

i've used it a few times over the years on bga. worked every time.


----------



## Kylesaltandpepper (Aug 30, 2014)

Thanks for the help. My plan with the chemiclean is taking out as much bga manually from plants and everything and do a water change, and bring the nitrates up to around 15-20 ppm. Then I'll dose the chemiclean. Should I just dose it once or just like every few days or something? And will chemiclean have any harm on the beneficial bacteria? I hope the bba clears up soon since my lotus's are almost all dead. My dwarf sags and rotalas are OK. My java ferns are covered but surviving well. The bba really messed up my aquarium.:frown2:


----------



## MtAnimals (May 17, 2015)

I've been fighting BGA in 2 tanks.I tried something from amazon called "blue-exit" and it worked,but the BGA came back.I resorted to Erythromycin in the 5 gallon betta tank.

I used Maracyn,and it called for I packet per 10g,so I used about a half packet every day for 5 days.Erythro is said to be effective on gram + backteria,but not gram -.It is also said that the bacteria in the bio filter are gram-,and so are unaffected.

I did noticed a rise after the second day of treatment of ammonia to about .25 and a minor rise in nitrite as well,and one source said to do a 30% w/c on the third day.They claim you can overdose some with erythro and it won't affect your plants and fish.my betta was fine through it,and so far my angels,plec and platy are as well,and I'm on day 3 in my 45,though I did do a 30% w/c before today's treatment.I used Seachem's prime,it's supposed to be effective in detoxifying ammonia and nitrites.I attribute the slight rise in both to the by products of the proteins in the dead BGA.

When the BGA dies off,you'll get foaming around airstones etc.They say you can overdose erythro with no ill effects on livestock,and so far I've seen no negatives,except for hornwort,it will die off very quickly,and I beleive that's an effect of the BGA toxins and not the medication,as I had it happen with both Erythro and Blue exit.

The methods I've seen say a full 5 day course of treatment with the E is the best way,and in my betta tank it all disappeared and hasn't returned,as well as in a 10 gallon I set up to kill it off from some affected plants,and it's been about 2 weeks on those 2.

I got my Maracyn from pet mountain and Ebay.

sorry for the long post,but I thought I'd share my experiences with the same problem you are battling.So watch the Ammonia and nitrites,and good luck.Feel free to Pm me if you have any questions.

Also,thew Erythro for humans is the same thing AFSIK.It comes from a bacterium "found in a soil sample from the Philippine archipelago"


----------



## gregory (Jan 11, 2016)

I used Erythromycin several times in the last decade, and it works fine. Just follow the instructions on the label.


----------



## Kylesaltandpepper (Aug 30, 2014)

I ordered the chemiclean a few days ago, but its gonna take until like 2-4 days to arrive. I did do a major water change and taking out 95 percent of the bga which usually grows back fast. I increased my nitrates to 20 ppm. But the problem is I don't have much water flow in my 55g. I don't have an air pump or a circulation pump even though I need one. There's only water flow from the aquaclear HOB which mostly makes surface movement. Is there any problem with low water flow for the chemiclean treatment? I'll probably get a circulation pump after the treatment because of time.


----------



## Mikevwall (Jul 27, 2015)

don't do it! 
if you have low light plants, just black your tank out. The plants will live, BGA wont.


----------



## lksdrinker (Feb 12, 2014)

badbart said:


> Won't antibiotics kill your bio filter?





dzega said:


> No.
> ___________





abrooks12376 said:


> Debatable, I've used erithromycin on a couple occasions to deal.with bga and it didn't seem to alter the bio filter. Than again it is designed to Kill certain bacteria so..


Certain antibiotics most certainly will deplete if not eradicate the entire beneficial bacterial colony. Apparently erythromycin will not however.


----------



## Kylesaltandpepper (Aug 30, 2014)

After I did my water change a week ago, the bga started growing back really fast even though I dosed 15 ppm of nitrate. But ever since I dosed the chemiclean, the bga slowed down. It's been 48 hours since the treatment, and there's still bga, but some of it died off. I'll do a quick water change and continue the treatment. The only problem as mentioned before is the only aeration I have is from my filter. I hope the bga backs out soon.


----------

