# Alternative to Erythromycin for BGA?



## DarkCobra (Jun 22, 2004)

Most antibiotics aren't shelf-stable in liquid suspension, typically requiring refrigeration to last even a moderate time. So I doubt you'll have any luck there.

For a large tank, you can round up to the nearest 10G increment. Remember the instructions are for one packet per 10G of _water_, and actual water volume is typically only about 85% of the total tank capacity; the rest is substrate, plants, decor, etc. Most people probably forget to take that into account, and are adding more than needed. Fortunately, a little extra won't hurt.

For a smaller tank, where rounding up would result in a larger excess, I'd go ahead and divide a packet.

Clean out all BGA possible before starting treatment. BGA is toxic, and killing it may release those toxins.


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## RandomMan (May 31, 2011)

What about some other antibiotic, like Maracyn Plus (Sulfadimidine and Trimethoprin)?


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## WATduh (Feb 27, 2011)

I used Hydrogen Peroxide on a SEVERE BGA outbreak. I completely destroyed the BGA and didn't effect any of my plants. I have no fish in the tank yet, so I didn't have to worry about that aspect. I used a small plastic syringe and dosed about 100cc's of H.P. directly onto the BGA- over a couple of days.

Going on week 3 and haven't seen any BGA at all.


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## DarkCobra (Jun 22, 2004)

In theory, anything effective against gram-positive bacteria should work.

In reality, after seven years in the hobby, I've never heard any report of someone using an antibiotic other than Erythromycin to successfully eliminate BGA. Not even once.

If there are other common antibiotics which have been proven safe and effective, I'd like to hear about them. Erythromycin is on its way out, and hardly even manufactured anymore.


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## RandomMan (May 31, 2011)

I'm going to give H202 + blackout a shot. If that doesn't work, I'll go through the hassle of the Erythromycin powder. Wish it was in a tablet, because I could use a pill cutter on that. (Can you tell, I really don't like messing with powered medications?)


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## Bannik (Apr 2, 2011)

BGA has a short lifespan and requires photosynthesis. It also does better in low oxygen. Once you've fixed the root cause of the problem a 72 hour black out and increasing oxygen levels in the water with either H2O2 or an airstone should get rid of it.


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## Sparky007 (May 30, 2011)

I had BGA in top soil tank that I battled for months. I used aggressive removal and big water changes. It went away after a few months. I'm not a fan of using abx. It can really mess up the micro ecosystem.


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## RandomMan (May 31, 2011)

Just an update, I did a spot treatment with H2O2. I've used H2O2 before with good luck on BBA, but was surprised at how it reacted with BGA. I don't know yet the long term results, but what I found was in the short term the BGA bubbled up so much under the H2O2 that it (along with some Aquasoil it was attached to) floated up, making it super easy to siphon out of the tank. I'm using standard air hose tubing for the siphon, and it seems to work really well at pulling the BGA out once its been loosened up with the H2O2, while leaving the other plants in the tank alone.


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## RandomMan (May 31, 2011)

Well, spot dosing H2O2 seems to have done the job. After two treatments, I'm not seeing any left in the tank. By now in the past, I would have seen more carpeting the tank.


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## m00se (Jan 8, 2011)

The only problem with dosing H2O2 is that it kills some plants like amazon swords and vals, among others. If you don't have those plants or can stand the thought of severely impeding their growth for a while then it's viable to use. Erythromycin is *very* effective at eliminating BGA *without* disrupting your biological flora. It's expensive even for a smallish tank but worth the cost in the long run. Your treatment of the tank might have gotten the most obvious portions of the bacteria but you won't know how effective it was for some time. Most people have tried and tried to get rid of this pest, but eventually most come around to the antibiotic to truly rid their tanks of it.


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