I generally like Aquarium Co-op, but I'm in full agreement that it's irresponsible to recommend routine antibiotics. It seems like most of their practices are based in their (considerable) experience, but there are some things you need to watch out for before you experience them even once. Antibiotics work great... until they don't anymore. It's a huge business risk and a risk to the hobby, as well and human health as you've mentioned. (The human health risk is obviously more serious, but less likely. I think it's nearly inevitable that they will end up with resistant fish pathogens, whereas resistant human pathogens are "merely" a possibility.)
Glad you put those quote marks on that "merely" a possibility.
Glad you put those quote marks on that "merely" a possibility.
And, that's the thing. This guy is an experienced hobbyist; yet, when it comes to this Med Trio he states in his video on the matter that he has referred to ichthyologists in order to make this recommendation and scientific-based studies to ensure its usefulness and safety as a quarantine protocol ( he makes no mention of the connection of antibiotics used indiscriminately- of course, there is the true irresponsibility. I, myself, do not believe the chances of indiscriminate use of antibiotics are of minute significance; actually, I feel they are of dire significance).
But, back to this guy---
First of all, if you are going to state that your recommendation is "science-based" you are stepping outside the expert hobbyist recommended realm and into that of evidence based info. There are no attached science- based materials to refer to to see this evidence based claim is correct. So, I asked him months ago--directly in comments in attached video (where he introduced his chemical bomb as "scientific")-- info on recommendation from ichthyologist and data used to make determination.
No answer as yet.
But, if any of the fans on here can link me to this info I would love to see it
Video:
My questions and comments:
1. What ichthyologist did you refer to, as mentioned in video, when you were devising this med trio? 2. You contend that the proof of the effectiveness of this trio is three-fold: Your 10 years of anecdotal experience in fish-keeping, the advice that you received from an ichthyologist confirming your choice of meds were effective, and the extensive testing that you did between tank A and tank B. Great-- that sounds very much like a scientific start; however, the actual "science" ( the scientific validity behind the claim) gets muddled in what you explain of the process. The issue is this: your listeners ( customers for the med trio) get a generalized description of the methods you used to determine the "success" of this trio. Where are the descriptions/details of these studies? If you are going to infer that your med trio is backed by science (by an unnamed ichthyologist) and extensive testing between Tank A and tank B, details are needed. Otherwise, you are a mere" seller of wares" who is trying to pass off his moneymaking concoction as a scientific necessity. 3. There are plenty of places where the consumer can buy medications unblended. I do and have for over 30 years. There is no issue buying metheleyne blue alone. I just bought it a few months ago for fungus on my German Ram eggs. It took minutes to locate. I raise lots of cichlids: wild discus, wild geophagus, biotodoma cupido and wavrinni, Bolivian Rams, and Altum Angels. I can locate unblended metronidazole and praziquantel in minutes: Jehmco.com, Angelsplus.com, Amazon, Ebay, to name a few. Why use General Cure when you know that your fish is suffering from Hexamita. The praziquantel is not needed. Or, put in another way, why push General Cure on a customer as a preventative in quarantine when they are buying a tetra and not a cichlid? --Entirely unnecessary. I mean, give them the Rid X, I use malachite green myself as a preventative medication against Ich and an antibacterial for minor scrapes, for fin damage, etc... Actually, I like Paraguard better for this because it includes acriflavine. 4. And why erythromycin? Why would you have a customer dose a gram + antibiotic when 99.9 percent of all bacterial infections in the aquarium are gram - ? Erythromycin is no match for columnaris- it is useless. The most effective treatment for columnaris is a combination of nitrofurazone and kanamycin. 5. If you treat all your fish preemptively with this med trio, why do you recommend the customer purchase these meds again? 6. As someone so influential to new hobbyists, I would love to see you spend more time helping them understand active ingredients in aquarium fish medications and the issues they treat. You obviously have interest in hobbyists success beyond your business. A med bomb without understanding by those who use it is not a productive contribution to the hobby.
