# Splashy Excitement



## TankAaron (Aug 8, 2014)

My tank is fully cycled! "I'm so excited, and I just can't hide it!"

I will be getting a betta soon! WOOT!

Ammonia: Zero
Nitrite: Zero
Nitrate: Between Zero, and five ppm (API Freshwater Master Test Kit).

Daily doses of bacterial additive. I will add a bit more each day, until a few days after I introduce the new fish in the aquarium.


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## TankAaron (Aug 8, 2014)

So my betta ended up having fin rot. It turns out some of the neat looking color patterns it came with were not natural. >.>

I feel bad that I didn't know this, but I wasn't being mean, I SWEAR I thought it was part of his coloring. Anyways, at the first sign of a small tear in his fin I ran to buy meds.

That's why I'm here. Does anyone have expert level experience using API's Erythromycin, and Tetracycline that could answer a question for me?

The instructions say to use one dose the first day; to repeat the dose after 24 hours; to do a 25% water change after another 24 hours, and add another dose; then to add another dose 24 hours after the last for a total of four doses in four days.

What I'm not sure of is this:

Is the purpose to slowly increase the amount of medicine in the water?

Day one: 100%
Day two: 200%
Day three: 275% (after 25% w/c + 100% more)
Day four: 375%

Or is it an attempt to maintain a constant amount of medicine in the water because the amount of medicine in the water is somehow decreasing?

I really would like expert advice, since I am dealing with the life of a creature. I know this is a plant forum, but there could be someone here with experience too. I will also be posting in FishLore. I tried looking information up directly from API, but I couldn't find anything useful. I would have rather get Seachem products, but I didn't want to wait for shipping, and API is the only other brand that my lfs has that I know, and trust.


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

Yes, antibiotics can break down fairly quickly in the tank, so you must keep dosing to maintain a theraputic amount present until the disease organisms die.


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## TankAaron (Aug 8, 2014)

Thank you very much, Michael.


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