Bryopsis Cure: My Battle With Bryopsis Using Fluconazole

[bcarl77]

Perhaps doing a partial water exchange by dosing Fluconazole in the exchange water at the same rate as the first dosage would help lower nitrates and keep the action on algae. Some GHAs take longer to be eliminated.

Best regards

I did a 5 gallon change on Saturday, and in the exchange water dosed another 100mg. Hopefully will see some more progress shortly.

 

[bcarl77]

Would this treatment be more effective if you broadcast dosed hydrogen peroxide?

 

[Jose Mayo]

Would this treatment be more effective if you broadcast dosed hydrogen peroxide?

It has been proposed, but I do not know if it was tried ... I have the impression that if H2O2 were added in the presence of UV, the degradation of Fluconazole by that wavelength would be faster, by the formation of singlet oxygen.

Best regards

 

[bcarl77]

It has been proposed, but I do not know if it was tried ... I have the impression that if H2O2 were added in the presence of UV, the degradation of Fluconazole by that wavelength would be faster, by the formation of singlet oxygen.

Best regards

Did you mean to say the dosing of H2o2 with UV will break it down into O2 faster and therefore be ineffective. What about doing it at night?

 

[Jose Mayo]

Did you mean to say the dosing of H2o2 with UV will break it down into O2 faster and therefore be ineffective. What about doing it at night?

I could not say anything about probable results from this; I have never experienced this path. I know about Fluconazole that it acts on a target that is not present in other beings besides fungi and some algae (ergosterol synthesis), whereas hydroxyls and singlet oxigen are non-specific biocides whose range of action is simply dependent on concentration , so I've never experimented with them.

Maybe another fellow, more experienced, might say something about it.

Best regards

 

[slowngreen]

Want to get some opinions. Saturday will be day 14 of my treatment, which has gone very well. I have a little bit of gha left here and there but it looks very unhealthy so I'm sure its on its way out. I really planned on Saturday being my water change day. Should I be ok even though there is some gha left? Since it looks half dead already is it safe to say the medicine is in it enough to keep killing it off even if I do my 30% WC? Saturday will just be a really convenient day for me do get stuff done.

 

[coralcruze]

FOLLOW UP:

so for those that are interested... I am one of the few that used the med and had 6-7 SPS colonies bleach shortly after dosing the med. My system is 18+ years old and very stable with over 130 SPS species and is a mixed reef containing LPS and softies as well and also includes 15 fish.

Happy to report that after completion of several water changes the bleached corals have stabilized (have not gotten worse) and some are already starting to recover and showing a little bit of color on the tissue. I also have not had a single SPS coral bleach other than the original ones that did on the first few days after initial dose of floucon. I actually feel so confident again that I purchased 6 new coral colonies a bit over a week ago and all of those are showing insane polyp extension and beautiful coloration.

I will follow up on this post as soon as I get a chance with more pictures of the same bleached corals. except of course the one colony that died after floucon.

FWIW, I believe that the only reason I didn't have more death is due to the super stable automated system that i run along with the water changes and dilution.

all params are perfect except for po4 which is not great but holding at .47. the small spots of bryopsis in the sump are still not completely gone but have been decreased in size y 70% be floucon.

 

[coralcruze]

Ok well I told everyone I would update. I started flucanzole for the second time starting on 1/10/18. Came home this evening and sure enough my Blueberry Diesel acro is RTNing! Pretty annoyed by this as this is my second attempt at flucanzole and both times ive had acros rtn. This time I've closely monitored my parameters including Phosphates/Nitrates and everything is well within the acceptable range. I don't have an answer as to why I've been this unlucky when others that have SPS dominant tanks don't seem to have any issues. I believe @coralcruze may be on to something. My system is only around 65g total and all of my acros are just frags. Maybe the frags just aren't mature enough and can't handle whatever this medication does while full blown colonies are? I don't have an answer but I can't say that I will ever be using flucanzole again sadly.

I missed that note... I still wonder why only certain sps colonies bleached (for me) or RTN (for you)? The only explanation to this is that we know there are different zoaxinthelli and algae inside the coral tissue so if that's the case it would seem likely some of these algae strains are affected in the corals tissue which in turn will cause bleaching or all out stn/rtn. There may be additional conditions that may be playing a role and causing this in some tanks.

 

[coralcruze]

@zack801 this may be of interest to you and perhaps others...

I admit i don't fully understand everything in this article, however, check out this section:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4286716/
How is homeostasis maintained between corals and their microbial symbionts?
The coral holobiont, from pre-larval to adult stages, is a complex system of diverse organisms that coexist and interact. This complex system is capable of fixing nutrients and building biomass and carbonate structures in nutrient poor waters. When one or more components of the holobiont fail to function as required for system stability, bleaching (Symbiodinium loss) and/or tissue-death may result and lead to progressive death of the entire coral colony.

The coral holobiont is comprised of the coral animal and its associated microorganisms consisting of bacteria, archaea, fungi, viruses, and protists including the dinoflagellate algae Symbiodinium (Rohwer et al., 2002).

@Jose Mayo Its interesting to me that FUNGI is also comprised in the coral. Isn't it possible that the flouconezole (a fungi medication) may be affecting the fungi microorganism in some corals but not others?

I know about Fluconazole that it acts on a target that is not present in other beings besides fungi and some algae (ergosterol synthesis)

I am guessing from your recent comment you agree... yes?

 

[40B Knasty]

I purchased Reef HD Reef Flux. I have a 65g tank. Bryopsis has gotten out of control fast. I have just a few questions that I would greatly appreciate answered.
1) 6 1/2 pills should be used?
2) pull Purigen & Phosguard?
3) Lift collection cup for the protein skimmer so it does not pull the medication out?
4) Do a big water change before?
5) When do I do a water change after the dosing?
6) Is this the right medication I want to use?
Thank you

 

[b4tn]

Day 6 and not only is my GHA growing and still spreading but it looks healthy. I have GFO running 24/7 and only feeding small amounts every other day. At least doing water changes and when the scrubber was online it was slow to grow.

Here is day one


Here is day 6

 

[Jose Mayo]

@Jose Mayo Its interesting to me that FUNGI is also comprised in the coral. Isn't it possible that the flouconezole (a fungi medication) may be affecting the fungi microorganism in some corals but not others?

I am guessing from your recent comment you agree... yes?

No study, as far as I know, reveals symbiotic interactions between fungi and animals, not even studies on corals; the presence of bacteria, algae, protozoa and fungi on the surface of the coral, and that these microorganisms compose what is conventionally called "holobiont", does not mean at all that all interactions, seen organism to organism, are positive. More often than not, what is seen, in relation to fungi on corals, is that these are saprophytes commensal until the moment in which an imbalance occurs, becoming part of the pathogenic complex. No similarity, therefore, in the contribution of these fungi to the holobiont, in relation to the zooxanthelas, which inhabit the interior of the coral body and with it establish a truly symbiotic relationship, to the point that there is a real need for the presence of one for the health of the other.

And ... yes, Fluconazole most likely can affect any fungi, either on the coral or inside the aquarium and perhaps because of this, soft corals, which often feed by diffusion (as the zoanthus, for example), seem to present improvement in appearance and growth when under the effect of Fluconazole; perhaps (I merely suppose), under conditions of eutrophication and low circulation, the multiplication of microorganisms (including fungi) on the surface of the corals may be increased, as well as the thickness of the mucus, reducing the diffusion of the nutrients in this type of soft coral, hampering its development . In these circumstances, the fact that Fluconazole "alleviates" the burden of fungi on the coral may be positive (to be confirmed).

Best regards

 

[Dr Tim]

Just found it for 20 shipped. Not too bad anyway. Great deal if I get the results some others have with this product.

You seem to be the authority on Fluconazole..... Is OK for soft corals?

 

[ReefingwithO]

I got my hands on some some fluconazole but its the 200mg hard tablets. Can I crush the tablets and use it. I've used the caplets on another tank that worked well.

 

[40B Knasty]

I purchased Reef HD Reef Flux. I have a 65g tank. Bryopsis has gotten out of control fast. I have just a few questions that I would greatly appreciate answered.
1) 6 1/2 pills should be used?
2) pull Purigen & Phosguard?
3) Lift collection cup for the protein skimmer so it does not pull the medication out?
4) Do a big water change before?
5) When do I do a water change after the dosing?
6) Is this the right medication I want to use?
Thank you

@Jose Mayo think you could answer those questions. I am doing a water change and then dosing tomorrow.

 

[saltwater newby]

CAn bubble scrubbing be done while dosing fluconazale ? Will it be beneficial??

 

[Jose Mayo]

@Jose Mayo think you could answer those questions. I am doing a water change and then dosing tomorrow.

1- For a 65g tank you should need 1,300mg of Fluconazole, equivalent to 6.5 tablets of 200mg / tablet.
2- Remove Purigen. Phosguard can continue to run
3- Yes
4- Yes
5- You should check the parameters (nitrate and phosphate) every 3 days and, if it is OK, do the partial water exchange at the end of the treatment. If there is a substantial change in the parameters at any time, partial replacement of water can be done by replacing Fluconazole in the exchange water in the same proportion as the initial dose.
6- I have not tried this brand of medication but from other experiences reported it seems to be effective.

Best regards

 

[Jose Mayo]

I got my hands on some some fluconazole but its the 200mg hard tablets. Can I crush the tablets and use it. I've used the caplets on another tank that worked well.

Some experiments with tablets had good results, others not so much. There may be differences in the composition of the tablets in relation to the excipients, depending on which laboratory they manufacture them, so it would be ideal to define a brand of use for more reproducible results.

Best regards

 

[40B Knasty]

1- For a 65g tank you should need 1,300mg of Fluconazole, equivalent to 6.5 tablets of 200mg / tablet.
2- Remove Purigen. Phosguard can continue to run
3- Yes
4- Yes
5- You should check the parameters (nitrate and phosphate) every 3 days and, if it is OK, do the partial water exchange at the end of the treatment. If there is a substantial change in the parameters at any time, partial replacement of water can be done by replacing Fluconazole in the exchange water in the same proportion as the initial dose.
6- I have not tried this brand of medication but from other experiences reported it seems to be effective.

Best regards

Only problem I would have is that the bottle only comes with 10 pills. Leaving me with 3 1/2 pills if I had to do the early water change.

 

[Jose Mayo]

CAn bubble scrubbing be done while dosing fluconazale ? Will it be beneficial??

Fluconazole can be quickly removed by the skimmer, so bubble scrubbing may not be a good idea during treatment.

Best regards