Antibiotics In Australia

[Fonteia]

Hello all,
 
I have a sick pleco (see this post: http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/440304-red-cyst-on-pleco/) and am wondering if he needs antibiotics. If he does, does anyone know if they are commercially avail (i.e. over the counter) in Australia or if I require a vet's prescription?
 
If it's the latter, I'm in Melbourne so if there is a vet anyone knows of who is good with fish and who does these things it would be great to find out

 

[luca1980]

I am in Sydney - as far as I know, any antibiotic requires a prescription. You're better off finding an exotic animal/fish vet who can advise you on specifics rather than just buying something over the counter and hoping for the best.

 

[luca1980]

I just did a quick google search for exotic animal vets in Melbourne. Not sure if these are anywhere near you, but they may help:
 
www.warranwoodvet.com.au
 
www.lortsmith.com
 
www.kvh.com.au
 
www.canterburyvet.com.au
 
www.u-vet.com.au
 
hopefully these guys can help you out.

 

[Fonteia]

Thanks heaps Luca - a couple of those vets are within a good distance so I will give them a call tomorrow and see if they can be of any help. The two vets I called in my suburb didn't seem keen to deal with fish so I had just assumed that would be the case with all of them. Cheers

 

[luca1980]

No probs, let us know how this turns out!

 

[Fonteia]

Hi again,
 
Well I have taken my catfish to see one of the vets tonight. He did a test on both the gills and on the lump, and found the gills to be fine (neither fungus nor infection, so will likely just disappear) and the lump is a growth that will need to be surgically removed or it will keep on growing! He's booked in for surgery on Monday!
 
Thanks heaps for the vet advice - hopefully he will make a full recovery. I can also spend some extra money finding out exactly what the growth is once it is removed, but the process is quite pricey so am still deciding if it is worth doing so.
 
Will update how he is after Monday

 

[luca1980]

Cool!

 glad to hear you have some answers for your little mate. I hope surgery and recovery goes smoothly!

 

[Fonteia]

The surgery was a success so that is a relief. Took off the lump, and I am not going to worry about getting it assessed. Hopefully it will not grow back. Am applying betadine to the catfish daily, he is eating well and seems to be fine. Thanks heaps for the suggestion of going to a vet

 

[luca1980]

Cool!! A great outcome

 

[Baccus]

Its great to see you went the extra mile to ensure your fish had the best possible medical treatment, your also lucky that you lived relatively close to a vet who could and would work on your fish.
Glad to hear your fish is recovering well too