Hydrogen peroxide? REALLY. We just learned in our class about aeseptic technique that hydrogen peroxide only makes bacteria "static", and doesn't do jack-all for viruses, spores, and strong, resistant bacteria. There are other peroxides, like chlorhexadine, that are indeed extremely effective in destroying pretty much anything, and have a "residual effect" which means it keeps working even if it is whiped away. They do this by altering the cell wall permeability of microbes, which allows them to be more easily destroyed (hence the use of betadine on the surgical site before making the incision). However, you should not use them with alchohol (common practice) as it weakens the chlorhexadine's ability to bind to the tissue for the residual effect.
In terms of strength, cleansers are as such, with the ones near the top being almost 100% effective, and the ones near the bottom being not-so-hot.
1. Ethylene Oxide - denatures the microbe, but is not often used since it is so flammable.
2. Aldehydes - require a 12 hour contact time, but will kill EVERYTHING. Unfortunately, also carcinogenic and highly toxic.
3. (some) Peroxides - eso, chlorhexadine; you read why above.
4. Hallogens - Very effective, but poor residual effect. Damages cell wall.
5. Phenols - bacteriacidal, but can't be used on fish as they are toxic to most animals in general.
6. Alcohol - very effective in lysing sell walls of almost anything, but needs a min 20 min contact time. Bleach could probably be placed in a similar league, as it also needs a very long contact time to be effective. It is not at all effective against spores, and takes 20 min at full concentration to completely whipe out anything strong. Hydrogen peroxide fits down here as well, as it does not actually kill bacteria. It does, however, have a funny habit of destroying white blood cells, which is why we never use it on wounds; we need those suckers there to kill the infection. It used to be considered useful for at least helping "bubble" debris out, but since you can flush with saline without killing white cells, it is being used less and less frequently.
However, let us remember - we are not working on a surgical patient! When sterilizing a tank, we need to consider the type of bacteria, the conditions it thrives in, the conditions it dislikes, and use that to launch our attack. I believe columnaris is gram -, which makes it stronger; it has a cell membrane, a cell wall, and another cell membrane, where most bacteria have a wall and membrane, or only one of the two. But, it also has some conditions it dislikes. For example, it is known to hate salt, cold temperatures, high aeration, and current. So, when I sterilized my boy's things, I used a TON of salt, both very cold an very hot water, and when treating, had constant aeration, plenty of aquarium salt, and the filter running. It is 5 days later and he is recovered, but I've heard to always do 10 days antibiotics with columnaris to kill residual bacteria in the tank. So, I'm doing a water chance and full tank sterilization tonight, then repeating treatment.
Anyways, on to Riogal's questions regarding her equip:
Does each betta have its own cup for water changes (I think you said so, but I didn't know if ALL of them did)? If not, as I mentioned to Jollysue on a very cool PM convo, I suggest getting some small tupperware containers, poking little holes in the lids, writing your fishies names or tank #s on them, and using a cup for each. This prevents the risk of cross contamination during changes, as most people probably do not boil and bleach/salt thier cups between fish. As for the net, why use one? Not only do they spread disease from fish to fish like crazy, they have a tendancy to hurt betta fins and rub off slime coat. I have always used the scooping in a cup method. I simply deny the fish their food the day I want to clean. They swim up the second I open the lid, begging for food, and I scoop 'em up, this way they never have to leave the water or come in contact with anything damaging.
; what a rough week! I hope that you remaining fish live long, happy, healthy lives
