Possibly. There are many situations where it is necessary to change medication. Sometimes you are treating an infection that is very medication resistant and requires a more powerful treatment, other times the medication you were using was simply the wrong kind to treat the infection. However, there are a few things that MUST be true before making this kind of swap.
- You have given your original medication enough time to work. The visible symptoms of an infection will sometimes take time to improve once the infection has cleared. It is very bad for your fish and for long-term treatment effectiveness to stop an antibiotic treatment part way through, as this makes the bacteria more resistant to the original antibiotic and stresses the fish with no real benefit. Don't swap medications just because your current treatment did not cure the fish in a single day.
- You are certain that you are treating a bacterial infection like fin rot, bacterial hemorrhagic septicemia, or a fungal infection like saprolegnia. Sometimes, an antibacterial medication will fail to work because you are not actually treating a bacterial infection. Some parasitic infections like hexamita will look surprisingly similar to bacterial lesions (degradation of tissue, fin degradation, etc.). Research your fish's symptoms thoroughly to ensure that you are choosing the right kind of medication.
- Your fish and other aquarium inhabitants will tolerate the method of dosing you have chosen. Medications like SulfaPlex™ can be added to a fish food to make a treatment that is safe to use in reef or planted aquaria. It is possible to dose the medication in the water instead, but this method of dosing is not considered safe for invertebrates or plants.
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