triple sulfa vs. tetracycline to treat septicemia

Question
I have a 6 year old veil-tailed goldfish fighting fin and tail rot and a
subsequent case of septicemia (bloody red fins, and red blood
spots on body). A first course of Maracyn 2 worked great, so I
thought. Two days later the bloody fins and blood spots were back.
The second course of Maracyn 2 was not as helpful -- the blood
spots are almost gone, but the fins still very red and streaked, and
Ruby has trouble swimming up from the bottom of the tank. It has
been suggested to me to immediately start a third course of
treatment using either triple sulfa or tetracycline. Would you
recommend one over the other? Or perhaps another course of
treatment? Many thanks for any help you can offer!

Answer
Dear Beth,
I would try Melafix and Pimafix together. These are a more natural medication. Also, try changing at least 1/2 of your tank water daily and be sure to add the Melafix and Pimafix to the replacement water. You can treat for 7 days and if this doesn't help you can re-treat again.  Be sure to remove any charcoal in your filter since this can interfere with treatment. With goldfish, changing alot of the water really helps since they pollute their water more than other fish. Be sure to use a water conditioner that will help eliminate ammonia, nitrites and nitrates, such as Amquel or Prime, since your tank may have some of the benificial bacteria distroyed from the antibiotics that you used and will almost have to recycle again. Best of luck!
Hope this helps!
Karen