Blue Planet Fluke & Tapeworm treatment?

[DarkReefer]

Hi All,

Trying to find some information on the Blue Planet tablets and any success stories of treating in DT.
I've got a fish I suspect may now be infected and want to try and treat it (along with all other fish in the tank). It's not really viable to set up a QT big enough to house all the fish, so I'm wondering if anyone has any first hand experience or perhaps has heard from others that may have had success dosing in their main tank. I do have a cleaner shrimp I just got and numerous/various snails so I don't exactly want to kill them off either.

I've recently treated using polyp lab medic (yes, I know it's peroxide salts etc. etc. but have had success previously with it) as I thought I saw some ich appearing, I dosed that for 3 weeks until Tuesday just gone and then did a WC of around 20% afterward. Whilst it seemed to settle things a bit for some of the fish, others still show either some spots or strange behavior. Saturday morning my Bicolor blenny was found dead, no attack marks/external marks or spots noted and didn't notice any strange behavior other than it deciding to make one of my leathers a bed/perching spot for a few days or week before, so that death along with the behavior I've seen I'm wondering if there's potential for flukes or some other parasite.

I spoke to 2x LFS, one suggested it as a treatment and whilst they had no first hand knowledge of DT treatment said he hadn't heard of any issues from customers. The other said do not use in the DT as it will upset all corals/shrimp etc and suggested adding some garlic into some frozen foods to help boost their immune system in the interim.


Some of the details of what I'm seeing are below;
My Foxface has been twitching it's head a little over the past week. It's always flashed here and there but never done the head twitch.
Also has had some white spots here or there and seems to be breathing faster than usual, perhaps a bit lethargic and maybe slightly less food driven, but still eating nori.

Hippo tang is showing residual signs of ich/spots. It was worse but looks like it's settled down slightly but hasn't disappeared in 2 weeks.

Purple Tang had some spots but seems to have cleared up (may be the odd one here or there still for memory)

Some Anthias which are new additions in the past month that I didn't QT myself may have possibly brought something in? One died within a week of being in the tank (again no markings to it's body etc) but the other 4 seem okay apart from darting/chasing here or there.

My 2x clownfish, flame hawkfish, Yellow wrasse & cleaner wrasse all haven't shown me any signs so far.

Cheers

 

[Jekyl]

Can you also include some white light pics and a video? Always want to make sure to have all the information possible.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hi All,

Trying to find some information on the Blue Planet tablets and any success stories of treating in DT.
I've got a fish I suspect may now be infected and want to try and treat it (along with all other fish in the tank). It's not really viable to set up a QT big enough to house all the fish, so I'm wondering if anyone has any first hand experience or perhaps has heard from others that may have had success dosing in their main tank. I do have a cleaner shrimp I just got and numerous/various snails so I don't exactly want to kill them off either.

I've recently treated using polyp lab medic (yes, I know it's peroxide salts etc. etc. but have had success previously with it) as I thought I saw some ich appearing, I dosed that for 3 weeks until Tuesday just gone and then did a WC of around 20% afterward. Whilst it seemed to settle things a bit for some of the fish, others still show either some spots or strange behavior. Saturday morning my Bicolor blenny was found dead, no attack marks/external marks or spots noted and didn't notice any strange behavior other than it deciding to make one of my leathers a bed/perching spot for a few days or week before, so that death along with the behavior I've seen I'm wondering if there's potential for flukes or some other parasite.

I spoke to 2x LFS, one suggested it as a treatment and whilst they had no first hand knowledge of DT treatment said he hadn't heard of any issues from customers. The other said do not use in the DT as it will upset all corals/shrimp etc and suggested adding some garlic into some frozen foods to help boost their immune system in the interim.


Some of the details of what I'm seeing are below;
My Foxface has been twitching it's head a little over the past week. It's always flashed here and there but never done the head twitch.
Also has had some white spots here or there and seems to be breathing faster than usual, perhaps a bit lethargic and maybe slightly less food driven, but still eating nori.

Hippo tang is showing residual signs of ich/spots. It was worse but looks like it's settled down slightly but hasn't disappeared in 2 weeks.

Purple Tang had some spots but seems to have cleared up (may be the odd one here or there still for memory)

Some Anthias which are new additions in the past month that I didn't QT myself may have possibly brought something in? One died within a week of being in the tank (again no markings to it's body etc) but the other 4 seem okay apart from darting/chasing here or there.

My 2x clownfish, flame hawkfish, Yellow wrasse & cleaner wrasse all haven't shown me any signs so far.

Cheers

Sounds like you may have a couple of things going on in the tank. Pics wont do much as will a video, you tube version best under white light intensity and of at least 30 seconds

 

[DarkReefer]

Can you also include some white light pics and a video? Always want to make sure to have all the information possible.

Sounds like you may have a couple of things going on in the tank. Pics wont do much as will a video, you tube version best under white light intensity and of at least 30 seconds

I don't have exactly what you're probably looking for, but my gf managed to get a reasonable video last night that wasn't compeltely blued out as it was nearing the end of the night and lights go more of a purpley/whiter hue.


I thought it looked better on my phone but upload seems very average quality, not sure if it's a YT thing or not.
Best I can offer for the moment, maybe tonight I can get something a bit better.
You can see the twitch and fast breathing though(just).

Will try get another vid later on..

 

[vetteguy53081]

I don't have exactly what you're probably looking for, but my gf managed to get a reasonable video last night that wasn't compeltely blued out as it was nearing the end of the night and lights go more of a purpley/whiter hue.


I thought it looked better on my phone but upload seems very average quality, not sure if it's a YT thing or not.
Best I can offer for the moment, maybe tonight I can get something a bit better.
You can see the twitch and fast breathing though(just).

Unfortunately video dark and fuzzy

 

[DarkReefer]

Unfortunately video dark and fuzzy

Ok here's a few more videos with cool white and warm white lights cranked on the radion xr15s only.

First and second is mainly focused on the foxface.
3rd one has more of foxface some of the purple tang and also the hippo tang (clearest for hippo is probably toward the very end).

I don't think any of the videos show the head twitching at all though, but you can certainly see the quick breathing.
I also put in some mysis with a little garlic mixed in and it wasn't interested in the slightest (usually enjoys some).

 

[vetteguy53081]

Ok here's a few more videos with cool white and warm white lights cranked on the radion xr15s only.

First and second is mainly focused on the foxface.
3rd one has more of foxface some of the purple tang and also the hippo tang (clearest for hippo is probably toward the very end).

I don't think any of the videos show the head twitching at all though, but you can certainly see the quick breathing.
I also put in some mysis with a little garlic mixed in and it wasn't interested in the slightest (usually enjoys some).

I dont see signs of ich or velvet and do see elevated breathing in which suspect may be flukes but dont see yawning, scratching often associated but see heavy breathing. What is your ammonia, ph and phos readings and how are you testing these levels?

 

[DarkReefer]

Vid 3 will show ich or somethin on the hippo tang in the last 10 or 15 seconds. It's a bit hard to see on the fox but there's some spots on the fox on its left side, u may be able to see one white spot just on the top of its black spot colouring.
Ammonia hasn't been tested at all since cycling the tank 6 months ago, not even sure my salifert kit would still be in date for it. Ph is always around 8 to 8.1 as per salifert kit and phos was reading at 0.055 during last test on the weekend, prior to that around 2-3 weeks ago was 0.064

 

[vetteguy53081]

Vid 3 will show ich or somethin on the hippo tang in the last 10 or 15 seconds. It's a bit hard to see on the fox but there's some spots on the fox on its left side, u may be able to see one white spot just on the top of its black spot colouring.
Ammonia hasn't been tested at all since cycling the tank 6 months ago, not even sure my salifert kit would still be in date for it. Ph is always around 8 to 8.1 as per salifert kit and phos was reading at 0.055 during last test on the weekend, prior to that around 2-3 weeks ago was 0.064

Readings appear ok- looking for causes of heavy breathing
The hepatus tang shows skin irritation likely from previous ich and best treated with coppersafe
Wouldn’t hurt to add others into same treatment in a separate quarantine tank at 2.25 coppersafe level monitored with a Hanna copper kit
Add aeration and allow display to remain without any fish for at least 6-8 weeks

 

[DarkReefer]

Readings appear ok- looking for causes of heavy breathing
The hepatus tang shows skin irritation likely from previous ich and best treated with coppersafe
Wouldn’t hurt to add others into same treatment in a separate quarantine tank at 2.25 coppersafe level monitored with a Hanna copper kit
Add aeration and allow display to remain without any fish for at least 6-8 weeks

Thanks, but is there anything that can be done in the DT itself such as the Blue Planet Fluke & Tapeworm treatment? perhaps not to completely eradicate but to manage/control it to levels the fish and other inhabitants will be fine with.

I understand it's obviously ideal to separate and QT everything but it's not necessarily an ideal/affordable situation for some given I would assume I'd need a sizeable tank to do that (therefore reasonably expensive) & would require somewhere sizeable to set it up + some basic equipment for the amount and size of fish going into it.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Thanks, but is there anything that can be done in the DT itself such as the Blue Planet Fluke & Tapeworm treatment? perhaps not to completely eradicate but to manage/control it to levels the fish and other inhabitants will be fine with.

I understand it's obviously ideal to separate and QT everything but it's not necessarily an ideal/affordable situation for some given I would assume I'd need a sizeable tank to do that (therefore reasonably expensive) & would require somewhere sizeable to set it up + some basic equipment for the amount and size of fish going into it.

We’re assuming you have flukes and if more than that- you risk progression of other issues

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Thanks, but is there anything that can be done in the DT itself such as the Blue Planet Fluke & Tapeworm treatment? perhaps not to completely eradicate but to manage/control it to levels the fish and other inhabitants will be fine with.

I understand it's obviously ideal to separate and QT everything but it's not necessarily an ideal/affordable situation for some given I would assume I'd need a sizeable tank to do that (therefore reasonably expensive) & would require somewhere sizeable to set it up + some basic equipment for the amount and size of fish going into it.

I can see the foxface is breathing fast. The group of anthias was also posturing for the cleaner wrasse. I couldn't really see any spots. You may have multiple issues going on here, but flukes are one thing to consider.

The Blue Plante pills contain 100 grams of Praziquantel. I don't know what else they might contain though. Plain prazi won't harm your snails or shrimp.


Also, I couldn't tell, does that tank have good aeration (not just circulation)? A skimmer would do that for you, as well as an air stone. That might help the foxface, and aeration is vital if you do the Blue Planet treatments.

 

[DarkReefer]

We’re assuming you have flukes and if more than that- you risk progression of other issues

Yeah I know it's not ideal, but something I thought might be worth considering in lieu of the cost/space required to set up something separate.

I can see the foxface is breathing fast. The group of anthias was also posturing for the cleaner wrasse. I couldn't really see any spots. You may have multiple issues going on here, but flukes are one thing to consider.

The Blue Plante pills contain 100 grams of Praziquantel. I don't know what else they might contain though. Plain prazi won't harm your snails or shrimp.


Also, I couldn't tell, does that tank have good aeration (not just circulation)? A skimmer would do that for you, as well as an air stone. That might help the foxface, and aeration is vital if you do the Blue Planet treatments.

Thanks for the information. There is a skimmer in the system already, will need to probably add an air stone though.
Will discuss with my partner and we'll work out whether we try and opt for the in tank treatment or whether we can afford the space and expense to set up a separate QT tank.

Given the amount of fish I'm thinking I'd need something reasonably decent as a QT tank in order to house all fish all together. I could potentially set up separate smaller ones I guess but then I'd have to manage several tank which I think would add to the workload etc. and be harder to handle? Not entirely sure...

If I do go through setting up QT, do I need to remove the shrimp/snails from the DT also or are they okay to stay there for the duration and just the fish need to come out for treatment?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Yeah I know it's not ideal, but something I thought might be worth considering in lieu of the cost/space required to set up something separate.

Thanks for the information. There is a skimmer in the system already, will need to probably add an air stone though.
Will discuss with my partner and we'll work out whether we try and opt for the in tank treatment or whether we can afford the space and expense to set up a separate QT tank.

Given the amount of fish I'm thinking I'd need something reasonably decent as a QT tank in order to house all fish all together. I could potentially set up separate smaller ones I guess but then I'd have to manage several tank which I think would add to the workload etc. and be harder to handle? Not entirely sure...

If I do go through setting up QT, do I need to remove the shrimp/snails from the DT also or are they okay to stay there for the duration and just the fish need to come out for treatment?

If you remove all fish from the DT, all fish parasites known will die out due to lack of a host in 60 days (some people opt for 45 days at temperatures above 81).

 

[DarkReefer]

If you remove all fish from the DT, all fish parasites known will die out due to lack of a host in 60 days (some people opt for 45 days at temperatures above 81).

Looks as though the missus is keen to opt for the full QT so looking into tanks/equipment.

I've found a tank that is about 180L that I think should hopefully be big enough to house all the fish for the 8 weeks, much smaller than what they're used to now but hopefully they can play nice, otherwise I guess I can separate with some egg crates or something inside the tank to keep some separate...

I'm assuming this is most current procedure https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/current-quarantine-protocol.825055/

Is it fine to transfer water from the DT into the QT to set it up to match the parameters of the DT in the first instance?
Thought that might be better/easier than creating a fresh batch of water to put into the QT etc and trying to match it back.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Looks as though the missus is keen to opt for the full QT so looking into tanks/equipment.

I've found a tank that is about 180L that I think should hopefully be big enough to house all the fish for the 8 weeks, much smaller than what they're used to now but hopefully they can play nice, otherwise I guess I can separate with some egg crates or something inside the tank to keep some separate...

I'm assuming this is most current procedure https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/current-quarantine-protocol.825055/

Is it fine to transfer water from the DT into the QT to set it up to match the parameters of the DT in the first instance?
Thought that might be better/easier than creating a fresh batch of water to put into the QT etc and trying to match it back.

Yes - it is fine to move water from the DT to the QT, in fact, if you have any non-calcareous filter media, move that also, it will help with the beneficial bacteria. No worries about moving disease, since you are doing that any way when you move the fish.