Flukes

[jfingers]

I have flukes in my DT and I tried many rounds of Prazipro that helps relieve them but I can’t seem to eradicate them. I don’t know what else to do. There is no way for me to remove all my fish as my tank is packed with corals and I have many wrasses that burrow. I‘ve even tried 4 rounds of prazi to no avail. I’ve confirmed flukes with catching one of my fish and fresh water dipping. Anything else I can do?

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I have flukes in my DT and I tried many rounds of Prazipro that helps relieve them but I can’t seem to eradicate them. I don’t know what else to do. There is no way for me to remove all my fish as my tank is packed with corals and I have many wrasses that burrow. I‘ve even tried 4 rounds of prazi to no avail. I’ve confirmed flukes with catching one of my fish and fresh water dipping. Anything else I can do?

What did the flukes look like in the dip? Neobenedenia is tough to cure with Prazipro - you need to space the treatments out around 8 days, and five treatments can be needed.
Trouble is, each time you dose with prazi, heterotrophic bacteria grows that starts to eat it as fast as you add it. Plan prazi powder can be double dosed to offset that, but you can’t do that with prazipro because of the solvent used.
For Neo, I’ve switched to treating with hyposalinity (no inverts of course).
Jay

 

[jfingers]

They are oval and turn white. I’ve dosed 4 times, 7 days apart and still nothing. I‘m doing this in a reef tank and my corals are really starting to get irritated.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I have flukes in my DT and I tried many rounds of Prazipro that helps relieve them but I can’t seem to eradicate them. I don’t know what else to do. There is no way for me to remove all my fish as my tank is packed with corals and I have many wrasses that burrow. I‘ve even tried 4 rounds of prazi to no avail. I’ve confirmed flukes with catching one of my fish and fresh water dipping. Anything else I can do?

How did you conclude you have flukes with dipping you did?
What are the symptoms and how are you treating them (how many days? )
have you done water changes between applications?

 

[jfingers]

I caught one of my fish and freshwater dipped it. Symptoms are flashing and some scratching. I’m doing WC in between each treatment and treating every 6 to 7 days.

 

[jfingers]

Is that bacteria mainly in the water column or live on surfaces?

 

[Jay Hemdal]

They are oval and turn white. I’ve dosed 4 times, 7 days apart and still nothing. I‘m doing this in a reef tank and my corals are really starting to get irritated.

Yep, that’s Neo. Sorry!
Some people have been trying Fenbendazole, but I don’t know if that is reef safe, and I stopped using it due to some toxicity issues I ran into.
Jay

 

[vetteguy53081]

I caught one of my fish and freshwater dipped it. Symptoms are flashing and some scratching. I’m doing WC in between each treatment and treating every 6 to 7 days.

We go with 8 days but what you are doing is acceptable. You may have to repeat treatments as you may have neobendendia or Gyrodactylus which can reproduce day 1

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Is that bacteria mainly in the water column or live on surfaces?

Unsure, probably on surfaces. This bacteria is the cause of all those “prazi resistant” flukes you read about.
Jay

 

[jfingers]

So just stick the course and keep repeating treatment?

 

[Jay Hemdal]

So just stick the course and keep repeating treatment?

No, it will just get worse and the Prazipro will just stop working.
This is a huge issue for public aquariums - Neo gets into their main systems and prazi stops working. They usually can’t run hypo because they have sharks. Some resort to trichlorfon, but that can cause fish die-offs.

The only treatment that will likely work here is to move ALL fish to a treatment tank and keep them in half salinity for 35 days. The Neo will then die out in your DT from lack of hosts, and you can put the fish back.

Another option is to buy prazi powder and dose it at double dose every few months when the fish start to show symptoms.

Sorry, this is a nasty disease when Prazipro doesn’t stop it the first time.

Jay

 

[jfingers]

How is prazi powder with corals?

 

[Jay Hemdal]

How is prazi powder with corals?

Tough on them, it doesn’t dissolve well and if the powder lands on the corals and irritates them.
Jay

 

[jfingers]

So you wouldn’t advise me dose it in a display tank?

 

[Jay Hemdal]

So you wouldn’t advise me dose it in a display tank?

If you express it through a brine shrimp net (the really small mesh size) and add it to the sump of the tank, particles won't settle out on the corals. Otherwise, I think it could be an issue.

Jay

 

[jfingers]

Ok thank you for all your help.

 

[jfingers]

Now it looks like I contaminated my FOWLR tank with the same resistant strain of flukes. I’m going to run hyposalinity. Is it ok if it takes me a few weeks to drop it to 1.009? It’s a 300 gallon and I don’t have the proper setup to drop it quickly.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Now it looks like I contaminated my FOWLR tank with the same resistant strain of flukes. I’m going to run hyposalinity. Is it ok if it takes me a few weeks to drop it to 1.009? It’s a 300 gallon and I don’t have the proper setup to drop it quickly.

For treating flukes with hyposalinity, you do not need to go lower than 1.012. you can lower the tank to that point (no invertebrates of course!) in 48 to 72 hours. Hold it there for 30 days, but then, take 5 days to bring it back up to normal salinity.

Jay

 

[jfingers]

For treating flukes with hyposalinity, you do not need to go lower than 1.012. you can lower the tank to that point (no invertebrates of course!) in 48 to 72 hours. Hold it there for 30 days, but then, take 5 days to bring it back up to normal salinity.

Jay

 

[jfingers]

Thanks for the info. Can I take longer than 72 hours to drop it. I can‘t make that much RO water in 72 hours.