Help me please - Metro and praziquantel issues

Stuginski · Nov 16, 2020

Hi guys. I will start my quarantine process and I have some questions about it. I will quarantine angelfish and wrasses.

I will use copper. Sadly, there os no Copper Power ir Copper Safe in my country, so I will use copper sulfate + citric acid as treatment for ich and velvet.
Here we also don't have access to Prazipro, so I would like to use crushed praziquantel pills diluted in sth.
1) What should be the best thing to dilute 2) Could I use vodka, right? These leads to my third question: 3) Such vodka volume will not affect my Qt tank? Or even my fishes? And finaly: 4) Do u know the praziquantel dose in mg/l or mg/Gal that should I use?
Regarding metronidazole. I also can't find metroplex easily, so I would like to know if I could use regular Flagyl pills. 5) How easy would be dilute It? 6) Should I use another thing to dilute instead Salt water?
I will use 2 quarantines process to reduce copper time exposure. So, my final question is: Which medication sequence would be the best one? Copper and than prazi + metro in the second Qt?

Sorry for so many questions but I am trying to prepare myself as best as possible. By the way, the angelfish is a Regal angel and wrasses are yellow coris and Orangeback fairy wrasse. Beside these fishes I will also quarantine a Diamond goby and a small hepatus tang.

Thank you very much guys!

Jay Hemdal · Nov 16, 2020

Hello!

I would avoid using alcohol to dissolve the praziquantel - I have lost fish doing that, in that the alcohol serves as a food source for heterotrophic bacteria, which in turns trips oxygen out of the water. Better to crush it up very finely and mix it with freshwater and pour it through a fine mesh fish net. Keep pouring water through the net, crushing any large chunks (wear gloves and a mask). If you do use alcohol, use the tiniest amount possible and increase the aeration.

For a praziquantel dose, I use 2.2 mg/l - but I have gone as high as 4 mg/l in some cases. This is for a 24 hour dose.

Copper sulfate/citric acid was my main treatment for decades, I don't use it any longer. You need an accurate test kit and you need to test and re-dose twice a day to keep at the 0.20 mg/l target dose. For some fish, you need to raise the copper slowly over three days as they are very sensitive to it.

I haven't used Flagyl pills for possibly 40 years - I can't remember how I dosed it. I do know it isn't very soluble in water, so you would have to crush up the pills in a large amount of tank water, and then add that back to the tank. Recently, I've been using dimetridazole in the fish's food...not sure how well it works yet.

Always dose copper first, then prazi. The fastest fish killers are the protozoans, so you want to deal with them and then deal with flukes (with the prazi) I normally do not treat with metro unless I suspect internal protozoans.

Jay

Stuginski · Nov 17, 2020

Thank u Jay.

I will use Hanna checker to control copper levels. I could go with cupramine instead copper sulfate plus citric acid but iam not sure how better this would be.
Iam a little bit concerned about the influence of small box of sand (yellow coris shelter) on copper levels. I don't know if would be better just provide some plastic pipes instead sand to decrease the problems with copper but I guess the wrasse will stress badly without substrate, what do u think?

Regarding praziquantel, maybe I should use the 2-oxybispropanol (dipropilenoglicol) instead vodka? I guess I could by some. If iam not wrong It is used in perfume fix. I Just don't know If there is a true advantage over vodka because both are carbono sources and will boost bacteria in the tank. My concern regarding dilute praziquantel in water is related to the fact that if the drug doesn't dilute properlly I will not achieve therapeutic concentration. :-(.

I am considering metronidazole to treat Uronema, brook and flagelates. Any drug better for such issues? I was thinking about to use the directions posted by @Humblefish (250mg for each 20gals). So, I could smash the pills, weight the powder and dose It on my Qt. Iam not sure yet how well this will be lol.

Thank u very much, sorry for my english.

Best regards
D.

Jay Hemdal · Nov 17, 2020

For sand, can you use non-calcareous sand? Yellow sand rinsed well won’t bind with the copper. If you use copper and citric acid, since you should be dosing 2 times per day, the small amount bound to the sand would get replaced. Just throw the sand out when done.
Sorry, I cannot advise you on other solvents for prazi, I have only used ethanol myself.
Grinding the metronidazole up finely, and then dilute in large amounts of tank water should work fine.
Jay