How I dose Panacur C for treating BCP

[Brian916]

I was mixing a batch and I thought that I would share some info on how I dose Panacur C. My Panacur C came in 2 g packets and I don't have a lab scale for directly measuring what I need.

The Panacur C is being added to treat Blue Clove Polyp (BCP) infestation. My last treatment was 14 months ago. I know from prior experience that I will want to start at 250 mg of the powder and up the dose every few days until the BCP show distress. I will do a "double tap" re-dose in 6 weeks.

Step 1 - Prep your stuff
Remove any carbon from the tank and go buy some fresh granular activated carbon.
Make sure that you have enough salt for a big water change.
Turn off your AWC. I keep my skimmer on, but some people turn theirs off.
Remove any high risk softies and inverts.

Step 2 - Calculate dose.
There are many opinions on this, but I am going with 1 mg per liter. Yes this is high. Start much lower if this is your first treatment.

Step 3 - Measure out 500 ML of RO water

Step 4 - Add the Panacur C 2 g) and shake vigorously. I now have a solution that is 4 mg per ml.

Step 5 - Shake again to suspend any solids and draw of what you need into a graduated syringe. I added three doses of 20 ml or 240 mg.

Step 6 - Cap your jar and wait 3 days. If there has been no response, give your jar a shake and add some more.

Step 7 - After 2 weeks the BCP should be fully died back. Add your fresh carbon and do a big water change.

Wish me luck!

 

[mfollen]

Hows it going so far? Do you have any sponges in the tank? I’m curious how they fare as I had sponge die off in the past from fenbendazole.
I think I may need to do another treatment soon.

 

[Brian916]

Some sponge die back from the yellow and black sponges, but the red sponge on my florida live rock seems to be ok. My skimmer went wild on the 3rd night. Hopefully it is mostly the BCPs dying back.

Slow progress. I upped my dose on day 3 and day 6. The BCP are closed and receded, but not as fully dead as I would wish. Giving it a few more days. Pic below shows the closed BCP as the white spots on the rock under the RBTA.

 

[Rubblereefer]

Genuine question…Why are you trying to kill BCP? It’s like the most peaceful coral and totally beautiful. Doesn’t encroach on any other coral I’ve kept, it just covers what otherwise would be bare rock with no downsides that I can figure.

 

[Brian916]

Have you had it try to take over every inch of your tank? I have yet to see anyone build an intentional BCP focused tank, but I have seen tanks totally torn down because the BCP had to be scaped off the walls and all the rock and sand had to be thrown away. My LFS neglected BCP for too long in their frag system and had to tear the full thing down and bleach it because the stuff was recolonizing from the plumbing. BCP is one of those things that will cause people to leave the hobby out of frustration.

Mostly, it had rebounded after 16 months post treatment and had stunted and caused tissue retraction of several SPS. It was also growing on the skeletons of hammers and will cause them to start dropping heads if you let it go. Last time I let it go too long it killed off a patch of zoas that I wasn't minding closely enough. I also suspect it irritates the feet of BTAs and reduces the rock space available for my tang to graze.

Long story short, I never wanted it, it is aggressive and invasive and it is actively degrading the things I do want. After 16 years of reefing and all the trials involved, I don't have the patience to tolerate things in my tank that I don't actively want to have.

If you have a BCP tank that you enjoy, please share some pictures and share the love?!?

 

[Reeferbadness]

Having tackled BCP several times in 2 different tanks (they almost always come back due to deep rock work infestation but the treatment usually works for about 6 - 9 months) i follow the gold standard outlined in this by Max Draco https://maxdraco.wordpress.com/2013...ue-cloves-polyps-xenia-aiptasia-hydriods-etc/. No need to dose more than 1x during 1 treatment. Some recommend double tapping - doing a 2nd dose a few weeks after the first.
Looks like you are already underway - good luck !

 

[Rubblereefer]

I’ve kept bcp alongside every species you attribute losing to it with zero issues. I think your issues were either caused by something else that you then incorrectly attributed to BCP, or there must be multiple strains of BCP and I must have the “safe” one. Here are some of my tanks with BCP, I’ve had it forever and never had a single issue with losing any coral of any kind.

It will “take over” the tank insofar as it will grow anywhere that there are not corals, the way coraline algae does, I have no issue with that myself and everyone who sees my tanks love the look of it.

Have you had it try to take over every inch of your tank? I have yet to see anyone build an intentional BCP focused tank, but I have seen tanks totally torn down because the BCP had to be scaped off the walls and all the rock and sand had to be thrown away. My LFS neglected BCP for too long in their frag system and had to tear the full thing down and bleach it because the stuff was recolonizing from the plumbing. BCP is one of those things that will cause people to leave the hobby out of frustration.

Mostly, it had rebounded after 16 months post treatment and had stunted and caused tissue retraction of several SPS. It was also growing on the skeletons of hammers and will cause them to start dropping heads if you let it go. Last time I let it go too long it killed off a patch of zoas that I wasn't minding closely enough. I also suspect it irritates the feet of BTAs and reduces the rock space available for my tang to graze.

Long story short, I never wanted it, it is aggressive and invasive and it is actively degrading the things I do want. After 16 years of reefing and all the trials involved, I don't have the patience to tolerate things in my tank that I don't actively want to have.

If you have a BCP tank that you enjoy, please share some pictures and share the love?!?

 

[jmaneyapanda]

I’ve kept bcp alongside every species you attribute losing to it with zero issues. I think your issues were either caused by something else that you then incorrectly attributed to BCP, or there must be multiple strains of BCP and I must have the “safe” one. Here are some of my tanks with BCP, I’ve had it forever and never had a single issue with losing any coral of any kind.

It will “take over” the tank insofar as it will grow anywhere that there are not corals, the way coraline algae does, I have no issue with that myself and everyone who sees my tanks love the look of it.

I think this is more a case of you should consider yourself lucky. BCP can easily overwhelm a reefscape. No different than GSP or xenia. I had it in a previous tank, an didnt mind it, until it started overcrowding my zoanthids, crawling everywhere and physical removal and control became impossible. The zoanthids, encrusting montiporas, and even the bases of high reaching acroporas began to be shaded, possibly chemically impeded, and receded. The fact that you enjoy it is inconsequential to the fact that others, myself included, have had it overwhelm reefs.

When I switched tanks, I threw out so much rock and even live corals rather than reintroduce it. Of course t found its way in and quickly started the same process. If it werent for this fenebndazole treatment, I likely wouldve justy bleached the rock to start over again.

 

[Rubblereefer]

I think this is more a case of you should consider yourself lucky. BCP can easily overwhelm a reefscape. No different than GSP or xenia. I had it in a previous tank, an didnt mind it, until it started overcrowding my zoanthids, crawling everywhere and physical removal and control became impossible. The zoanthids, encrusting montiporas, and even the bases of high reaching acroporas began to be shaded, possibly chemically impeded, and receded. The fact that you enjoy it is inconsequential to the fact that others, myself included, have had it overwhelm reefs.

When I switched tanks, I threw out so much rock and even live corals rather than reintroduce it. Of course t found its way in and quickly started the same process. If it werent for this fenebndazole treatment, I likely wouldve justy bleached the rock to start over again.

I’m not just saying I enjoy it, I’m saying I’ve kept it alongside all those corals, and any other coral beats it and takes its space. Look at the pic of my tank above, the big one. At the bottom toward the right side, you’ll see a BCP encrusted rock with monti overtaking the BCP and sps growing gangbusters right out of the BCP carpet. I’m keeping plenty of zoas in the other tank and the BCP cannot crowd them out as the zoas grow taller than the BCP and light starve them to the point the BCP dies and just the zoas are left.


Based on what you guys are saying, I’m starting to really think there are multiple strains of BCP out there, there’s no way we are describing the same coral…

 

[jmaneyapanda]

I’m not just saying I enjoy it, I’m saying I’ve kept it alongside all those corals, and any other coral beats it and takes its space. Look at the pic of my tank above, the big one. At the bottom toward the right side, you’ll see a BCP encrusted rock with monti overtaking the BCP and sps growing gangbusters right out of the BCP carpet. I’m keeping plenty of zoas in the other tank and the BCP cannot crowd them out as the zoas grow taller than the BCP and light starve them to the point the BCP dies and just the zoas are left.


Based on what you guys are saying, I’m starting to really think there are multiple strains of BCP out there, there’s no way we are describing the same coral…

As I said, Id consider yourself lucky. This problem has been around for a long time. The link @Reeferbadness posted above was written in 2013. Theres a lot of accounts of people battling this scourge. Its not a defect in husbandry or error in reefkeeping as youre pretty specifically implying.

Its very possible were talking of two different organism. My "blue" clove polyps were way more brown than blue. In which case were splitting hairs. The only point Im trying to reinforce pertains to your original question and defending OP, as to why we want to kill this stuff. Were not lying in saying it is a severe nuisance and can ruin a reef tank quickly. I hope for your sake, you dont have the same thing as I, and many others have had.

 

[mfollen]

It’s a severe nuisance that almost no one wants. It will grow on some zoa polyp stalks, LPS skeleton. It’s a fire that will totally over take a system. To each their own, but I know I will never want to buy a coral with a polyp of this on it.

 

[Rubblereefer]

As I said, Id consider yourself lucky. This problem has been around for a long time. The link @Reeferbadness posted above was written in 2013. Theres a lot of accounts of people battling this scourge. Its not a defect in husbandry or error in reefkeeping as youre pretty specifically implying.

Its very possible were talking of two different organism. My "blue" clove polyps were way more brown than blue. In which case were splitting hairs. The only point Im trying to reinforce pertains to your original question and defending OP, as to why we want to kill this stuff. Were not lying in saying it is a severe nuisance and can ruin a reef tank quickly. I hope for your sake, you dont have the same thing as I, and many others have had.

I hear you but there MUST be multiple strains of this stuff because mine is true blue not brown at all, and Im not just "getting lucky" with 5 different systems where I have grown this stuff and never lost a single frag!

Here’s a good example, you can see all types of corals right out of the stuff. Look at the slow burn monti and 24k lepto crawling over the top of the BCP killing it. I’m done beating a dead horse here but I truly think there must be multiple species of this coral based on you guys results and mine…