Next steps with gill flukes?

[drebay]

A bit of background:
I’ve been battling what I’m fairly certain is gill flukes in a Genicanthus for several weeks (~16). I haven’t done a gill biopsy (don’t trust my shaky hands) though just put in an egg trap to verify. Initially displayed with flashing centered around operculum, labored increased breathing and frequent yawning. Prazi powder at 2.5 ppm prompted head-shakes etc. Administered two more times spaced 7-8 days. Transferred to sterile QT at conclusion. Symptoms came back around 7 days and eating stopped. I tried another round of prazi this time transferring to sterile QT between doses and at 3.15ppm. Tried hypo at 1.012. There were periods where it seemed to be resolved and was eating voraciously. Then she would start yawning eat less and become darker. Now I’m back to prazi and transferring. While immediately after prazi there is a response she hasn’t returned to feed though is interested in food which prompts coughing/yawning.

So my question is what are my options and the pros/cons of each? I’d prefer not go with the other anthelmintic due to toxicity but if that’s the best option all things considered so be it. I’ve also got Parasite S though would need some guidance on dosage.

Oh forgot to mention sterile QTs were seeded with bac in a bottle to ‘start fresh’ with the praxis consuming bacteria. Also no other fish in or have been added to her QT.

Thanks in advance for your input!

 

[fishguy242]

#fishmedic

 

[vetteguy53081]

A bit of background:
I’ve been battling what I’m fairly certain is gill flukes in a Genicanthus for several weeks (~16). I haven’t done a gill biopsy (don’t trust my shaky hands) though just put in an egg trap to verify. Initially displayed with flashing centered around operculum, labored increased breathing and frequent yawning. Prazi powder at 2.5 ppm prompted head-shakes etc. Administered two more times spaced 7-8 days. Transferred to sterile QT at conclusion. Symptoms came back around 7 days and eating stopped. I tried another round of prazi this time transferring to sterile QT between doses and at 3.15ppm. Tried hypo at 1.012. There were periods where it seemed to be resolved and was eating voraciously. Then she would start yawning eat less and become darker. Now I’m back to prazi and transferring. While immediately after prazi there is a response she hasn’t returned to feed though is interested in food which prompts coughing/yawning.

So my question is what are my options and the pros/cons of each? I’d prefer not go with the other anthelmintic due to toxicity but if that’s the best option all things considered so be it. I’ve also got Parasite S though would need some guidance on dosage.

Oh forgot to mention sterile QTs were seeded with bac in a bottle to ‘start fresh’ with the praxis consuming bacteria. Also no other fish in or have been added to her QT.

Thanks in advance for your input!

How did you verify flukes other than symptoms?
Prazi powder can be tricky with medicating as the powder does not dissolve easily .
Hypo is 1.009 and not as you attempted
As flukes can lay eggs to reproduce, a third round of treatment is sometimes warranted/

 

[Ross]

Been through a very similar situation with a Midas blenny. Did lots of prazi pro treatments and then 35 days of Hypo, and it was still scratching. I finally did 2 rounds of fenbendazole then 2 weeks of metroplex. Seems to have worked

 

[drebay]

Thanks for the response. Flukes were not visually id-ed but I’ve got mesh in now to confirm via eggs. Symptoms include darting, flashing, repeated yawning, increased gill beats, all flashing occurring directed at the operculum, cessation of feeding. Upon administering prazi powder extruded through tights the fish would head shake and symptoms would get better for a period. All ‘rounds’ of prazi included at least 3 doses spaced 7-8 days apart.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Thanks for the response. Flukes were not visually id-ed but I’ve got mesh in now to confirm via eggs. Symptoms include darting, flashing, repeated yawning, increased gill beats, all flashing occurring directed at the operculum, cessation of feeding. Upon administering prazi powder extruded through tights the fish would head shake and symptoms would get better for a period. All ‘rounds’ of prazi included at least 3 doses spaced 7-8 days apart.

How long did you run the hypo at 1.012?

In terms of an "egg trap", I've never tried that, but I would think that is only useful in catching Neobenedenia eggs, and I don't think that is the species involved here. Since you were going to try an egg trap, that implies you have a microscope. Have you tried a 5 minute FW dip, and then settle that out to look for flukes? Formalin works a bit better for that, as FW causes the flukes to distort and makes them look like little balls of mucus. That is your "Parasite S". Pretty toxic stuff, I wouldn't use it in your home, but I suppose you could run the dip in a garage or something. The dose I use for that is 150 ppm with good aeration in a c lean container for 45 minutes. Then, I swirl the water and pipette any material from the bottom and look for flukes. A "clean catch" is vital. Too many people grab up sand and algae with they catch the fish, and that makes the dip examination impossible. To calculate the dose, it is gallons of water in the container to be used as the dip, times 150 divided by 266 - so for a two gallon bucket, that would be 2 * 150 / 266 = 1.13 ml of formalin.

You might want to perform the formalin dip along with a move to a new tank, as formalin is a pretty effective treatment by itself (but doesn't kill eggs).

Jay

 

[drebay]

I will do that Jay and let you know what I find in the scope. Likely be morning (PST) since I had to clean a tank.

Question, behavior wise the fish is quite lethargic. Given this is it advisable to do the bath at a lower ppm or maintain your suggested protocol and pull the fish at signs of distress?

Re the hypo, checked my log and I was a bit under 30 days with the fish at that salinity for 28 days. If I recall correctly the LFS water was 18 or 19 ppt, incase that info is useful.