Melinda01
Active Member
Parameters as of today are
SG 1.025
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate < 5
Ph 8.2
Mag 1380
Ca 440
Alk 9.3
Temp 76.6
Pajama cardinal color loss
- Thread starter Melinda01
- Start date
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Parameters as of today are
SG 1.025
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate < 5
Ph 8.2
Mag 1380
Ca 440
Alk 9.3
Temp 76.6
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Melinda01
Active Member
This pajama hasn’t been treated yet. The clown was the only fish I noticed with symptoms until today so I put her in QT. Since noticing the pajama I’ve thought about dosing the DT with prazi pro because it is supposed to be “reef safe”. Would you reccomend this? If so is it safe to remove the skimmer cup for a couple weeks during this process? Also, I’ve been vinegar dosing. I’m guessing I’ll need to stop that during the treatment. Will prazi hurt shrimp, snails, urchins, or crabs? There are no corals in the tank yet. Thank you for your help.
Last edited:
Big G
captain dunsel
I'd give the cardinal a freshwater dip to check for flukes first. https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/video-how-to-do-a-freshwater-dip.286639/#post-3487082
Big G
captain dunsel
Here's Humblefish's directions for Praziquantel in both qt and tank. Note the bold areas of your concerns. Hope this helps. 
Prazipro (praziquantel): Treats flukes, black ich, and some internal parasites (worms).
How To Treat - In either a quarantine or display tank, dose Prazipro at the rate of 1 teaspoon per 20 gallons of water. DO NOT OVERDOSE (especially with wrasses), try not to mix with other medications (for various reasons), and provide additional gas exchange while treating with Prazi. Wait about a week, do a 20-25% water change and then repeat dosage. The reason for the second dose is to eradicate the “next generation” of worms before they can lay eggs of their own. Because while Prazi does kill worms, it doesn’t eliminate any eggs they might leave behind.
If you are treating a known prazi sensitive species (ex. wrasse), you can run carbon or perform a water change 24 hours after dosing in order to limit exposure time. While praziquantel does remain active in the water column for up to 72 hours, only 24 hours are needed for it to eradicate external worms. Don't forget to still do the second round though!
Prazipro is generally considered reef safe, although it may kill any tube worms/feathers dusters you have. It may also eradicate bristle worms. If you have mass quantities of these, the resulting die-off can lead to an ammonia spike. After treatment is done, activated carbon may be used to remove any residuals (if you need to use a different medication next). If using a protein skimmer post-treatment, be advised that it will “over skim” for at least a couple of weeks.
Pros - Reef safe, effective dewormer that is relatively gentle on most fish.
Cons/Side Effects - Mild appetite suppression, moderate oxygen depletion, wrasses are sensitive to overdosing.
Edit: You can use this treatment calendar to determine when is the best time to add the second dose of Prazipro: http://www.marineparasites.com/paratreatmentcal.html
Prazipro (praziquantel): Treats flukes, black ich, and some internal parasites (worms).
How To Treat - In either a quarantine or display tank, dose Prazipro at the rate of 1 teaspoon per 20 gallons of water. DO NOT OVERDOSE (especially with wrasses), try not to mix with other medications (for various reasons), and provide additional gas exchange while treating with Prazi. Wait about a week, do a 20-25% water change and then repeat dosage. The reason for the second dose is to eradicate the “next generation” of worms before they can lay eggs of their own. Because while Prazi does kill worms, it doesn’t eliminate any eggs they might leave behind.
If you are treating a known prazi sensitive species (ex. wrasse), you can run carbon or perform a water change 24 hours after dosing in order to limit exposure time. While praziquantel does remain active in the water column for up to 72 hours, only 24 hours are needed for it to eradicate external worms. Don't forget to still do the second round though!
Prazipro is generally considered reef safe, although it may kill any tube worms/feathers dusters you have. It may also eradicate bristle worms. If you have mass quantities of these, the resulting die-off can lead to an ammonia spike. After treatment is done, activated carbon may be used to remove any residuals (if you need to use a different medication next). If using a protein skimmer post-treatment, be advised that it will “over skim” for at least a couple of weeks.
Pros - Reef safe, effective dewormer that is relatively gentle on most fish.
Cons/Side Effects - Mild appetite suppression, moderate oxygen depletion, wrasses are sensitive to overdosing.
Edit: You can use this treatment calendar to determine when is the best time to add the second dose of Prazipro: http://www.marineparasites.com/paratreatmentcal.html
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Melinda01
Active Member
I’m getting the water warmed up to dip the cardinal now. If this proves to be flukes, I’ll go ahead and dose the DT with prazi. Fingers crossed that this works and the tank will soon be healthy again!
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Melinda01
Active Member
Thank you. Just finished. I used a clear container like she did in the video. There are some white specks floating in the water so I’m going to go ahead and remove my skimmer cup and dose the prazi in the DT. Then repeat the dose in another 5-7 days. I also noticed some floaties in the water of the QT when I changed the water today. Do you think I should add the clown back to the DT since I’m treating it with prazi or just keep her in QT and continue the general care I started treating her with?Helps to use a dark colored container to see the little white "sesame seeds"
Big G
captain dunsel
The General Cure contains both Prazi which kills flukes and some internal parasites, and Metro which will kill all internal parasites. So if your clown is the only one with the "stringy" poo, it would benefit from the GC's dose of Metro.
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Melinda01
Active Member
Awesome! Thank you so much for your help and quick responses! I’ll treat the DT with prazi and the clown in QT with general cure. Wish me luck, poor clown still isn’t eatingThe General Cure contains both Prazi which kills flukes and some internal parasites, and Metro which will kill all internal parasites. So if your clown is the only one with the "stringy" poo, it would benefit from the GC's dose of Metro.
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Melinda01
Active Member
Thanks! I’ll see what I can find! I there are not many options in this area for the saltwater hobby so I have to order most of my stuff online. If the internet didn’t exist my fish would be in trouble. Or maybe I should say bigger trouble. Hopefully, with the help of everyone here I can get them well again soon and keep it that way! Btw I’ve been feeding a mix of 1/4 cube marine cuisine and 1/4 cube emerald entree mixed with a drop of garlic daily. Plus, 1/4 sheet of Nori a day for the angel and tang. I also ordered some vitamins to add to the food. They seem to like it. But I’ll try to find something more appealing for the sick clownfish.
Big G
captain dunsel
These guys sell "white worms" which are way easier to keep and culture. No refrigeration needed! And the price is right, too. You fish will love them and they are so good for them.
https://madriverseeds.ecrater.com/c/1780299/other-items
Here's PaulB's thread on white worms: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/give-your-white-worms-a-bath.350754/#post-4365170
https://madriverseeds.ecrater.com/c/1780299/other-items
Here's PaulB's thread on white worms: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/give-your-white-worms-a-bath.350754/#post-4365170
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Melinda01
Active Member
There are string looking things hanging off of the cardinal since the dip and addition of prazi to the tank. Could that be flukes?!?! Wow! I tried tanking a picture but it isn’t clear in the pic.
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Melinda01
Active Member
Could it be a combination of ich and flukes? I really hope not! This is the other side of his body now.
Big G
captain dunsel
So here's the deal with fish suddenly going down hill real fast after a few days where they look perfectly fine. The industry and some LFS are dosing their fish with subtheraputic levels of copper and other meds to keep fish just healthy enough to sell and look presentable to buyers. It's very costly to hold and treat fish fully. The problem is then within about 5-7 days or sometimes as long as a month the disease that the sub-therapeutic meds were holding down comes roaring back, almost without warning and often without the usual symptoms, and rapidly decline. You're probably dealing with velvet, without the early outward appearance. The small specs are just a portion of the parasites evidence of damage. The internal damage to gills is usually quite extensive. Sorry for your loss.
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Melinda01
Active Member
So here's the deal with fish suddenly going down hill real fast after a few days where they look perfectly fine. The industry and some LFS are dosing their fish with subtheraputic levels of copper and other meds to keep fish just healthy enough to sell and look presentable to buyers. It's very costly to hold and treat fish fully. The problem is then within about 5-7 days or sometimes as long as a month the disease that the sub-therapeutic meds were holding down comes roaring back, almost without warning and often without the usual symptoms, and rapidly decline. You're probably dealing with velvet, without the early outward appearance. The small specs are just a portion of the parasites evidence of damage. The internal damage to gills is usually quite extensive. Sorry for your loss.
Thank you. Ugh, this is terrible! I had hopes with the prazi earlier. Now I’m at a loss...So here's the deal with fish suddenly going down hill real fast after a few days where they look perfectly fine. The industry and some LFS are dosing their fish with subtheraputic levels of copper and other meds to keep fish just healthy enough to sell and look presentable to buyers. It's very costly to hold and treat fish fully. The problem is then within about 5-7 days or sometimes as long as a month the disease that the sub-therapeutic meds were holding down comes roaring back, almost without warning and often without the usual symptoms, and rapidly decline. You're probably dealing with velvet, without the early outward appearance. The small specs are just a portion of the parasites evidence of damage. The internal damage to gills is usually quite extensive. Sorry for your loss.
Big G
captain dunsel
Yes. Been there. The problem is that these diseases are coming at you much quicker than normal with almost zero time to react. You did what you could under the circumstances. Sounds like your Cardinal had perhaps some flukes, velvet and developed a rather nasty bacterial infection in a very short time.
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