Prazipro/Flukes Treatment Frequency

[overhead]

I tend to write a book, I will try to keep this one short...I likely will fail. Started a new tank on 15Aug, it is a 40 gallon breeder with an AIO insert. Live sand, no live rock. Prior to adding fish it had four cerith snails that came with the sand, three olive snails that also came in the sand (which unfortunately had to be removed after hunting/killing blue leg hermits), three blue leg hermits and two trochus. On 3OCT I added three chalk basslets I picked up from my LFS.

The LFS keeps their tanks at 2.5ppm copper and treats with Prazi once a week, but because they are often adding fish to the system they strongly recommend QT. I had planned on it. Had the QT all set up when I brought the fish home, but decided to add 5 more gallons to the QT in my spare bedroom before adding the fish, dog followed me in there and jumped on the guest bed, I yelled, he fled...with a lamp cord around his leg. Pulled the heavy lamp over and cracked the heck out of the tank. So, the chalk bass went right in the new display tank. I did not have much choice. I have a new QT tank now.

The three basslets started flashing and occasionally yawning. I watched for a couple of days, it was not happening often, but it was clear something was wrong. No external indication of an issue, no marks, spots, etc. They are eating.....well, like bass. No other signs of a problem. I assumed it was flukes and because I did not have the new QT tank yet, I decided to just do a Prazipro treatment in the DT. 6OCT added Prazipro at recommended dosage with a couple of air stones. By the next day the flashing behavior started increasing, then decreased to no flashing by the forth day. At day eight after the first treatment I repeated the treatment at the same dose after a 25% water change, that would have been 14OCT. The next day I again saw a little flashing out of one of the fish, not to the level it was before/during/after the first treatment. I did not see the other two fish flash at all and I only saw the one fish flash or scratch once or twice. I tried to watch the tank a while, but as soon as the basslets notice me close they assume food is coming, they all come to the front of the tank and we have a staring contest. There is no flashing or any other behavior that would indicate something is wrong with the fish today.

My question is does the small amount of flashing the fish did after the second dose of Prazipro indicate that they likely had flukes again? Does this mean I should do a third treatment again after 8 days or should I wait to see if the flashing returns?

 

[larrysaltisfun]

Did you buy your fish in Chesapeake, Virginia by any chance??

 

[overhead]

Did you buy your fish in Chesapeake, Virginia by any chance??

I think they are in Chesapeake, but it is right on the Chesapeake/Va Beach line....just looked, it is Chesapeake.

 

[larrysaltisfun]

I’ll leave it to the fish medics to answer your question.

I know where you buy them.

The store is absolutely immaculate and stunning , but the way he is treating with copper and prazi doesn’t guarantee any kind of pre-quarantining because he’s constantly adding fish twice a week to those tanks. I buy everything there, but I’ve been burned by flukes before.

Plus, he’s got sand and ornaments in the tanks which may be decreasing the efficacy of Prazi pro, as Jay Hemdal has pointed out to us ….super bacteria develop which may consume the prazipro before it has a chance to work.

 

[overhead]

I like the store, they have been very helpful. They told me I should QT all fish I buy from them, and I did a full QT with the other fish I purchased from them and never had an issue. This was just an odd situation because I scared my dog. Had I QT'ed this would be no issue, and it is really not a big issue in the DT because there are no other fish in the tank. I just know from reading the Prazi guide here if I treat a third time that will be my last shot due to the bacterial growth that consumes the prazi and....another additive I think. At that point I will for sure have to pull the fish to put them in the QT to continue treatment.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I tend to write a book, I will try to keep this one short...I likely will fail. Started a new tank on 15Aug, it is a 40 gallon breeder with an AIO insert. Live sand, no live rock. Prior to adding fish it had four cerith snails that came with the sand, three olive snails that also came in the sand (which unfortunately had to be removed after hunting/killing blue leg hermits), three blue leg hermits and two trochus. On 3OCT I added three chalk basslets I picked up from my LFS.

The LFS keeps their tanks at 2.5ppm copper and treats with Prazi once a week, but because they are often adding fish to the system they strongly recommend QT. I had planned on it. Had the QT all set up when I brought the fish home, but decided to add 5 more gallons to the QT in my spare bedroom before adding the fish, dog followed me in there and jumped on the guest bed, I yelled, he fled...with a lamp cord around his leg. Pulled the heavy lamp over and cracked the heck out of the tank. So, the chalk bass went right in the new display tank. I did not have much choice. I have a new QT tank now.

The three basslets started flashing and occasionally yawning. I watched for a couple of days, it was not happening often, but it was clear something was wrong. No external indication of an issue, no marks, spots, etc. They are eating.....well, like bass. No other signs of a problem. I assumed it was flukes and because I did not have the new QT tank yet, I decided to just do a Prazipro treatment in the DT. 6OCT added Prazipro at recommended dosage with a couple of air stones. By the next day the flashing behavior started increasing, then decreased to no flashing by the forth day. At day eight after the first treatment I repeated the treatment at the same dose after a 25% water change, that would have been 14OCT. The next day I again saw a little flashing out of one of the fish, not to the level it was before/during/after the first treatment. I did not see the other two fish flash at all and I only saw the one fish flash or scratch once or twice. I tried to watch the tank a while, but as soon as the basslets notice me close they assume food is coming, they all come to the front of the tank and we have a staring contest. There is no flashing or any other behavior that would indicate something is wrong with the fish today.

My question is does the small amount of flashing the fish did after the second dose of Prazipro indicate that they likely had flukes again? Does this mean I should do a third treatment again after 8 days or should I wait to see if the flashing returns?

Increased flashing right after dosing with prazi is due to the flukes dropping off, causing increased irritation to the fish. If the fish then stop flashing, but then start again 5 to 10 days later, that’s due to new flukes hatching out from pre-existing eggs.

Have you seen my article on dosing PZQ?
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/dosing-praziquantel-pzq.1105700/

 

[overhead]

I tend to write a book, I will try to keep this one short...I likely will fail. Started a new tank on 15Aug, it is a 40 gallon breeder with an AIO insert. Live sand, no live rock. Prior to adding fish it had four cerith snails that came with the sand, three olive snails that also came in the sand (which unfortunately had to be removed after hunting/killing blue leg hermits), three blue leg hermits and two trochus. On 3OCT I added three chalk basslets I picked up from my LFS.

The LFS keeps their tanks at 2.5ppm copper and treats with Prazi once a week, but because they are often adding fish to the system they strongly recommend QT. I had planned on it. Had the QT all set up when I brought the fish home, but decided to add 5 more gallons to the QT in my spare bedroom before adding the fish, dog followed me in there and jumped on the guest bed, I yelled, he fled...with a lamp cord around his leg. Pulled the heavy lamp over and cracked the heck out of the tank. So, the chalk bass went right in the new display tank. I did not have much choice. I have a new QT tank now.

The three basslets started flashing and occasionally yawning. I watched for a couple of days, it was not happening often, but it was clear something was wrong. No external indication of an issue, no marks, spots, etc. They are eating.....well, like bass. No other signs of a problem. I assumed it was flukes and because I did not have the new QT tank yet, I decided to just do a Prazipro treatment in the DT. 6OCT added Prazipro at recommended dosage with a couple of air stones. By the next day the flashing behavior started increasing, then decreased to no flashing by the forth day. At day eight after the first treatment I repeated the treatment at the same dose after a 25% water change, that would have been 14OCT. The next day I again saw a little flashing out of one of the fish, not to the level it was before/during/after the first treatment. I did not see the other two fish flash at all and I only saw the one fish flash or scratch once or twice. I tried to watch the tank a while, but as soon as the basslets notice me close they assume food is coming, they all come to the front of the tank and we have a staring contest. There is no flashing or any other behavior that would indicate something is wrong with the fish today.

My question is does the small amount of flashing the fish did after the second dose of Prazipro indicate that they likely had flukes again? Does this mean I should do a third treatment again after 8 days or should I wait to see if the flashing returns?

Increased flashing right after dosing with prazi is due to the flukes dropping off, causing increased irritation to the fish. If the fish then stop flashing, but then start again 5 to 10 days later, that’s due to new flukes hatching out from pre-existing eggs.

Have you seen my article on dosing PZQ?
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/dosing-praziquantel-pzq.1105700/

Yes, I used it as a guide for using the prazipro. I completed the second dose at recommended levels and saw very brief flashing from one fish after the second treatment. I did not do a good job at asking the question here, way too verbose. If I see a little flashing from one fish after the second treatment, would it "hurt" to wait to see if flashing starts again from all the fish or should I just do the third treatment 8 days after the second?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Yes, I used it as a guide for using the prazipro. I completed the second dose at recommended levels and saw very brief flashing from one fish after the second treatment. I did not do a good job at asking the question here, way too verbose. If I see a little flashing from one fish after the second treatment, would it "hurt" to wait to see if flashing starts again from all the fish or should I just do the third treatment 8 days after the second?

I would always do a third treatment, sometimes a fourth is needed.

 

[overhead]

Yes, I used it as a guide for using the prazipro. I completed the second dose at recommended levels and saw very brief flashing from one fish after the second treatment. I did not do a good job at asking the question here, way too verbose. If I see a little flashing from one fish after the second treatment, would it "hurt" to wait to see if flashing starts again from all the fish or should I just do the third treatment 8 days after the second?

I would always do a third treatment, sometimes a fourth is needed.

Thank you, will do