Praziquantel

Humblefish

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Praziquantel (de-wormer)

What It Treats Flukes (Monogeneans), Black Ich (Turbellarians), and intestinal worms.

How To TreatThere are a few aquarium products which contain praziquantel: Prazipro, API General Cure and Thomas Labs Fish Tapes. Follow the dosing instructions for whatever product you are using. If using straight powder praziquantel powder, dose @ 2.5 mg/L (or 9.5 mg/gal). Powder praziquantel is not easily water soluable and it often helps to mix your dose in a small amount of ethyl alcohol or even common vodka before dosing your tank.

With prazi dose once, wait about a week, do a 20-25% water change and then repeat dosage. (Or use this treatment calendar to determine when is the best time to add the second dose.) 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 (e.g. 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). This is important because the Oxybispropanol (solubilizing agent) Prazipro contains will sometimes cause a bacterial bloom (cloudy water) when mixed with other meds. If using a protein skimmer post-treatment, be advised that it will “over skim” for at least a week or so.

API General Cure contains both praziquantel and metronidazole, and is an effective substitute for using Prazipro. (Just don’t follow the 48 hour repeat dosage instructions; Redose 5-7 days later instead.) But where General Cure really shines is when soaked in food to treat both intestinal worms and internal parasites (flagellates). Both maladies share one classic symptom: White stringy feces. You can also food soak Thomas Labs Fish Tapes or just straight praziquantel powder; but be aware that prazi only treats intestinal worms. (You would need to food soak metronidazole for internal flagellates.) I recommend feeding the medicated food daily for 2-3 weeks, or until symptoms are no longer present. My formula for food soaking prazi (and metro) can be found below:

Using a shot glass:
1 scoop (~ 1/8 teaspoon) of medication
1 scoop Seachem Focus (this makes it reef safe)
1 tbsp food (preferably pellets or frozen food)
A pinch of Epsom salt to help expel dead worms/parasites
A few drops of saltwater or fish vitamins
Stir until a medicated food slurry has been achieved
Feed after soaking for 30 mins
Refrigerate or freeze any leftovers for future use


ProsReef safe, effective dewormer that is relatively gentle on most fish.

Cons/Side EffectsMild appetite suppression, moderate oxygen depletion, wrasses are sensitive to overdosing. Prazi resistant worms (both external and internal) do exist, so sometimes an alternative treatment must be used instead. This includes hyposalinity or formalin (to treat external worms), and food soaking Fenbendazole to deal with prazi resistant intestinal worms.
 
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revhtree

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Very useful thread once again! Thank you!
 

TheRealDmorty217

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Great info Humblefish. The only thing I would add is I was advised by Hikari that if you have flukes that seem to be resistant to Prazipro, to treat every 3 days. I myself just dealt with flukes that were resistant to Prazipro. Not that I can advise others to do this, but I double dosed a 75g with a Aussy Tusk, Melanurus, and a Regal angel with no ill effects including appetite. That seemed to take care of the flukes
 

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Thanks for all the Info.
I get to start with a FW dip if fish is not stressed and looks good enough to tolerate it... believe this gives an immediate relief that the fish sometime needs. It also complements prazi In case of prazi resistant flukes. I know FW dips ate very debatable but I so far didn't have any negative experience with a FW dip on intro to Q tank and one on exit or after a week of prazi treatment. What's your thought/experience on this?
 

Mahu7447

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does this help get rid of fugal diseases??? or external parasites??
 

TheRealDmorty217

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Freshwater dips are good, or Formalin as a bath for up to 45 mins also works well for seeing if a fish is carrying flukes. Inverts such as shrimp I can't speak to but IF they are carrying fluke eggs, they will hatch in 5-7 days and die within a few days if no fish host is present (don't want to quote how many days it takes for them to die, because I can't remember at the moment. Less than a week though if I remember correctly). It will do nothing for fungal diseases (nothing but good water quality and enriched, varied diet will cure fungal issues for the most part) External parasites such as isopods, ich, velvet ect... (anything not in the worm family) it does nothing for
 
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FW dips are good for providing temporary relief, but I have my doubts on whether or not a 5 min dip is capable of dislodging all of the worms. However, sustained hypo treatment (at 1.015) is considered an effective method for eradicating flukes:
Another method that can be used for capsalid monogeneans is hyposalinity. In one study, 15 g/L (ppt) salinity or lower for two days eliminated juvenile and adult Neobenedenia melleni. When 15 g/L was maintained for 5 days, the hatching of N. melleni eggs was prevented. It is important to note that some fish species may not tolerate this treatment method.

Source (live site is down at the moment but you can still view the cached version): https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fa033

Formalin baths, followed by transfer to a sterile QT is another way to treat flukes (especially prazi resistant strains.) And interestingly enough, this source lists Potassium permanganate as another treatment option :eek:: http://www.aces.edu/dept/fisheries/...tions/Update/Monogenean Parasites of Fish.pdf
Potassium permanganate is also effective against monogeneans, and is the treatment of choice if columnaris bacteria or fungi are invading damaged tissues. Potassium permanganate can be administered as a prolonged bath at a concentration of 2 mg/L or as a short-term bath (30 minutes) at a concentration of 10 mg/L. Again, fish must be observed carefully while they are in contact with the chemical and they should be removed at once if adverse effects are noticed.

And then there's De-Los: http://www.fishyfarmacy.com/products.html

This stuff supposedly kills flukes, their eggs, and sometimes even the fish all is one swoop. :p
 

Bouncingsoul39

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I have worked at two of the countries largest importer/wholesalers and neither of them ever ran Prazi in their fish holding systems. One used Prazi in the acclimation water, so the fish received a Prazi bath for about 20-30 minutes while it was being acclimated. Then the fish would receive 1-2 freshwater dips after that. The other only used Prazi as a bath for 10 minutes if signs of flukes were visible or only freshwater bath.
The husbandry manager at the last one, who had about 20 years experience explained to me that Prazi was quite toxic and that it was not advised to keep a fish in water treated with it for any longer than completely necessary. When I mentioned to him that many people in the hobby lately were QT fish in prazi water for 2-3 weeks or longer he said "that's crazy". With that in mind, I guess, I want to know if there is any fish biologist or veterinarian based literature out there that confirms that these methods (long term exposure to Prazi) are safe for a fishes health in the long run? Or any literature out there that confirms this as a institutionally recognized method of treatment used by professional aquariums or associations or members of the AZA?

In the link you provide, the author recommends fresh water dips, formalin baths, or copper treatment.
 
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Humblefish

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With that in mind, I guess, I want to know if there is any fish biologist or veterinarian based literature out there that confirms that these methods (long term exposure to Prazi) are safe for a fishes health in the long run? Or any literature out there that confirms this as a institutionally recognized method of treatment used by professional aquariums or associations or members of the AZA?

I doubt any such studies exist for any fish medications. Maybe copper. I know LADD feeds all their specimens prazi soaked food and will administer prazi baths (as needed.) I personally have owned fish that lived 10+ years that were treated with prazi (long term exposure.) I can't say that about any fish I had to use formalin on. ;)
 

Bouncingsoul39

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Hmmm, well I wish there was. I guess there's no money it. I'm glad to see that you can at least confirm anecdotally that it is possible for a fish to live ten years after receiving the Prazi treatment. These chemicals are all really toxic it makes me nervous looking at industry practices vs. hobby practices and wondering who is right without any real science backing either up...
 
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Humblefish

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Hmmm, well I wish there was. I guess there's no money it. I'm glad to see that you can at least confirm anecdotally that it is possible for a fish to live ten years after receiving the Prazi treatment. These chemicals are all really toxic it makes me nervous looking at industry practices vs. hobby practices and wondering who is right without any real science backing either up...

You are right about if there's no money to be made, it doesn't get done. :( Whether or not to prophylactically use medications is a controversial subject, to be sure. Which is why I try to advocate TTM when I deem it is feasible for the end user: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/tank-transfer-method.192655/

Do you know approximately how long a fish needs to be exposed to prazi in order to effectively deworm? If just a bath treatment would do it, we could give hobbyists that option vs. long-term exposure. I am also studying the effectiveness of prazi laced food.
 

Bouncingsoul39

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Honestly, no, I do not. As I mentioned in my post, in one instance the bath was 20-30 minutes. In the other it was 10 minutes. But both of these were used in conjunction with freshwater dips as well. I do like the line of thought though of "what is the minimum amount of time the fish can be exposed while eliminating the parasite" vs. "what is the maximum amount of time the fish can survive at this dosage". If I had the means to test it, I gladly would. The suppression of appetite part of the Prazi treatment is the one side effect that has stuck out to me that hey this is really stressing out the fish considering they basically forage/graze whatever like non-stop in the wild.
 

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I use Prazi in QT with every new arrival, as per Humblefish's instructions. All fish that make it out of QT are great. I try to stay away from copper, mostly because I collect wrasse and Anthias. I have used Formalin on multiple occasions to kill Brook, and it was helpful at the time. Each instance, the treated fish did not live longer than 14 months after treatment. No visible signs of any disease upon death. Possible coincidence, but curious nonetheless.
 

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