Sanity check on current QT process

[Jay Hemdal]

Thanks for the information and your help! I had previously dosed the tank with metro for 2 weeks using 1-2 scoops per10 gal every 48hrs.

The flashing decreased after the 3x prazi bath but was not eliminated for the dartfish, flashing recently resumed for two fish I had not seen flash in weeks.

I was surprised not to see the fish react during the last two prazi baths, previously they would start flashing shortly after the medication was added, presumably from flukes convulsing, but there was no reaction during the last two baths.

Fenbendazole is an option. I’m not a fan of it, I’ve have seen severe toxic reactions in catfish, darters and flashlight fish. Those fish are not closely related, so the resin for the toxicity isn’t clear to me, and then I worry I’ll see the same issue in others species. I’m camping this weekend so I can’t pull a dose for you, but you should be able to find a reference online. 2 ppm sticks in my mind…..
Jay

 

[Orion9]

Is there another medication you could recommend?

Would a freshwater dip help confirm they still have gill flukes? I've seen images of skin flukes falling off but unsure if prazi / hyposalinity resistant gill flukes would do the same.

Thank you!

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Is there another medication you could recommend?

Would a freshwater dip help confirm they still have gill flukes? I've seen images of skin flukes falling off but unsure if prazi / hyposalinity resistant gill flukes would do the same.

Thank you!

Finding gill flukes after a FW dip is a challenge. You would need to decant the dip water and look at it under a microscope. Trouble is, gill flukes turn into little balls of snot and since they don’t have eyespots, there is no way to distinguish them from random fish mucus. Gill biopsies work better, but can’t be done on small fish, and require an anesthetic.

I skimmed these messages, but I wasn’t sure - have you done full tank prazi treatments, 3x, spaced 8 days apart?

Jay

 

[Orion9]

They have been through several extended prazi treatments while in the DT, and in QT, as well as 1.008 hypo salinity for 35 days, but I'm willing to try prazi again.

If gill flukes are present I would expect them to begin flashing, more than usual, after the medication is added. Is this an accurate estimation of their behavior?

 

[Jay Hemdal]

They have been through several extended prazi treatments while in the DT, and in QT, as well as 1.008 hypo salinity for 35 days, but I'm willing to try prazi again.

If gill flukes are present I would expect them to begin flashing, more than usual, after the medication is added. Is this an accurate estimation of their behavior?

Often, when heavily fluke infested fish are dosed with prazi, the fish act really uncomfortable as the flukes move around and drop off.

If you have bulk prazi powder (not Prazipro) there is a technique that some public aquariums use - they dose at a higher concentration than the normal 2.2 ppm, 4.5 ppm, but then after 3 hours, they change 50% of the water, to drop it back down to 2.2 ppm. Kind of like combining a static bath with a high dose dip.

Given all that you have tried though, I’m not confident in that working either.

Back in the day, we would dose them with trichlorfon, but that is simply too toxic to use in a home.

Jay

 

[Orion9]

The bar gobies began inuring each other so I gave them to a LFS, only remaining symptom was flashing, once they were removed the other fish stopped flashing.

In the last two weeks I added a dose of prazi pro and monitored for flashing but did not see any.
Noticed an occasional yawn but assuming its normal mouth stretching.
Midas blenny had white stringy facies once after a stressful day, but it quickly returned to normal.
Clowns still breath rapidly at times, but it seems normal for them, they spend most of the day chasing each other and twitching when in close quarters.

I'm considering returning all fish to the DT and would appreciate your opinion.

Thank you!
John