Siphoning sand bed and flukes

[Spare time]

Hi @Jay Hemdal I had a question for you


In a commerical/store system, where there is no QT, would siphoning the sand bed frequently into a filter sock help cut down on fluke eggs. I mention the sock as water changes on this system are a no-no. Neobedenia and gill flukes are the most common pest in this system, and there is no separete quarentine for new fish. I'd really like to help solve this fluke issue, but the only thing we can think of is a full system dose of prazi (there is copper power in the water), as this has worked in a small tank in the back (this tank is hooked up to the fish copper system, but can be taken offline. I have dosed prazi in here with the copperpower before without issue). However, obviously this doesn't do anything for new weekly or bi-weekly arrivals. I don't think there is a way for this system to be fluke free without QT-ing new arrivals, but I am trying to see if there is some why to cut down on fish loss due to flukes. Again, I don't own this system/store and only help out, so it needs to be something relatively cheap.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Hi @Jay Hemdal I had a question for you


In a commerical/store system, where there is no QT, would siphoning the sand bed frequently into a filter sock help cut down on fluke eggs. I mention the sock as water changes on this system are a no-no. Neobedenia and gill flukes are the most common pest in this system, and there is no separete quarentine for new fish. I'd really like to help solve this fluke issue, but the only thing we can think of is a full system dose of prazi (there is copper power in the water), as this has worked in a small tank in the back (this tank is hooked up to the fish copper system, but can be taken offline. I have dosed prazi in here with the copperpower before without issue). However, obviously this doesn't do anything for new weekly or bi-weekly arrivals. I don't think there is a way for this system to be fluke free without QT-ing new arrivals, but I am trying to see if there is some why to cut down on fish loss due to flukes. Again, I don't own this system/store and only help out, so it needs to be something relatively cheap.

Yes - filtering the surface of the substrate seems to help remove flukes eggs as well as ich tomonts. However, it has been demonstrated that a Neobenedenia outbreak can be started with a single egg hatching and successfully attaching to a host.

There is also an intriguing study that seems to show using cleaner shrimp helps remove fluke eggs (they evidently forage for them at night). Again, it just reduces numbers and doesn't give total control.

Jay