Can you ID this? Flukes, perhaps?

[prettyfishy76]

Tank:
150 Gallon
29 Gallon Sump
70-something Hermits
40-something snails (ceriths, nassarius)
1 Scribbled Rabbitfish
3 Lyretail Anthias (there was a Square Spot, but he is dead now)
2 Midnight Clownfish

I recently had a male Square Spot Anthias die. Well, he was almost dead when I decided to take him out of the tank and euthanize him with clove oil... He is the first death in the tank, so far. I initially thought the fish in the my tank had ich, so I treated them with Herbtana. It was suggested by the LFS since it wouldn't harm the invertebrates. All fish had visible white spots on their bodies, including fins. After treating them with Herbtana for close to a week, I decided to stop, as the fish weren't getting any better. If anything, the Rabbitfish looked worse. It started breathing hard and had small, raised bumps on his skin. The SS Anthias starting retreating into the rockwork and them "stumbling" around the tank as if he couldn't see. Somehow he ate, though.

I took photos of the SS Anthias after he died. What I found was that even though he ate, he was emaciated (even his eyes were sunken in) and had a bloody injury to the back of his head (not sure how that got there. Perhaps he was trashing around before his death). His purple "square" had lost some color. As I looked closer, I found a bunch of clear parasite blobs on his scales, including one on his eye. They were all over his body. When I placed him in a freezer bag, as the fish slid to the bottom, the parasites easily came off, sticking to the edges of the bag. Can anyone ID these?

I thought they might be flukes because my Scribbled Rabbitfish has been having "seizures" lately and breathing hard. I placed the Rabbitfish in a QT tank and treated with PraziPro. I also treated the DT with PraziPro, as well, because I couldn't catch the remaining Anthias and clownfish that I have. The Rabbifish opened its mouth very wide for a while and as of the day after treatment, quit shaking. You could see parasites come off from its body and then violently move until they died.

The Clownfish and remaining Anthias have white stringy poo. I think they have some sort of internal parasite(s). I will soak their food in medication. One of the Clownfish has a bloated belly, even when he hasn't eaten in a while.

Obviously I want these fish to survive, so I'm wondering if I am on the correct road to their recovery. I really don't know what these parasites are, so any help will be greatly appreciated.

 

[Rea17]

I would say flukes. You will want to run two rounds of Prazipro on the rabbitfish and the display to ensure the parasites are wiped out. You can do a dose for 5-7 days, do a water change, wait a few days, and do another dose. Make sure your skimmer is off during treatment.

Also FWIW, there is no reef safe ich cure. The cure for ich IMO/IME is not to get it in the first place through strict quarantine and prophylactic treatment.

 

[Deinonych]

I agree that it looks like flukes. Nuke 'em with Prazipro.

 

[HumbleFish]

I believe it's likely you are dealing with multiple ailments: Ich, Flukes and it sounds like your clownfish may have intestinal parasites. The "bloody injury" you mentioned and "small, raised bumps" are probably symptoms of a secondary infection. Prazi can be used in the DT and will take care of the Flukes. But there is no is no reef safe cure for Ich and the clown will probably need Metronidazole (not reef safe).

 

[prettyfishy76]

Well, the PraziPro has helped immensely with the Rabbitfish. For a while there, I thought I was going to lose it. I am on my 3rd dose of Prazi and will continue for another week. Fins look great, breathing is regular and its appetite is back.

As for the other fish, I lost my 2 midnight clowns. Both had internal parasites... Their scales looked horrible. Kept thinking it was Brooklynella. It still may have been. They died a day apart. That loss hurt. They were my favorite. I was treating them with PraziPro and Quick Cure in their own little QT. They quit eating a few days ago.

Lost another anthias... He was eating for a little while and then his tail started to recede. The day he died he was lying on the sand, breathing very hard. His tail had receded quite a bit more. He died yesterday. I had been treating him and the other anthias with PraziPro. They are in the DT. Couldn't get those suckers out. The other two anthias look fairly OK, but they do have white, stringy poo... They are still eating.

I have been testing the water parameters in the 150g DT (Ammonia, Nitrates, Nitrites, Phosphate, kH, pH) and none are out of whack.

I feel so defeated. In all of the years that I have kept fish, (FW and SW), I haven't experienced this much loss so quickly or really, even at all. I have a 100 gallon seahorse tank with 7 seahorses that has been very successful for a long while now. You'd think I knew what I was doing... I know the Rabbitfish will survive with no issues, but the others, who knows. I hate that any of them had to die...