Dipping angels for flukes

[Kahuna Tuna]

I just picked up a nice little flagfin angel the other day and as a precaution for flukes I gave him a freshwater dip after acclimation. She did not tolerate the dip very well and didn't look very happy during acclimation either. I used RODI water buffered to match PH and warmed to tank temp and the fish started going shocky almost immediately. After about a minute she looked to be in trouble so I scooped her out and into the 60 she went.

In the 60 gallon she looked better within minutes and even ate a little about an hour later. Upon examination there were 4 flukes that I could see in the dip container so I was glad I dipped her as long as I did. Gave her another dip yesterday (I mixed up the dip water a day earlier) and she tolerated it much better so I gave her a 3 minute dip and found 6 more flukes in the container. She looks amazing today and is showing no signs of parasites but I will dip her again as a precaution.

My question is this, I know some flukes lay eggs which are more resistant to FW dips so repeated dips are needed, how many days in a row should I dip? Is dipping a fish once a day too much? I will dip her today and see if I get any more of the little buggers.

Lesson for me, this fish looked perfect in the LFS, nice fat, eating and well colored up showing no outward symptoms of any kind and yet it had flukes. All my angels are going to get dipped from here on out.

 

[LargeAngels]

I would dip every 3 days or so for a couple of weeks, I'd you don't want to do a couple of Prazipro treatments. I'm really not sure about the life cycle of flukes but I do know it takes 2 or 3 consequative treatments. One fish disease book I read mentioned treatments for 3 weeks.

 

[prop-frags]

We treat all new fish with 2 rounds of Prazipro as a preventative for flukes and worms.

 

[snorvich]

We treat all new fish with 2 rounds of Prazipro as a preventative for flukes and worms.

Recommended. One week in between treatments.

 

[Daniel Reef]

We treat all new fish with 2 rounds of Prazipro as a preventative for flukes and worms.

Do you use the prazipro as a dip or do you treat the entire QT? If you treat the entire QT, what do you do to remove the flukes from the tank?

 

[Kahuna Tuna]

Do you use the prazipro as a dip or do you treat the entire QT?

Good question. Would prefer to use it as a dip myself. Checked the fish this morning and she looks awesome, no fin flicking, no head shaking or heavy breathing. I will keep an eye on her and possibly dip her again in a few days.

 

[geaux xman]

I like to do 2-3 treatments of prazi on all fish.

From what I understand, dips well get the external flukes, but wont catch the internal worms.

 

[Daniel Reef]

How do you get the internal worms?

 

[Triton_Z]

Lesson for me, this fish looked perfect in the LFS, nice fat, eating and well colored up showing no outward symptoms of any kind and yet it had flukes. All my angels are going to get dipped from here on out.

It's a wise observation and FW dips are worth the time and effort for fluke eradication and other parasites. It's standard protocol for all new fish going into QT for me. I agree you should spread the repeated dips out over a few days if there are symptoms of continued infestation.

Multiple treatments with Prazipro in the QT (or even the DT) typically are very effective. If you choose to treat with Prazipro, additional FW dips will not be necessary.

 

[doggydoc]

Just use praziquantel today, repeat in two weeks and then in one month. That should take care of ALL your flukes.
You do NOT need to do freshwater dips to avoid the stress on the fish.

 

[agreeive?fish]

prazi pro works well and you dont have the chase,catch stress on the fish

 

[coral princess]

Prazi pro worked for me.

 

[Kahuna Tuna]

Honestly I am very hesitatnt to medicate the entire system when I just can dip one fish but it will be an option. Thank you all for your replies.

 

[LargeAngels]

If there is other fish in the system then it is very likely they have been infected.

 

[Kahuna Tuna]

The 60 gallon he is in is my QT, would it be worth it to hit that with prazi? Are the flukes in there at this point and can they survive with out a host?

 

[Daniel Reef]

I'm confused. If the fish is in a 60g QT, then what is your concern about treating the entire QT? are there live rock, corals, other fish in there? Prazi is designed to treat a tank and/or to be used as a dip (according to the website that I looked at). It makes sense to treat the entire QT (as per the instructions), rather than stressing the fish out by catching it and dipping it in FW.

 

[solitude127]

I've treated my SPS reef with Prazipro. I'm not going to lie, I was scared to hi heaven when I put the medication in but all was ok.

 

[Kahuna Tuna]

I was scared to hi heaven when I put the medication in but all was ok.

I'm a little old school and have always been very wary of medicating the display system but this stuff seems safe. My 60 gallon is a QT/Fuge that can either be plumbed in to the display system and sump or can be taken off-line and used as a stand alone tank (its in my garage with the sump). It is set up like a small display tank, deep sand bed, lots of live rock, calupera and chaeto, and tons of pods, snails, worms. Maybe I will prazi the 60 and see how it goes.

 

[anbosu]

It is supposed to be reef safe and is very reasonably priced, in my opinion. Fresh water dips do not tend to go well for saltwater fish, at least in my personal experiences.

 

[Winwood]

I have also used prazipro on my display tank that contained mostly SPS and LPS with no negative effects.