Dwarf seahorse parasites

[caseyiswinter]

I bought 12 dwarf seahorses a month ago from a site. I took a general banner about offering captive bred seahorses to include their dwarfs. They have told me they are wild caught which explains the issues I’m trying to treat.

About a week or two after owning them and a few of them going missing, I noticed several of them scratching. Research told me this was likely a parasite that needed to be treated with Prazi Pro and freshwater dips.

I started with FWDs and saw some thrashing but no parasites. It seemed to stop the itching for a day or so before it came back. At that point I dosed Prazi Pro at 1tsp per 10 gallons. Itching stopped for about three days. When it came back at 3 days, I pulled all the horses and did FWDs in combo with h2o2 dips (less than 10 seconds in my palm at 3%). I also dosed Prazi again after giving them a day to recover. One of the horses seemed to thrash more than the others and appeared to pull off some sort of parasites. I wasn’t able to get a clear video, but from what I could see they seemed to be opaque, longer than flukes.

Since then I have continued dosing Prazi, tried Rid Ich, Flatworm eXit (in case this is some sort of random flatworm issue), FWDs, and have since lowered my salinity to 1.17 and added Methylene blue to help with oxygen levels and try to counter bacteria/fungus. I’ve also done two 25% water changes to make sure my water quality isn’t suffering with all the dosing.

I was feeling like things were turning around, but had a really itchy horse I had to FWD. I am not sure at this point what to do. I’ve tried everything I can think of but I’m still not sure what I’m battling at this point. Anyone have ideas about what could put up this kind of fight?

I should mention all sea horses are eating and one pair even deposited eggs in the middle of all this. I want to make sure I don’t lose any of the 9 I have left.

 

[Reefing102]

@Dr. Reef @HumbleFish @vlangel @VWD

Any thoughts on this? I’m not skilled with seahorses at all

 

[vlangel]

I bought 12 dwarf seahorses a month ago from a site. I took a general banner about offering captive bred seahorses to include their dwarfs. They have told me they are wild caught which explains the issues I’m trying to treat.

About a week or two after owning them and a few of them going missing, I noticed several of them scratching. Research told me this was likely a parasite that needed to be treated with Prazi Pro and freshwater dips.

I started with FWDs and saw some thrashing but no parasites. It seemed to stop the itching for a day or so before it came back. At that point I dosed Prazi Pro at 1tsp per 10 gallons. Itching stopped for about three days. When it came back at 3 days, I pulled all the horses and did FWDs in combo with h2o2 dips (less than 10 seconds in my palm at 3%). I also dosed Prazi again after giving them a day to recover. One of the horses seemed to thrash more than the others and appeared to pull off some sort of parasites. I wasn’t able to get a clear video, but from what I could see they seemed to be opaque, longer than flukes.

Since then I have continued dosing Prazi, tried Rid Ich, Flatworm eXit (in case this is some sort of random flatworm issue), FWDs, and have since lowered my salinity to 1.17 and added Methylene blue to help with oxygen levels and try to counter bacteria/fungus. I’ve also done two 25% water changes to make sure my water quality isn’t suffering with all the dosing.

I was feeling like things were turning around, but had a really itchy horse I had to FWD. I am not sure at this point what to do. I’ve tried everything I can think of but I’m still not sure what I’m battling at this point. Anyone have ideas about what could put up this kind of fight?

I should mention all sea horses are eating and one pair even deposited eggs in the middle of all this. I want to make sure I don’t lose any of the 9 I have left.

I am not real knowledgeable on dwarf ponies because I only kept H erectus. I am guessing that setting up a UV sterilizer is either impossible or not practical. It only deals with parasites in the free swim stage but can definitely help cut down the density.

I could look in some of my info and see if copper is safe for dwarf seahorses. I have found it more effective than prazipro.

In the meantime, keep your water quality up as much as possible. I know feeding the live artemia contributes to bacteria and parasites. I would wash the artemia before feeding your herd to cut down on pathogens.

 

[VWD]

I don’t want to give any advice on dwarf seahorses because I haven’t dealt with them and not one 100 % sure on what they can handle.
I agree with viangel on cleaning or sterilizing your BBS . Once I hatch them I give them a 50/50 bath of fresh salt water and hydrogen peroxide for 5 minutes then rinse and feed.
I going to try and find out if formalin is safe for dwarfs. It’s what I would try on regular seahorses if they showed a parasitic load during the fresh water bath.

 

[caseyiswinter]

Thank you @vlangel and @VWD for your ideas. I hadn’t thought of a UV sterilizer but it could be worth a try for sure. I rinse my bbs with a syringe of tank water through the siege to try and get gunk separated from them but I like the idea of using h2o2 and a longer bath. They really are filthy little things. I made the mistake of trying an in tank Hatcher when the dwarfs first got here and had a cyano outbreak almost immediately.

From my understanding dwarfs tolerate anything the larger seahorses tolerate. I’ve heard mixed things about copper but if either of you have tried it safely then I’d love to hear about it. I may put that on my list of options to try next.

I wasn’t able to attach the video directly but here is a link to my post on Reddit

https://www.reddit.com/r/ReefTank/comments/10xjyb1

Does it look like she is pulling off parasites to you? It’s hard to tell since I couldn’t get it fully in focus and there were air bubbles

 

[VWD]

I would say she pretty loaded with parasites, the parasites react to the fresh water dip and it irritates her. It killing them and should give her relief. Sometimes a good fresh water bath can do the trick.

 

[leebca]

I dosed Prazi Pro

The process/treatment you seem to have followed is that for flukes (worms). I am assuming you completed the full treatment. Praziquantel does not kill the eggs of worms. If you believe the problem to still be worms, then I only know one way forward:
Perform a Formalin bath on the infected horse(s).
Once back in their aquarium treat with Fenbendazole. Fenben kills the worms and we think it may also kill the eggs. Unless the eggs are killed,, the worms hatch and the cycle begins again. Even if Fenben doesn't kills eggs, you treat again in 7 days (the time for eggs to hatch), but before more eggs are laid).

Two approaches: 1. Seahorses tolerate treatment with formalin very well at therapeutic dosages. For a long term bath the correct dose is 15 to 25 mg/L. [Note: 25 mg/L equals 1 ml (cc) of 37% formalin per 10 gallons of water.] This is done every other day for 3 treatments.

Noga discusses using Fenbendazole to treat monogeneans (flukes) in his book Fish Disease: Diagnosis and Treatment 2nd Edition. He recommends a 12 hour bath treatment at 25 mg/L (95 mg/gallon). Heavily aerate + temp control the bath water. Fully dissolve the medication before adding fish. Fenbendazole is not easily water soluble, so I have used either ethyl alcohol or DMSO to aid with dissolving it (1 ml of DMSO is required to dissolve 10mg of Fenbendazole), but I don't know if the alcohol or DMSO is safe for dwarf seashorses.

I strongly suggest transferring the fish into a new (or sterlized) QT following each bath treatment (to prevent reinfection). You will also need to administer a second bath + transfer about a week later in order to eliminate any hatchlings. It is best to use this treatment calendar to determine when is the best time to do the second bath: Marine Parasites

2. For a short term bath (dip) the correct dose is 250 mg/L. This would equal 1 ml (cc) of 37% formalin per 1 gallon of water. This should be for about 45 minutes to 1 hour. In my opinion, formalin is a safe, effective treatment for parasitic infections in seahorses providing you don’t exceed these dosages.

Use an airstone and hitching post in either method you choose.

1. Do NOT use Formalin that has a white residue at the bottom of the bottle. White residue
indicates the presence of Paraformaldehyde which is very toxic.
2. “Formalin 3” by Kordon contains only 3% Formaldehyde. Dosing instructions will need to be modified if using this product.
• Fill a small tank with aged, aerated, dechlorinated marine water. Match the pH, temperature, and salinity to that of the tank the Seahorse is currently in.
• Add an artificial hitch and 1-2 vigorously bubbling airlines. Formalin reduces dissolved O2 so heavy aeration is required.
• Add 1ml/cc of Formalin per one gallon (3.8 liters) of tank water. Allow several minutes for the Formalin to disperse.
• Place the Seahorse into the dip water for 45-60 minutes unless it is showing signs of an adverse reaction. If the Seahorse cannot tolerate the Formalin dip, immediately move it back to the hospital tank.
• Observe the Seahorse for 24hrs for signs of improvement.

The main tank could be rid of eggs if there is a thorough sand cleaning and vacuuming of all rocks and surfaces. But taking this route is risky.

So. . .To the main aquarium or DT: Administering a regimen of Fenbendazole or Panacur will eradicate any hydroids, Aiptasia rock anemones, bristleworms, or roundworms (e.g., nematodes) from live rock or live sand, thereby rendering them completely seahorse safe. The recommended dose is 1/8 teaspoon of the horse dewormer granules (22.2% Fenbendazole) per 10 gallons of water. Dose aquarium with 1/8 teaspoon/10 gallons every other day until you have administered a total of 3 such treatments. Even one dose will usually do a fine job of eradicating worms of all kinds, but Aiptasia rock anemones and hydroids are a bit tougher, and getting rid of hatching eggs, and may require 2-3 doses to eliminate entirely.

Because Fenbendazole is essentially a de-worming agent, it will destroy any bristleworms, flat worms, roundworms or nematodes, spaghetti worms or the like. Unfortunately, this includes desirable worms such as featherdusters, tubeworms, Christmas tree worms, or fanworms as well.

Now, having written this. . .
Captive lined seahorses are especially vulnerable to parasitic infections including microsporidians, including Glugea heraldi; a myxosporidian of the genus Sphaeromyxa; fungi; ciliates, including Uronema marinum; and nematodes.

Most cases of nematode infestation are seen in wild-caught dwarf seahorses (Hippocampus zosterae). So, if these dwarf seahorses do in fact have a nematode infection the above treatment is the way to go.

However, I am not making this diagnosis. I have not seen these parasites and don't know what they are. The video provided isn't clear. A video of 1+ minutes long under white light from various side views up close would be helpful. The video can be posted to YouTube and a link to the video posted here. If you do the video before proceeding, it might be a good idea.

 

[caseyiswinter]

Thank you for all the info @leebca im hesitant to use febendazole just because I have and want to keep some corals in the tank, but if it comes to it I’ll take that route. I think you could be right that it’s possibly nematodes (which is one of the reasons I tried flatworm eXit). I have seen some long white worms on the glass that have been floating around mostly paralyzed since dosing.

I’m waiting for another bottle of Prazi to show up in the mail. I’m hoping that doing a Prazi bath every day on top of dosing the tank and doing water changes will start to pay off.

At the moment I still see some itching (though much less) and I’m doing FWDs for 12 minutes as soon as I see it.

 

[caseyiswinter]

I am still battling the unknown parasites. I thought things had improved after dosing a full gram of panacur in the tank, but I was wrong. Today I noticed my midas blenny is scratching against the back panel of the tank and biting at his tail. There was also some "coughing" like he was trying to expel gill parasites. At the same time, I noticed one of my females hanging upside down for an extended time -not hunting. She seemed weak.

I pulled her for a 10 second h202 dip and she had a strong reaction. Once I added her back to the tank, I dosed prazipro 2tsp (tank is 20 gallons). When I checked back in on her and zoomed in close with the macro lense on my camera, I could see "stuff" on her. It was hard to get it to focus enough to see exactly what it was, so in desperation I did fresh water dip with h202 added in hopes of dislodging whatever it was and getting a better look. I did get some footage but it's hard to tell exactly what it is. At one point in the video I spotted what I thought were nematodes on her, but can't find any in the dip. I did spot some very small opaque bodies at the bottom, but was unable to get zoomed in enough while keeping the camera focused. From what I could see, I don't think they are flukes or nematodes, which might explain why the multiple rounds of prazi (dosed daily for a week), the Rid Ick Plus, and the Panacur haven't stopped it.

At this point, I am almost thinking it would be better to euthanize the fish, dry out the tank, and try again later with captive bred seahorses. The kicker is that one of the males gave birth to 8 babies a few days ago, so I really couldn't go through with that.

Are there any other diseases or parasites that could be causing the itching on the seahorses and now the midas blenny? Anything that could be this hard to kill off? This is making me crazy because it seems like things are improving and then symptoms show up again so quickly. I know the reinfection will happen if not medicating at the correct rate to account for new eggs hatching, but this is crazy.

 

[leebca]

The 'coughing' as described is sometimes the reaction a fish has to a gill parasite.

I did spot some very small opaque bodies at the bottom

Did they appear to be shaped like a sesame seed?

Are there any other diseases or parasites

There are unfortunately, many. As hobbyists caring for ornamental marine life we only can address those diseases and parasites of food fishes. Only those fishes are studied closely. Most of our information and treatment options come from those studies.

There are many rare to very rare parasites for which we know little-to-nothing about. If the situation is one of 'last resort' then I would try a formalin dip.

Formalin, Praziquantel, and Fenbendazole are the only medications available to the hobbyist to address fluke/worm parasites. If none of these work, then the parasite is beyond our combat ability.

Dips as noted don't address eggs in the DT.

 

[caseyiswinter]

The 'coughing' as described is sometimes the reaction a fish has to a gill parasite.

Did they appear to be shaped like a sesame seed?

There are unfortunately, many. As hobbyists caring for ornamental marine life we only can address those diseases and parasites of food fishes. Only those fishes are studied closely. Most of our information and treatment options come from those studies.

There are many rare to very rare parasites for which we know little-to-nothing about. If the situation is one of 'last resort' then I would try a formalin dip.

Formalin, Praziquantel, and Fenbendazole are the only medications available to the hobbyist to address fluke/worm parasites. If none of these work, then the parasite is beyond our combat ability.

Dips as noted don't address eggs in the DT.

I agree that hill parasites might be an issue, but the tail biting makes me think it’s a parasite that lives on the body and gills. I couldn’t see anything on the Glenn’s externally though.

As for what I saw in the bat, they weren’t sesame shaped. I’ve been watching a lot of videos about flukes, and these seem way too small. The shape is more like a copepod but fuller bodied? They looked short and rounded at (what I assume if the head) and tapered towards the end. I couldn’t tell much from all the photos and videos I took.

It seems like I’m dealing with something that can survive formalin (in rid ich), hypo salinity (my tank was kept at 1.017 for 3 weeks), prazipro, and fenobendazole,

I know the dips will only kill the parasites on the fish, and they seem to help, but I’ve been treating the tank with all these meds and it still comes back so quickly. I haven’t lost any fish since treating, so it’s doing some good, but I worry I’m just making whatever this parasite is stronger and more difficult to kill haha.

Are there any “nuclear” options I haven’t tried that will kill anything but the fish?

 

[leebca]

Are there any “nuclear” options I haven’t tried that will kill anything but the fish?

Chloroquine Phosphate, aka CP has some use in eradicating certain metazoan (multi-celled) fish parasites. I'm not sure how seahorses would handle this. Nitrofuracin Green (NFG) is more of an antibiotic, but is also anti-protozoan. Again, I'm not sure how seahorses would handle this.

Rally Pro, by Ruby Reef contains Formalin, but its other ingredients: Acriflavine and Aminoacridine may have some effect on the parasites, but not likely.

The above is all of which I have knowledge, and other than CP the rest are not likely to work.

 

[vlangel]

Did you try a UV sterilizer? It will only kill parasites in the free swim stage but coupled with the other things you are doing it should reduce the parasitic population.

 

[caseyiswinter]

Did you try a UV sterilizer? It will only kill parasites in the free swim stage but coupled with the other things you are doing it should reduce the parasitic population.

I have not yet because I was waiting to see if the fenbendazole was going to work. I’m trying to find a good one now that will fit in the back compartment of the tank. So far it’s looking like I’d have to remove my skimmer to get one to fit. If you know of any good and small one lmk!

 

[leebca]

There are a variety of Inside Aquarium UV Filters on Amazon.