formalin effectiveness on flukes?

[flameangel88]

I've always used prazipro for flukes and it worked everytime. Out of curiosity and wanted to know how effective is formalin dip, and running formalin in the system that vendors/lfs use to rid of flukes when they get new shipment in?

Thanks in advance for any info on this matter.

 

[kevin2000]

I give all my fish a formalin bath before they go into the QT ... appears to be very effective in eliminating a number of external parasites including flukes. I am unaware of any LFS that uses formalin in their systems .... hard to maintain in proper concentration and I suspect their would be some reservation about using formaldehyde on a regular basis.

 

[flameangel88]

kevin2000:

Thanks for the reply. I got a 2.75" Regal angel in this morning and after acclimation I saw the Regal started to scratch its head against the rock a couple of times and I did a 4 minutes FW dip to see if there's any flukes. This is what I saw in the cup and everything I seen online this match flukes and hope I didn't treat the wrong thing in the past.

Is this flukes?

Since the FW dip I haven't seen the angel scratch but on the safe side I will do another FW dip tomorrow to check again. Please disregard below if above is NOT flukes.

I emailed the pictures to the online vendor and the reply back was whether this is fish scales because he can't tell from the pictures. Also stated that all his fish get a formalin dip, and he run formalin in his system. 'Not sure how flukes could survive?'

My question:
If formalin is effective against flukes then why am I still getting flukes on the FW dip?

 

[chrisstie]

I feel formalin should be used in conjuntion with FW dip. When livestock come into my LFS they do a ~2min FW dip (depends on the fish, stress level for the amount of time) and a ~30 min SW dip in a solution of formalin and methyl blue.

Flame- those definitely look like flukes. They flake off like tiny white potato chips. The above method helps to peel away the flukes and soothe the skin where they were sucking and prevent infection.

I hope this tidbit helps at all

 

[flameangel88]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12917789#post12917789 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by chrisstie
I feel formalin should be used in conjuntion with FW dip. When livestock come into my LFS they do a ~2min FW dip (depends on the fish, stress level for the amount of time) and a ~30 min SW dip in a solution of formalin and methyl blue.

Flame- those definitely look like flukes. They flake off like tiny white potato chips. The above method helps to peel away the flukes and soothe the skin where they were sucking and prevent infection.

I hope this tidbit helps at all

chrisstie--thanks for the reply. I wanted a confirmation that it's really flukes before taking it out again if needed to be for another FW dip or use Prazipro which worked every time in the past. This little guy is so beautiful yet so sensitive I just want to do the right thing without it going through too much stress.

Thanks again.

Here are 2 pictures I took yesterday

 

[billsreef]

Those are definitely flukes and not fish scales. As for formalin, it can be very effective when properly administered. If he's running constant 24x7 formalin, he's not using it right

 

[flameangel88]

Bill,
Thanks for the reply. I'll treat accordingly when I get home tonight.
Kevin

 

[Luis A M]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12918563#post12918563 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by billsreef
Those are definitely flukes and not fish scales. As for formalin, it can be very effective when properly administered. If he's running constant 24x7 formalin, he's not using it right

But Bill,long term treatment with formalin is widely used...
You know how fast it dissapears from treated water and must be dosed again?.
The short term bath is not practical in conditions such as aquaculture where many fish must be treated.

 

[billsreef]

Louis,

I'm quite aware of formalin dosing regimens in aquaculture, it's what I do For prolonged immersion, dosage is every other day, not daily It does dissipate pretty fast. With flukes, while a pain the backside with lots of fish and multiple tanks, short term 1 hour baths still work well. Just drain drain the tanks to a determined low volume, treat, than restore full flow Easy as turning on a valve

 

[Luis A M]

Thanks,Bill,makes sense Giving the short bath in their tank will save the catching-moving burden and plus allows for treatment of the tank as well.Only that dose for a short bath is ten times that of long term.Will this affect the nitro bacteriae,or formalin is quickly removed by system´s carbon?

 

[billsreef]

Hi Louis,

Yup, that short term bath is a lot of formalin. Yes, a good load of carbon will remove it fairly quickly. In my case, I get to just turn on a SW tap and do a massive water change

 

[LargeAngels]

This is the reason EVERY SINGLE fish of mine gets 2 treatments of Prazipro before it sees any of my tanks.

 

[baobao]

Could you guys pitch in on 1) procedure to use Prazipro & Formalin before fish go into tanks? (Quantiy of medication/gallon SW); 2) If you discover fish has fluke, then you need to medicate the tank, rather than a preventive bath. In that case, how much prazipro/formalin do you suggest?

 

[jnc914]

For Prazi-Pro it is 1 teaspoon for every 20 gallons. Depending on what formalin you use ( I personally use Kordon Formalin 3) dosage will vary. With Formalin 3, because it is a lower percentage of formalin, you dose 2 teaspoons for every gallon for a short term bath. I basically expect Large Angels, Butterflies, and now small angels to come in with fluke or some other parasite and treat as such in my QT. Maybe its because I was less informed on fluke in the past, but it just seems like this is more prevalent in the hobby now?

 

[baobao]

Jason,

When you state 1 teaspoon for every 20 gallons, I assume you are referring to how you treat your QT? Before fish go in QT, do they go through a bath?

 

[flameangel88]

That amount is for dosing QT/DT. I think I use 1.5 oz (I can't remember the exact am't per the instruction) for 180g. I give it about 1/4 tsp while drip acclimating the new arrivals for about 1.5 hour.

 

[jnc914]

I acclimate new arrivals in an aerated 5 gallon bucket. After the acclimation period I will discard half of the water. I then dose two teasponns of formalin 3 to what is left in the bucket (approx. 2.5-3 gallons). I let them in that solution for 55 minutes (I yes I am neurotic enough to use a cooking timer). After that they go into a clean QT. For the first several days i run a skimmer on the QT and some ozone to make the water as clean as possible which also helped to get fish to eat IME. After they are eating I remove the skimmer and ozone and dose with Prazi for a week. I do a 50% water change and redose with Prazi for an additional week. I run carbon to remove the Prazi, hok up the skimmer and observe for the rest of the QT period for other parasites. HTH.