Ich in 20 Gallan FOWLR

[desjardinii]

I've left things be and now it's come back and bitten half of my fish really hard -and these are well conditioned fish that have lived with Ich for years. Something's happened to trigger an epidemic but I'm not sure what. I have not added any livestock or LR for several years. I'd notice a few spots here and there or the odd fish scratch but nothing major ever eventuated from it and they'd appear totally free of Ich for months on end so I thought as they don't die, leaving them alone would be less stressful than treating them. Now my luck's ran out and I reckon I'm going to pay the price.

 

[microlady]

Great. I'm trying to being optimistic about this, but your post isn't helping. lol

 

[GilroyC]

Well, the good news is the my OC Clownfish have begun eating....However, since, last evening, I have noticed that the smaller of the 2 floats around the filter with it's head down and tail up....Is this normal?....He eats less as compared to the bigger CF....If the powerhead(am just using a small streamer/wave maker) is on he stays in this position, however, when turned off, he occasionally, decides to swim around and go back to his desired spot and float head down....They have not taken to the PVC I have in the QT and just ignores the same.

Please advise....No sign of any diseases or spots and although, they're small, they're definitely not starving and seem to look healthy.

 

[GilroyC]

Also, how good is the SALIFERT Test Kits....I have had the fish in QT for 5 days now, and the Total Ammonia(NH3 + NH4) shows "0", while as per the JBL Test Kit, Ammonium(NH4) @ .1 & Nitrite @ .1

I do however, change the water every 2 days, now, as there still seems to be copper traces of .1 showing in the tank....I just don't want to lose my clowns and until the next 21 days, will observe them for any diseases and appropriately treat.....Don't plan to bring in any more fish, except for Shrimp, Hermit Crab & Corals.

 

[desjardinii]

Great. I'm trying to being optimistic about this, but your post isn't helping. lol

Sorry about that, I hope it works out for you.

 

[microlady]

Thanks. You too!

It is possible that I'm not battling ich and maybe it's some other tiny crustacean parasite, or even flukes. Only time will tell and so far the fish are doing well. I don't see any spots today actually.

 

[GilroyC]

So my Clownfish have been in QT 1 Week, with having the Cupramine Treatment aborted(lost the Yellow Angel during this time)....Around 2 days back, the clowns began eating and are swimming and breathing fine.

Issue: I have noticed a lot of itching and scratching with my clowns and a massive head shake as if trying to knock off something....No visible spots or anything....However, the larger of the 2 would sometime swim over to the corner of the tank and sit there for around 5 mins or so before swimming again...She also, tends to clide her mouth against the bare bottom tank for a good 5-10 mins....

Questions:

1. What does these symtoms apply to?
2. What does Seachem Paraguard help with...More specifically, would it defeat Flukes and all the diseases mentioned on the website? Could it be used with Hyposalanity Treatment as a broadband antibiotic or should I treat using both methods separately?

Currently, am in the dark, cause am not sure what I'm treating for, hence, am not sure to wait or proceed with treatment....

PLEASE ADVISE URGENTLY

 

[GilroyC]

Would anyone know why my ph dropped from 7.8 to 7.5 in my QT...It took me by up rise and am not sure what I did or what caused it to go down...Ammonia: 0 and Nitrite: .1

The fish seems fine, but the drop in ph is scary.

 

[ThRoewer]

Head shaking and scratching the operculum without showing the typical white dots of ich may indicate gill flukes.
In this case I would give PraziPro a try.

The pH drop is likely caused by bacterial activity (the good ones) without calcium containing substrate around to neutralize the acids they produce.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

 

[GilroyC]

Hello ThRoewer,

Unfortunately, Prazipro isn't available at my LFS...they're into all Seachem products hence, the only fish disease meds I currently have is Cupramine & Paraguard....Will be adding Formalin to inventory as well.

Would Paraguard assist with fighting flukes(gills & body)? Is it the same as Prazipro? If yes, then could start the treatment immediately.

 

[ThRoewer]

To my knowledge PraziPro is the only ready to use product containing Praziquantel, which is one of the most effective de-wormers and anti-fluke medications.
Copper or hyposalinity may work as well with many marine "fluke" species.
You can get PraziPro at Amazon.com

 

[microlady]

I think Paraguard has something similar to formalin, but I could be wrong. Look it up to be sure. I wouldn't use it in the display.

 

[Deinonych]

I think Paraguard has something similar to formalin, but I could be wrong. Look it up to be sure. I wouldn't use it in the display.

It's a related compound - glutaraldehyde, with some malachite green added. Definitely wouldn't use it in the DT.

 

[GilroyC]

Fish are in QT....The DT is fallow and am not medicatin the DT in any which way....I went out to 3 different FS and none have Prazipro....However, did speak to the FS HO in DXB and inquired about the Paraguard....They say if dosed correctly for a minimum of 4 weeks, the medication would take care of a lot of diseases including flukes....Hence, will give it a shot starting today and if I don't find any stress to my clowns will continue the 4 week course.

 

[LargeAngels]

IME copper and hypo does NOT kill flukes. Prazipro does. I dont have any experience with Paraguard. You can check for flukes by doing a FW dip in a clear container.

 

[ThRoewer]

IME copper and hypo does NOT kill flukes. Prazipro does. I dont have any experience with Paraguard. You can check for flukes by doing a FW dip in a clear container.

The issue is that there are tens of thousands of "fluke" species in several quite distinct genera and not all are sensitive to the same countermeasures.

These guys are different from ich, velvet, brook, uronema,... which are only single species of parasites.

So you really can't make blanket statements about "flukes" as each species may be different.
Even freshwater dipping doesn't always work.

 

[LargeAngels]

Ok. Let me rephrase it for you. The "most" common flukes I see in the aquarium trade are NOT affected by copper and DO respond to FW dips most of the time and are treatable with Prazipro. Especially the ones I've seen out of some of the wholesalers in LA. I know they are different from ich, brook.

I wasn't making a blanket statement. Please reread the post. I was stating my experience.

 

[GilroyC]

Update: while my clownfish are in QT undergoing a preventive measure (I. E. am dosing the QT with Seachem Paraguard), there has been no itching or scratching since, the last 3 days...am planning to dose the Paraguard for a period of 4 weeks and then observe another 4 weeks...at the end of it the DT would have remained fallow for 10 weeks total...Although, I wouldn't mind going an extra 2 weeks to complete a 90 day fallow period.

However, at present I have another issue. While, there has not been any presence of Ammonia, my Nitrites are reading @ 5.0, while Nitrate @ 40 ppm...Is this normal? I have done an immediate 50% water change (twice this week), however, my test kits continue to produce dangerous reading...The fish though are eating, swimming and breathing fine...sometimes, I find the lagree of the clownfish breathing slightly heavy, but then it seems fine the next day...Can prime be used with Paraguard?..

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[GilroyC]

I am currently using a test kit by NT Labs, as the Salient and JBL reagents are over are are OOS at my LFS...Not sure whether the test kit is good or bad...the same is currently being used by my LFS as well.

 

[Mishri]

nitrite and nitrate don't harm saltwater fishes.. not at those levels.. would need to be in the 100s ppm to have any effect on them. (well beyond what your tests can read) low nitrite/nitrate is important for corals though... but even softies like nitrates in the 40-60+ range.. I wouldn't bother testing nitrite/nitrate in a fish QT tank unless you were just curious... ph, salinity, ammonia is pretty much it.

Hope the paraguard works for you, i'd recommend ordering some prazipro online for any future events.