Intestinal parasites? Please Help

[Craig Lambert]

I have two true perculas that have been in my 75G display tank for 3 weeks, and both (on occassion) exibit one of the symptoms of intestinal parasites. Every few days they will have stringy white poop. They show no other signs. They are very active swimmers and excellent eaters. I have a QT tank set up to treat them with metronidazole, but there is no way in hell I can catch either of them. I'm tempted just to give them garlic soaked food and see if they recover on their own. (In the event they actually have something). There is only one other fish in the tank (a royal gramma), so they really aren't under any stress. It's a 75G with a 100 lbs lr. What should I do?

 

[leebca]

I sympathize with the dilemma of having to catch a fish that may have brought in a disease to your display tank. That's one reason to have a good quarantine process.

There are three possibilities when it comes to an internal parasite. This reference outlines the three:
http://www.petsforum.com/personal/trevor-jones/internalinfections.html

I'd do the easiest/least stressful treatment first, unless you know for sure what kind of intestinal parasite you are dealing with. The drug Praziquantel (a.k.a. droncit) will treat intestinal worms, Maracyn Two for Saltwater fish will treat an internal bacterial infection and Metronidazole (for dinoflagellate infections).

Since the application of Praziquantel is by oral/food, the fish doesn't have to be removed from the display for this treatment. However, this med usually only attacks worms and, surprisingly, many fish come to us from the wild with these worms.

At this point, the diet must be top quality, along with the water quality to reduce stress and provide the best nutrition. The diet needs to include supplements as outlined here:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=785228

So, give: improved diet; improved water quality; food with supplements; and dosing with Praziquantel a try first. Some threads to read:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=644238