Is Dylox 80 effective against velvet, ich and brook as well as anchor worms, etc?

[sugartooth]

Hello,

I have a Laoutei that was being treated for ich using hypo. Feeding and behavior have been good going into the third week. For the last 2 days, something has been off.

I looked closer, and realized something was very wrong. The scales along the back and sides are raised like a pinecone. I couldn't tell until I saw her when she was resting, when I got a view from above.

So right away I did a formalin bath (45 min) then freshwater formalin dip for 13 minutes. Nothing really came off in formalin, but as soon as she hit the freshwater, some transparent, long shapes fell off of her. These were large, about an inch in length.

I couldn't get a picture, it seems they are so thin, they kind of melted? Also, one of these long flat shapes had a tan 'squiggly' in it. Like ramen noodles squiggly.

I saw another strangely shaped 'squiggly', it was similar to mini strand of pearls, and somewhat stiff. Again, very large, about an inch and a half total.

So, I put the Laboutei back in the tank with a 20% water change.
I brought the salinity back up to 1.014, today I will raise it again to target 1.018-1.019.

I dosed a product call De-Los which is Dlyox 80 to treat external parasites.

TOday, she has white dots on her like ich. Now I'm wondering if it's actually velvet? Respiration is very labored and she is not responsive when approaching the tank.


Will De-Los take care of it if it's velvet? If not, can I dose copper with it?

Thanks in advance for the help. I would like to act fast.

 

[fishyvet]

First, it sounds like your fish had some kind of fluke which fell off with the FW dip. Dylox 80 is for treating predacious zooplankton and amphipods. It dosen't sound like your fish has any one of these so I would discontinue it. Dylox 80 is a nasty compound. I trust you are taking appropriate safety precautions.

Second, and more seriously, the pine cone appearance is indicative of Dropsy. There is rarely a defined etiology for the disease but poor tank conditions and a bacterial infection of the kidneys have been implicated. Regardless of the cause, most fish with dropsy die. Try to maintain optimum tank conditions. The bacterial component can be treated with tetracycline or chloramphenacol.

You can use copper for the white spots but I would not do it with the Dylox... I do not know how the chemicals would interact. Also, be careful if you start copper before your salinity is back to normal. You'll need to keep a close watch on your alkalinity to make sure the copper dose isn't toxic.

 

[sugartooth]

Thank you again.

I just found the laboutei dead. I too thought it was some sort of fluke, but it was so big and long I didn't feel confident what it was. I chose it (De-Los from National Fish Pharmaceuticals) because it said it was wide acting the description was:

For control of anchor worms, lice, gill flukes and assorted external parasites on freshwater, Koi and marine tropical fish.

I thought it was my best bet. Unfortunately, I thought copper was nastier than this product, so I chose this product instead. I did use gloves to make up the med and dose. But I lapsed in judgement when I yanked out my dead laboutei, saddened.
I only washed my hands with soap and water afterwards.

I also misled myself, thinking the pinecone appearance was due to the parasite being lodged in between the scales instead of thinking it was dropsy. Can this be transferred to another tank easily? Or does it take prolonged exposure?


The tank was a 75 gallon bare bottom (a little bit of sand I couldn't get out of there from netting) with 2 powerheads and an established biowheel. Also a heater. The laboutei was the only fish in there.

 

[fishyvet]

Dropsy typically affects fish in a weakened condition. I would think that it would not be easily transfered to an established tank with fish with a good immune system.

Sorry for your loss.

 

[fishyvet]

dp