My plan for fluke eradication

[George9]

I'm pretty sure I've been dealing with flukes on my new arrivals(thanks blue zoo!!), they finished a copper treatment for ich (which they also had) and they continued to twitch and scratch with no white spots appearing after a week or so. A FW dip confirmed there were a few flukes as well.

It's been a month and I'd really like to get these fish into the main tank to reduce stress.

My plan is to treat with prazi to kill most flukes (already did this once, but they're back), then when they don't show symptoms, I'll acclimate them to the main tank, then freshwater dip them and place the fish directly into the main tank water. Will doing a fw dip before adding the fish 100% ensure there are no flukes entering the main tank? That's the one thing I'm iffy on with this.


Thanks

 

[lagatbezan]

It is best to do two rounds of prazipro a week apart. This way you kill the eggs that hatch as well. Some even do a third round. And then observe for a couple of weeks, then add to DT.

 

[HumbleFish]

Will doing a fw dip before adding the fish 100% ensure there are no flukes entering the main tank?

No. And I would not even consider moving the fish to your DT until you get this figured out/knocked out in QT.

I would treat with Prazi, wait 5 days, do a 25% WC, and then treat with Prazi again. Doing the second treatment is very important because Prazi (and f/w dips) only kill the worms, but not any eggs they leave behind. Doing the second treatment 5 days later is also very important, because you are timing it just right so that you knock out the "next generation" before they can lay eggs of their own.

It's rare, but sometimes you may encounter a strain of flukes which are resistant to prazi. For those, you will need to do formalin baths. But you won't know if you've got those until you first treat as outlined above. And then I suggest you talk to Newsmyrna80; she's our resident flukes expert.

 

[snorvich]

No. And I would not even consider moving the fish to your DT until you get this figured out/knocked out in QT.

I would treat with Prazi, wait 5 days, do a 25% WC, and then treat with Prazi again. Doing the second treatment is very important because Prazi (and f/w dips) only kill the worms, but not any eggs they leave behind. Doing the second treatment 5 days later is also very important, because you are timing it just right so that you knock out the "next generation" before they can lay eggs of their own.

It's rare, but sometimes you may encounter a strain of flukes which are resistant to prazi. For those, you will need to do formalin baths. But you won't know if you've got those until you first treat as outlined above. And then I suggest you talk to Newsmyrna80; she's our resident flukes expert.

I agree with all suggestions. And about our "flukes expert".

 

[Newsmyrna80]

Awwww, shucks You are too kind
George9, I would definitely do at least 2 more rounds of Prazi. When you did the dip and saw the flukes were you able to tell what kind they were? One of the hardest things with flukes is confirmation of eradication due to the fact that a fish will continue to scratch as it skin continues to heal. After you have done 2 more rounds of Prazi I would wait at least 4 weeks after the last day of the second dose and perform another FW dip. I know four weeks is a long time but it takes 19 days for a fluke to reach maturation where it will lay eggs. It then takes 4 days for the eggs to hatch and a few more days for the oncomiridium to begin developing into a specimen that you will be able to see/identify in the FW process. The timeline is based on a water temp of 78 degrees. This should catch any fluke that gets by the Prazi. While Prazi is a very good product some, including myself, have found it is not 100% effective.
Your other option, as Humblefish mentioned, is formalin. However, you would still have to wait the fluke cycle out to verify eradication.
What kind of fish are in the QT?

 

[snorvich]

Awwww, shucks You are too kind

Not kind, just recognizing expertise when we find it! :celeb3:

 

[George9]

My plan for fluke eradication

man you really are the fluke expert, I think you advised me on my last fluke situation too good thing my main tank is clear this time!!! thank god for quarantine

I have a flame angel, raccoon butterfly and a tiny blue tang.

I went ahead and freshwater dipped the angel because she needed some relief ASAP, I saw a bunch of "flakes" In the tub, like large dandruff.


None of them are scratching or twitching now, but their respiration (especially the angel) is fast. I dosed prazi again today.

Last time I dealt with flukes, I had to use clout (which worked really fast, but was really hard on the fish), because prazi didn't work. But this time the prazi seems to have a greater effect.

I didn't know fish will scratch while they heal, that is great to know

 

[Newsmyrna80]

Not kind, just recognizing expertise when we find it! :celeb3:

You are making blush But you know the old saying....Know thy enemy:reading:

 

[Newsmyrna80]

man you really are the fluke expert, I think you advised me on my last fluke situation too good thing my main tank is clear this time!!! thank god for quarantine

I have a flame angel, raccoon butterfly and a tiny blue tang.

I went ahead and freshwater dipped the angel because she needed some relief ASAP, I saw a bunch of "flakes" In the tub, like large dandruff.


None of them are scratching or twitching now, but their respiration (especially the angel) is fast. I dosed prazi again today.

Last time I dealt with flukes, I had to use clout (which worked really fast, but was really hard on the fish), because prazi didn't work. But this time the prazi seems to have a greater effect.

I didn't know fish will scratch while they heal, that is great to know

Glad I could offer some help Sounds like the big flakes are neobenedenia which is extremely common in saltwater aquaria. Unfortunately all 3 species of fish are highly susceptible to neobenedenia. I fought flukes for 6 months on my flame angel. I started with Prazi then went to formalin dips. Recently I bought a royal gramma that had flukes and after 2 rounds of Prazi they are gone so it can/does work.
As far as the scratching the fluke digs its' haptors (which are hooks) into the fish's skin so it doesn't get knocked off. The insertion site on the fish takes a while to heal. And just like our skin it itches while it's healing.

 

[George9]

My plan for fluke eradication

Flukes are the worst. My last case I also dealt with for 6 months, and the only survivor was my clown who is happy back in his home

But I'm crossing my fingers that the flame angel starts breathing more normally in the next couple days. She doesn't eat much at all like she used to.

These guys deserve a good home it's a shame so many become infected with various parasites before they make it to the aquarist

 

[George9]

Do you think prazipro would make HLLE worse? Because that's what the angel has as well, I forgot to mention. I messed up with cheap crap carbon. All of this at once has been really hard on her.

 

[Newsmyrna80]

Has her breathing settled down since her FW dip? It may take her a day or two to settle down. It took my gramma a couple of days before she would even look at me
I haven't seen any reports of Prazi causing HLLE and IME it did not. Are you offering her any Nori?

 

[George9]

Usually she eats 90% NLS, so I dont feed nori too often, but when I do she doesnt eat much of it, if any at all.

Hopefully shell take to NLS pellets again soon when shes feeling up to it

 

[Newsmyrna80]

It's good she's eating even if it is just a little. I had a hard time getting my angel to eat Nori but I soaked it in a little garlic and she ate it. I then started adding just a tiny bit of Selcon and she seems to like it.
While there is still quite a bit of debate of what actually causes HLLE some have said an unbalanced diet can be a culprit. Grazing on algae is part of an angels' diet so maybe this is contributing to her problem. I don't know...just throwing it out there

 

[George9]

I tried some nori just now and everyone perked up! something I havent seen in them ever, im glad theyre taking to nori. Ive been meaning to find some veggie pellets for them. The angel almost took a pellet, but didnt quite eat it. And the tang only eats what the angek tries first lol. maybe tomorrow they'll be hungry for some more nls since its probably the best for them

They all are looking healthier and happier today, even though I know they arent healthy, its good to see they look better

 

[Newsmyrna80]

Good to hear!

 

[George9]

Hopefully they will continue to improve with the prazi! Today everyone looks completely normal, their coloring has dramatically improved and they're eating pellets again. But they are starting to scratch, which I now know could be a good thing, meaning they're healing

 

[Newsmyrna80]

Could be..just keep an eye on their breathing and appetite. If there is any change I would do a FW dip to confirm flukes. If no flukes in dip I would continue to monitor in QT. Hopefully you have beaten this scourge.

 

[George9]

Thanks for your help!

 

[George9]

So far so good. No sign of flukes anymore. Good color, appetite is decent. I can't wait to get them to their new home. The flame angel and tang both have HLLE (my fault, thinking it's the carbon) and the tangs HLLE is getting a little worse. I've been feeding NLS, frozen food and upping the algae sheets until I can move them to the main tank where they will be happy.

Going to observe for another week, then do a FW dip on all of them to see where I'm at with these flukes.