Mysterious fish deaths are more common now (Flukes)
- Thread starter cthetoy
- Start date
dreaminmel
New member
Tanya,
The PraziPro instructions involve a dosage of 1tsp per 20 gallons for 5-7 days. If you found an acceptable way to keep the fish in the bucket for that length of time without compromising it's water quality then perhaps there's a way you could do this. I don't normally have room for a QT tank but since this experience I have a 30 gallon on standby that I can pull out of storage, throw a filter, heater and powerhead in and deal with it for a month or two depending on what I'm treating the new fish for. All that takes is an extra outlet and a couple square feet of space. Then once done just put it back into storage in a closet or basement. I know that some NYC living spaces can be quite confined but the couple months of inconvenience could end up saving the lives of your 9 year old fish some day.
The PraziPro instructions involve a dosage of 1tsp per 20 gallons for 5-7 days. If you found an acceptable way to keep the fish in the bucket for that length of time without compromising it's water quality then perhaps there's a way you could do this. I don't normally have room for a QT tank but since this experience I have a 30 gallon on standby that I can pull out of storage, throw a filter, heater and powerhead in and deal with it for a month or two depending on what I'm treating the new fish for. All that takes is an extra outlet and a couple square feet of space. Then once done just put it back into storage in a closet or basement. I know that some NYC living spaces can be quite confined but the couple months of inconvenience could end up saving the lives of your 9 year old fish some day.
I am gonna ask the retailer to do it for me and see what he says. I wish I had somewhere for one.
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cthetoy
Active member
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14261654#post14261654 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by hobogato
has anyone had success or studied effectiveness of biological methods (ie cleaner wrasses or cleaner shrimp) in removing flukes from an infested tank? does anyone know if cleaner wrasses or cleaner shrimp will actually eat the flukes?
great thread btw
I don't think cleaner wrasses or cleaner shrimps will be effective at all in removing flukes. Flukes dig quite deep under the scales or gills. That's why flukes are so hard to see and diagnose on the fish unlike ich and velvet which are quite visible.
eagleONE
New member
I have this wrasse that has getting skinner even with 3x feeding. I also noticed he had stringy poo. After reading this, I wanted to see if I got this all straight.
1. Perform a water change and turn skimmer off
2. Add 1/2 the dosage of Prazipro
3. Add the other half next day if fishes are feeding
4. Water change throughout? daily?
I have roughly 35g net volume and tank full of sps. I wanted to add to the display because if one fish displays symptoms the other must as well and there might be possible eggs around.
1. Perform a water change and turn skimmer off
2. Add 1/2 the dosage of Prazipro
3. Add the other half next day if fishes are feeding
4. Water change throughout? daily?
I have roughly 35g net volume and tank full of sps. I wanted to add to the display because if one fish displays symptoms the other must as well and there might be possible eggs around.
Last edited:
In one of my reef fish behavior books, it states that cleaner shrimp and fish don't eat parasites on purpose, they are actually removing dead skin and mucus and fish come back because they like the feeling. Some large fish such as parrotfish display the same behavior while sitting in gorgonians flowing against their bodies. They have also shown other fish to display the cleaning colors while being touched in the aquarium. HTH, this cool thread.
cthetoy
Active member
Everything is correct except #4. I will do a 50% water change after 3-5 days and redose Prazipro. After 10 days you can remove the Prazipro with carbon, water changes, etc. When you restart your protein skimmer the skimmer will most likely overflow so keep an eye on it.
Also shake the bottle very well and use it immediately since the contents settle rather quickly
Thanks for those who attempted to make this Thread of the Month.
Since this is an open thread to the public feel free to post your experiences, suggestions and answers
djfrankie
In Memoriam
Thanks for bringing this to the light.
Ever since reading this thread I've been using Prazipro in my LFS on a weekly basis and my fish survival has greatly increased and my customers are very happy.
The quality of fish being imported into the country is very poor so I would suggest everyone to always quarantine your newly bought specimen and give it a shot or two of this dewormer.
djfrankie
djfrankie
In Memoriam
Look into Brookynella as well. Mostly clownfishes are the ones who get it, but I also treat other fish that show this symptom as well. You can easily treat it with Kordon's kick ick in a hospital tank.
Let me know if you need more info on how to do it since I don't want to take away from this thread.
djfrankie
cthetoy
Active member
On newly arrived fish I still FW dip them (5 min). Make sure the temp matches in the FW Flukes are still out there. One was on a juvi Imperator Angel and a friend of mine had it on his Regal Angel. Both fish looked healthy and eating and still in the bag straight from the wholesalers. Had I not treated them with Prazipro and these fish would perish in a few months or longer This puzzles most reefers on why their fish dies after being healthy and eating for a few months
I treat fish with Prazipro after they have been in my quarantine tank after 2-3 days and eating. Dose 1/2 strength of Prazipro (shake bottle vigourously as instructed). If fish looks healthy and eating dose the other half. After 3-5 days perform a large water change and redose Prazipro by the amount of water changed. After 7-10 days your fish can go in the main tank providing they don't have ich or velvet.
sabazerehi
Active member
how can i tell if a new fish has flukes or fin & tail rot? i got a new melanurus wrasse that's in my qt and it's fins are a little raggedy, it's eating (not that aggressively though) and has been in there about 3 days. should i treat with prazipro just in case as stated above? i want to make sure i use the appropriate medication. also there's a midas blenny in there.
my2rotties
New member
I am so glad I found this thread. I have lost two angels a Majestic and Emperor to a mysterious illness and could not find the cause. When I came across this thread I took my dead fish out of the freezer and put them in fresh water... it was full of flukes.
All my tangs, dwarf angel and other fish are fine but my Queen angel is now displaying these same symptoms. I am having difficulty catching the little guy and if I treated him, he would just get the disease again.
I have a full reef tank and was worried about treating the entire tank, but feel that I don't have much of a choice. I am posting to bump this up to the top again in hopes of more people trying to treat the entire system. I don't have a QT tank but can put any questionable corals and such in a 10g if needed.
I wish I knew more about this parasite before losing my two angels and not treating them with the right meds. I am finding the Prazipro difficult to find at this point., but if I need to order it online I will do so...
Thanks for posting this most helpful and life saving topic... wish I had found it sooner.
All my tangs, dwarf angel and other fish are fine but my Queen angel is now displaying these same symptoms. I am having difficulty catching the little guy and if I treated him, he would just get the disease again.
I have a full reef tank and was worried about treating the entire tank, but feel that I don't have much of a choice. I am posting to bump this up to the top again in hopes of more people trying to treat the entire system. I don't have a QT tank but can put any questionable corals and such in a 10g if needed.
I wish I knew more about this parasite before losing my two angels and not treating them with the right meds. I am finding the Prazipro difficult to find at this point., but if I need to order it online I will do so...
Thanks for posting this most helpful and life saving topic... wish I had found it sooner.
Emperor Angelfish showing similar symptoms
Emperor Angelfish showing similar symptoms
Hi there!
I am very new to this (and new to the site), but been following this thread and it's been really helpful! And you have a great site, thanks for all the helpful and great info.
Here's my situation - I have an emperor angel, still fairly juvenile but in 'adult color mode', about 3-4 inches. I got him back in January, so going on 3 months. He eats great, swims a lot, great color, even grunts! But he's been getting cloudy eyes (more on one) since day 1, getting better then getting worse each time. Right now it's pretty bad, where he can't even see very well.
Did a 3min FW dip, but they came back. I try to avoid medicine where possible, and keep good quality water. My specs: 90 gall, other fish, clown trigger, banner, dogfish, lionfish. They're fine but trigger occasionally gets some marks in the eye (uh oh). And banner is flicking off the trigger. Angel flicks head a lot but eye is main problem. Can't check quality right now but last i checked yesterday was 0 Ammonia 0 Nitrite and a little Nitrate, about 8.1 Ph. About 60 pounds of live rock too.
So how do i fix this if flukes and if possibly a tank infestation? I dont want to lose all my live rock and sand! Thanks!
Emperor Angelfish showing similar symptoms
Hi there!
I am very new to this (and new to the site), but been following this thread and it's been really helpful! And you have a great site, thanks for all the helpful and great info.
Here's my situation - I have an emperor angel, still fairly juvenile but in 'adult color mode', about 3-4 inches. I got him back in January, so going on 3 months. He eats great, swims a lot, great color, even grunts! But he's been getting cloudy eyes (more on one) since day 1, getting better then getting worse each time. Right now it's pretty bad, where he can't even see very well.
Did a 3min FW dip, but they came back. I try to avoid medicine where possible, and keep good quality water. My specs: 90 gall, other fish, clown trigger, banner, dogfish, lionfish. They're fine but trigger occasionally gets some marks in the eye (uh oh). And banner is flicking off the trigger. Angel flicks head a lot but eye is main problem. Can't check quality right now but last i checked yesterday was 0 Ammonia 0 Nitrite and a little Nitrate, about 8.1 Ph. About 60 pounds of live rock too.
So how do i fix this if flukes and if possibly a tank infestation? I dont want to lose all my live rock and sand! Thanks!
my2rotties
New member
In treated my entire reef system with Prazipro two weeks ago. It was very scary to do but I added it slowly over the course of 24 hours. Like the original poster mentioned my xenias were upset but survived. My LPS and SPS, inverts and anemones are just fine and every single fish survived the treatment and I had no losses. I did see flukes floating aound the water and fish that even looked healthy and fluke free were showing reactions to the prazipro. The colours became very vibrant and the fish are very happy. I just did not notice how bad they all were since it took some time to infest the tank and it occupants.
I would never tell anyone to go ahead with this treatment since perhaps I was just lucky with it. I will be treating my system one more time shortly just to be sure I got it all.
When I dosed it the first time, my fish were pooping so much it freaked me out. I don't know why this happened but wow was it ever a lot of poop, and my skimmer was shut off for treatment. When I did turn the skimmer on it was not happy, but it did not overflow on me at all. I have ball valved connected to it so I can dial it in or out for pick up.
For me it was worth the risk and I will do it again if needed. I did lose all my large angel prior to treatment due to a bacterial infection that might have set in when the flukes detached. They were the only fish I did end up losing, but a couple died prior to treatment and one died the day after I started. They one that died the following day was too far gone to help. I did find my angel had it the worst, but my porcupine puffer and picasso trigger were really bad too. The puffer had difficulties with breathing the first few hours but he is wonderful now. They are tough fish though and went through it very well.
Good luck with helping you fish. I decided to treat my entire system because I felt QT would help the fish for the time being but what would happen if they went back into the display. I had a small spike the following day but hardly anything at all.
I would never tell anyone to go ahead with this treatment since perhaps I was just lucky with it. I will be treating my system one more time shortly just to be sure I got it all.
When I dosed it the first time, my fish were pooping so much it freaked me out. I don't know why this happened but wow was it ever a lot of poop, and my skimmer was shut off for treatment. When I did turn the skimmer on it was not happy, but it did not overflow on me at all. I have ball valved connected to it so I can dial it in or out for pick up.
For me it was worth the risk and I will do it again if needed. I did lose all my large angel prior to treatment due to a bacterial infection that might have set in when the flukes detached. They were the only fish I did end up losing, but a couple died prior to treatment and one died the day after I started. They one that died the following day was too far gone to help. I did find my angel had it the worst, but my porcupine puffer and picasso trigger were really bad too. The puffer had difficulties with breathing the first few hours but he is wonderful now. They are tough fish though and went through it very well.
Good luck with helping you fish. I decided to treat my entire system because I felt QT would help the fish for the time being but what would happen if they went back into the display. I had a small spike the following day but hardly anything at all.
