Possible Flukes?

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Hey guys,

7 days ago my flame angel stopped eating.She ate at the LFS and in the tank before stopping. I've had her in the tank for a total of two weeks. 4 days ago I saw her scratch her left gill on one of the rocks, and now she is hiding in a cave more than swimming around. There have been no other signs of sickness. No white dots, no heavy breathing.

As this is my first attempt at a SW tank, I could not afford or have room to set-up a secondary tank as a QT.

Looking for guidance on how to proceed.
 
I was wondering about flukes when I saw your other thread. Try looking up some info on Prazipro. It's reef safe, gentle medicine for flukes. Fish can have them for a long time without symptoms, and they are common in the hobby.

Also, make sure everything else is in really good shape. Fish are like us, when they are sick things that are normally irritating can be more serious. Like keep temp and salinity really steady, no big alk jumps, no ammonia, don't go stomping around the tank. That, with good food if she'll eat, will help fight off other infections. Don't let old food pile up in the tank and rot while she's fasting, that can mess up the water.

Fresh clams from the grocery are very tempting. You can open them and then freeze them and shave off thin slices. Ive had fish quit eating and then get right as rain after prazipro. But if that doesn't work, the next steps are significantly more of a hassle.
 
Thank You very much, calming to hear :)

I'm going to go buy some today and begin the treatment. What should I classify as it working? Eating again? no scratching(but doesn't happen often)?
-also, how long should I wait to see the improvement?

As for the clams, should I try soaking in garlic as well? I remember reading somewhere that it may help get her to eat and boost immune system at same time
 
Last edited:
Thanks a ton!

If someone has anything to add, or has answers to my previous questions... everything helps :)
 
Little update: Went and bought both garlic additive and the prazipro.

I will be starting the prazipro tomorrow.

I tried soaking the food and garlic, like always she came over and just swam through the food opening and closing her mouth.... without eating any. The clowns loved it lol!
 
As CStrickland mentioned, you are better off in the fish disease forum.

To test for flukes you can do a freshwater dip on the fish. You should see the parasite discharge from the fish after a few mins.

The procedure for prazi is to turn off your skimmer and remove any carbon media. Dose the tank on day 1 and let it treat for 7 days. Then remove the medication by a largish water change, skimming, and adding carbon.

You can treat the directly into the DT with next to no effect on your corals and inverts (some small feather dusters may not handle it).

Again, i'm no expert either so I also recommend a search in the aforementioned sub -forum.
 
Treated my mixed reef with prazi two months ago. Stop running carbon and remove the cup from your skimmer. Follow instructions on package and be sure to perform water changes as advised. I noticed a change in about 2 days. My fish had raised scales from the flukes and they went away. Fish may still rub for a few extra days just due to the irritation from having flukes. I dosed a second time after 5 days to be sure I rid the tank of the flukes.
 
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