Prazi pro help! Coughing...

[Opistognathus]

Hi all,
I got my first fish - a blue spotted jawfish - 2 weeks ago. I decided not to quarantine (stupid me) as I thought the fish seemed really help (I've learned my lesson). I began noticing a few symptoms:
No change in body, no lethargy
Eating a lot of food very fast (despite 3 times per day feeding)
Semi-labored breathing...it looks like he's opening his gills a bit more than fish usually do
Twitching (very rarely)
Occasional coughing
Scratching on the sandbed sometimes (especially near the gills)
Feces that are brown AND white
So I thought it was an internal parasite, gill flukes, or something similar which, to my knowledge, fish can't really fight off on their own. I gave it a week to see if anything improved with garlic-soaked foods but everything was the same. I decided to buy a bottle of prazi-pro and used it in my DT (I've heard it's reef safe). So far I haven't noticed anything - it's been 1 hr - and not even my feather dusters are reacting. However, he is breathing faster and keeps coughing much more. Another really weird thing is that I have a small hitchhiking featherduster that is right behind his burrow...he keeps getting slightly out into the water column, turns around, stares at it for about 10 seconds, and goes back in and back to normal... Should I turn my skimmer back on, run carbon, and do a wc or should I leave the medication in? I know I should have came here before actually doing so but I thought I was making the right choice. Could it mean it's working? Thanks!

 

[b0bab0ey]

If you suspected Flukes, I would have done a f/w bath before treating with Prazi. You would have seen the flatworms falling out of him and settling on the bottom, confirming it was Flukes. Oh well, what's done is done, right? It will take a lot more than just an hr for you to see any results from treating with PraziPro. Try several days. If you're seeing white feces, there's a good change you've got Flukes. I would continue treatment, wait 5 days, do a 25% WC and do a second dose.

 

[Opistognathus]

If you suspected Flukes, I would have done a f/w bath before treating with Prazi. You would have seen the flatworms falling out of him and settling on the bottom, confirming it was Flukes. Oh well, what's done is done, right? It will take a lot more than just an hr for you to see any results from treating with PraziPro. Try several days. If you're seeing white feces, there's a good change you've got Flukes. I would continue treatment, wait 5 days, do a 25% WC and do a second dose.

Thanks for the suggestion! I decided against a dip because it would have been really difficult to catch him (not to mention stressful). He's doing well at the moment (he is breathing as he was before treatment) - before I treated, there was little doubt that he would survive for quite a while...I just didn't want anything to get worse if it was preventable. Since prazi sounds pretty safe, I decided to give it a shot (not to mention I've heard internal parasites are cured by it, too?). Since the dosage, he has calmed down quite a bit...hopefully everything works out! :beer:

 

[hollister]

Do you have a lid on this tank?
What size tank , and whats used for water flow?

 

[Opistognathus]

Do you have a lid on this tank?
What size tank , and whats used for water flow?

Vortech MP10 (40g total tank volume). 1/4 in. mesh lid. :hmm3:

 

[hollister]

Im guessing you have the mp10 set to flow around 1000 gph and its steady flow.

And im not sure what you mean by 1/4 mesh. You want as little restriction from air at the surface as possible.

Salt water recieves oxygen from the surface and needs open space and good water flow to do this. It brings in oxygen and removes unwanted gases.

If you have steady water flow and an open air space on top then these wont be a problem.

 

[Opistognathus]

Im guessing you have the mp10 set to flow around 1000 gph and its steady flow.

And im not sure what you mean by 1/4 mesh. You want as little restriction from air at the surface as possible.

Salt water recieves oxygen from the surface and needs open space and good water flow to do this. It brings in oxygen and removes unwanted gases.

If you have steady water flow and an open air space on top then these wont be a problem.

By around 40g, I mean that I have a 20g display tank and 20g sump. The vortech is on around 80% and I have a powerhead in the sump so I don't think oxygenation is a concern. The 1/4 inch mesh is very much open to air...I think a lot of people use them. Thanks for the suggestion though. :spin1:

 

[hollister]

I dont say this much but maybe theres to much flow. I think 25 to 30 % open on that mp10. Behind the powerhead would be a low spot.

Or turn the lights out and see what he does.

 

[Opistognathus]

I dont say this much but maybe theres to much flow. I think 25 to 30 % open on that mp10. Behind the powerhead would be a low spot.

Or turn the lights out and see what he does.

I was concerned with flow originally as well...however, he chose to burrow in fairly open space when I have plenty of sheltered areas. I don't know why it would cause the poop either (which, if I remember reading correctly, is never normal...) or the scratching. The lights are out and he is being his usual self...semi-labored breathing as before the medicine. Once I leave for a while I bet he'll go to bed. :lol2: Hopefully everything is ok in the morning but I'm not too worried...:strange:

 

[suta4242]

The stringy poo could be signs of a digestive problem or an internal parasite. But at the moment I'd be a lot more worried that the fish's gills are compromised by Cryptocaryon irritans or something similar, than I would about treating for flukes. That would account for the abnormal breathing etc in a newly purchased fish.

So I guess now would be a good time to think about what you're going to do if this situation gets worse.

 

[C0rp]

Prazi is gonna kill your featherdusters, and all your pods. Just an FYI

 

[Opistognathus]

The stringy poo could be signs of a digestive problem or an internal parasite. But at the moment I'd be a lot more worried that the fish's gills are compromised by Cryptocaryon irritans or something similar, than I would about treating for flukes. That would account for the abnormal breathing etc in a newly purchased fish.

So I guess now would be a good time to think about what you're going to do if this situation gets worse.

I have a QT set up just in case. Any other symptoms I should be looking closely for?

Prazi is gonna kill your featherdusters, and all your pods. Just an FYI

I didn't think it affected pods - just worms? I could be wrong though. All the featherdusters are still acting normal and I see pods all over the place. I did a 10% wc (with medication of course) just to be safe though. Thanks for the heads up!

It could just be placebo, but it looks like he's breathing a touch better. He ate really well again today but I have seen him cough once and a while. It also looks like his eye is just a touch cloudy, but I could be wrong. Hopefully this works!

 

[b0bab0ey]

I didn't think it affected pods - just worms? I could be wrong though. All the featherdusters are still acting normal and I see pods all over the place. I did a 10% wc (with medication of course) just to be safe though. Thanks for the heads up!

Based solely on reading about other people's experiences on here, sometimes it kills feather dusters, sometimes it doesn't. From what I've read on Prazi and pods, if it does anything at all to them, it might just put a dent in their overall population but as you know, they always come roaring back.

I've never used Prazi myself in a DT, only QT. So, everything I'm telling you is based on reading stuff online and other people's experiences on here...