[Parasite life span without host.]

I think you really need to determine the type of parasite you are dealing with first otherwise you are wasting your time as you don't know what meds to use on it, also would have no idea on its life cycle. I would think it is also best to treat in the main tank to ensure it is completely wiped out. I have found dropping the water level helps save drugs, lower all your filter intakes, heaters etc to as low as they can go and then drop the water level to that height.

I've treated with praziquantel which had absolutely no effect. The only other drug really is metronidazole right?

Lowering the water level is a good idea that may work if I can get it low enough.

[Parasite life span without host.]

So I have a 450L tank with not a lot of stock, I'm going to be removing them from this tank in order to treat them for parasites (so it doesn't cost me a million dollars to treat that huge tank). How long should I leave the tank without fish? I'm not 100% sure what parasites I'm dealing with, but if someone could give me a safe estimate I would be very appreciative.

[Can't get rid of Gill Flukes]

Not too many risks with metronidazole. It can cause suppression of the immune response by decreasing white blood cell production. It can also cause liver failure and neurotoxicity if overdosed. It is also poorly soluble in water and across the gills.

Good luck, I hope it does the trick.

Thanks, I guess I'll just crush it up as best I can and hope for the best. God I hope this finally fixes my fish.

[Can't get rid of Gill Flukes]

I think I might just dose with metro by the rate you (Jennifer) suggested earlier. Also this wouldn't require me to catch them (which is a pain in the butt) in order to get a gill/skin/fin sample. Seeings I've done a cycle of praziquantel doses. If I did with metronidazole it would just eliminate another possibility.

Any risks with metronidazole?

[Can't get rid of Gill Flukes]

What have you been feeding them?

Colourbits, Mysis shrimp, white worms. I guess it could be the food :-? Had this diet for a long time, never seen a white poo before.

[Can't get rid of Gill Flukes]

Just watched my male ram produce a long white poo. First one I've ever seen. Treat with metronidazole?

[Can't get rid of Gill Flukes]

Get a hold of the following supplies from a local vet clinic and PM me when you have them so I can tell you how to do it:

3 small specimen pottles

1 1ml syringe

1 needle cap (the clinic should have loads of these and can give you some for free)

6 microscope cover slips

3 microscope slides

The clinic will have these (and they won't be expensive) but they may wonder what you are up to by asking for them!

Disclaimer: I am not proposing to diagnose any medical problems for your fish, I am only offering to share my personal expertise in indentifying ectoparasites by microscopic analysis. I cannot guarantee that I will be able to provide you with a result and what you do with any result is purely up to you. While the risk of collecting specimens is minimal, there is always a risk when you 'manipulate' an animal. I take no responsibility for any side effects that may occur from the handling of your fish during the process and I encourage you to research the procedure if you are at all worried. Just so ya know.

Ok, I'll get those things once I have a chance. This week sometime hopefully. Yeah I'm aware that fiddling with a fish, especially the gill area has its risks.

@ P44

Thanks for the info to do with the UV steriliser.

[Can't get rid of Gill Flukes]

it explodes

no seriously... the UV breaks the Cu bonds with other chemicals and then I think you have Cu2+ ions floating around?

that's really really toxic.. just like CuSO4

Thanks, I'll keep that in mind.

[A word on photoperiod, algae, and taking own advice.]

Time to reduce mine from 12hrs to 10hrs I think!

[Can't get rid of Gill Flukes]

What happens with copper?

[Can't get rid of Gill Flukes]

If you want, I can tell you how to collect a skin, gill or fin biopsy and you can send it to me to look at under the microscope to attempt to definitively identify if it is any one of those parasites.

Yes please. Would be very helpful to know what I'm dealing with.

Alternatively since I've tried prazi multiple times maybe I should just give metronidazole a shot? Does metro have any harmful side effects on a planted tank, anything to be wary of? Would I need to turn off the UV filter during medication?

[New Fish!]

Awesome fish!

[Can't get rid of Gill Flukes]

Thanks for the advice, I'm willing to try anything at this point.

[Can't get rid of Gill Flukes]

Add all the salt at once or add it slowly over a week?

[Can't get rid of Gill Flukes]

I wish it was only the odd rub . They seem to go into a fit every so often (multiple times while sitting and watching the tank) and just scrape on everything they can for about 10 seconds. Tail fin clamped, pectorial fins clamped.

I have a UV sterilizer running 24/7.

I haven't tried salt. 450L tank. Can I just dose the whole tank? Or use a bath of some sort?

Also have corydoras sterbai, ottos, neons in the tank.

[Can't get rid of Gill Flukes]

My blue rams continue to scrape their gill plates against tank decor. They've been doing this for over 6 months now...

I've tried a 10mg/L bath of PP for 30mins.

I've tried praziquantel.

Is there anything else out there? Formalin?

This seriously has to be the most annoying thing I've experienced with fish keeping. Even more so than algae.

[Heater size and poly thickness]

300 watt jager would be the way to go. I use one for my 450L. Works like a charm.

[Re-dosage time for cyanobacteria?]

Try increasing nitrates to at least 10. At some point you might have bottomed out to 0 ppm nitrates which triggers cyanobacteria. Mine kept coming back even after dosing erythromycin. But after I added CO2, and not let my nitrates go to 0 ppm, the algae did not come back.

It hasn't come back since I dosed with Azithromycin. I am also doing far fewer water changes than I used to.

[Do I need to buy a Master Test Kit?]

It's probably worth having one. They last a long time. Redwoods sell them on trademe for $60ish. Their username is redwoodaq.

Sorry to hear that you lost some more fish . I'm coming out to my parents tomorrow and I could stop by around 6.30-7 and could test your water with my test kit if you like?

[Praziquantel side effects.]

I'm pretty sure they have gill flukes . Continuously scraping against tank objects around the gill area.

[Praziquantel side effects.]

Other than the rare allergic or anaphalactic reactions, there are no significant side effects for praziquantel, even at several times the dose rate although the action of the drug is dependent on it being metabolized by the liver so if this organ system is already compromised, the drug could exacerbate the condition. There is no risk to your tank.

I think the biggest risk is with developing drug resistance so careful use and dosing is important. Theoretically, you should not need to keep redosing once you have treated an animal unless the animal is repeatedly exposed to new populations of the parasitic organism.

Thanks for that Jennifer. I have a feeling the first time I dosed my blue rams with praziquantel a few months ago it wasn't actually prazi (bought from pet shop fish keepers "private stash") because I bought some more the other day and it looks completely different. As well as being individually blister packed.

[Water polishing?]

Its a genuine accessory available for Hagen Aquaclear powerheads. costs less than $20 from memory and fits to the bottom of the powerhead.

I have it on a timer, working 12 hours a day, to do the cleanup during the day, and off at night to lessen the current in the tank.

See top right corner of tank: I also use the FX5 polishing pads, cut to size. more effective than filter wool and lasts longer (more durable)

Just the answer I was looking for, thanks.

[Water polishing?]

Is there a brand of this "quick filter attachment" or a specific name?

[What are these?]

I've got those small 3mm white larval looking things in my white worm culture too.

[Praziquantel side effects.]

Are there any side effects to dosing a tank with 2mg/L of praziquantel? I've read that discus keepers regularly deworm their fish. I'm assuming this is what they use? Is there reason to worry about biological filtration after dosing? Anything else worth mentioning?