brishe Posted February 15, 2007 Report Share Posted February 15, 2007 I am off to the vet today with our gourami, lol! because i suspect several of our fish including our beloved bristlenoses have hexamita. I am hoping that he will prescribe metronidazole, does any one know if any of the following fish are sensitive to it. Neon tetras Rainbow tetra gouramis Bristlenoses (adults) Any advice on the best way to treat them? Sharn has already given me some great info, any other opinions or do's and dont's would be much appreciated. (The full story is under "disease in our tank?" ---Diseases. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caserole Posted February 15, 2007 Report Share Posted February 15, 2007 It is unlikely you will be able to get any with out knowing the dose rate. Many Vet's have know idea how to treat fish, and by law can not proscribe medication with out a treatment plan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted February 16, 2007 Report Share Posted February 16, 2007 They're fine with it. Metranidazole is very forgiving with its dosage rate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
me love fishy Posted February 16, 2007 Report Share Posted February 16, 2007 Good luck at the vets, let us know how you get on. Often you will find treatments for general ailments at your lfs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AL008 Posted February 16, 2007 Report Share Posted February 16, 2007 Good luck! I hope your lovely gouramis recover! AL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brishe Posted February 17, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2007 Well i went to the vets on friday, as suspected the vet had no idea about fish but he was very interested and gave me the metronidazole. Yesterday i set all of our fish up in another tank with a heater, and filter, air stone but the filter packed up last night. The water is so cloudy i cant even see the fish unless they are up against the glass. The water levels are ok, Ammonia nil, ph up slightly 7.4, nitrite nil. I did a water change today about 25%, some of the fish are acting a bit strange, disorientated, one neon not looking good. Am i doing this right, i dont want to lose any fish. i was going to do just three doses of metro, 12 hours apart and then put them back. They were not heavily infested i dont think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted February 17, 2007 Report Share Posted February 17, 2007 Vets can be nice people sometimes. I tried to buy some formaldehyde from the chemist to get rid of planaria and he said he didn't have it but could get it in for about $40.00. Went to the vet and left a message with the receptionist after explaining what I was wanting it for and got what I wanted plus a syringe to measure it with for $5.00 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warren Posted February 17, 2007 Report Share Posted February 17, 2007 The dose rate for Met is: 1. 500mg per 100L of tank water. Raise temp by 3'C, Treatment is for 3 days, no need to re-dose. When the treatment is finished, 30% water change + activated carbon added to filter. Wait five days and repeat the entire treatment. 2. 250mg Met added to 100g of food. Feed twice daily for 6 days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brishe Posted February 17, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2007 The dose rate for Met is: 1. 500mg per 100L of tank water. Raise temp by 3'C, Treatment is for 3 days, no need to re-dose. When the treatment is finished, 30% water change + activated carbon added to filter. Wait five days and repeat the entire treatment. 2. 250mg Met added to 100g of food. Feed twice daily for 6 days. I have just put all the fish back in main tank as 3 neons died and other fish not looking great. Not long enouugh to finish course? Maybe i should of just left them in main tank and treated that?? The fish seem to be gasping for oxygen, they have an air stone, filter etc I have stuffed up somewhere along the way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curviceps Posted February 17, 2007 Report Share Posted February 17, 2007 Does anyone know if Waterlife Octozin is available in NZ? If so, this should be a lot more convenient to get than Metro. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brishe Posted February 17, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2007 Good luck! I hope your lovely gouramis recover! AL Thanks for that Al, so do i but today our big gourami male is not looking so hot. But the sickest one that was showing all the signs of hex, actually looks ok today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warren Posted February 17, 2007 Report Share Posted February 17, 2007 If they are eating, try the medicinal food method. It's not as hard on the fish. Get some frozen food and thaw it until just mushy. Depending on the type of food you may even be able to mix it in while still frozen. I use Discus tucker as most fish seem like it. If you already make your own frozen food, just us a bit of that. Mix powdered tablets into the food really well and re-freeze. Make sure the tablets are powdered extremely finely. You can then treat the fish in the tank directly with very little of the Met getting into the water. As it's internal parasites you're targeting so it's also a lot more effective than treating the water. After six days do a good sized water change and add carbon to the filter to remove any traces of the Met. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brishe Posted February 18, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 18, 2007 Thanks for that warren, i might try that. they seem to be eating really well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brishe Posted February 19, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 19, 2007 Thanks for that warren, i might try that. they seem to be eating really well. change of plan!! today two of the fish are not eating so i have decided to give the tank treatment again without removing the fish and see how that goes, the bristlenose just has a constant string of clear mucous hanging out, and is not as lively as usual, so i need to do something, what is the safest high temperature i can have?, our tank is at 27already. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warren Posted February 19, 2007 Report Share Posted February 19, 2007 Slowly raise it 1'C at a time to max of 29'C. Increase aeration and/or surface movement as the oxygen level drops as temp goes up. If the fish show further distress, drop the temp a little. Higher temp just speeds up the process by increasing the metabolism of both the fish and parasite. If you find you can't go up by 3'C then add an extra day to the treatment time. Leave the 5 day rest period the same though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brishe Posted February 19, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 19, 2007 Slowly raise it 1'C at a time to max of 29'C. Increase aeration and/or surface movement as the oxygen level drops as temp goes up. If the fish show further distress, drop the temp a little. Higher temp just speeds up the process by increasing the metabolism of both the fish and parasite. If you find you can't go up by 3'C then add an extra day to the treatment time. Leave the 5 day rest period the same though. thanks warren, i think i will just have to wait it out an extra day, the rainbow tetra is not eating now and my smaller gourami not looking so good today, but the bristlenoses are really active today and eating great, so i dont want to stress them out any further. The big male gourami is picking on the female no end which i think is the reason why she is not doing well, but i am in a spot as i cant add any more females to the tank until i have finished treatment. The ph has gone up fron 7.0 to 7.4, do i need to worry about that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
me love fishy Posted February 20, 2007 Report Share Posted February 20, 2007 good luck Brishe let us know how things are looking tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted February 20, 2007 Report Share Posted February 20, 2007 Recommendation for metro dosing was one 400mg tab per 40 litres 25% water change and redose daily, also conbine with course of prazi if avaliable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharn Posted February 20, 2007 Report Share Posted February 20, 2007 thats the dosage i use too ryan (400mg/40L but every 8-12 hours with 30-50% w/c before each new dose), thats for fish with severe infestations that arent eating. if they are eating i read 250mg/40L was to be used, i would reccomend making up some food with it though as thats going to be more effective. the dosages i have read of were generally for discus (thats what i was treating), im not sure if that makes any difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brishe Posted February 21, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2007 Oh my goodness! this fish hobby is turning out to be really stressfull. I have treated the tank, the fish have had a three day course, i have had to stop short of the fourth day as the fish were really stressed out, the neons and the tetras were not eating and seemed to be gasping for oxygen, so was my big gourami, the female gourami is still not looking great, she either sits on the bottom of the tank or floats around sideways at the surface, she can still swim around and will eat aswel every morning. Each day i expect to find her dead but she keeps going, i dont know whats wrong with her or what i should do. The other fish look great today, no signs of hex so i will treat them again in five days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warren Posted February 21, 2007 Report Share Posted February 21, 2007 If they are eating, why not try using medicinal food instead... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brishe Posted February 22, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2007 If they are eating, why not try using medicinal food instead... Thanks warren, i will do that. I am going to give them a five day break, then i will try that. Thanks for all your help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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