Internal Parasites

Faye Rod · April 6th, 2008

I think there might be internal parasites passing from fish to fish in my tank. I had gotten a gourami two weeks ago. It had a long stringy thing hanging from it and it died two days later. We had it for four days. Now one of the platys we got at the same time died last night....after a long stringy thing was hanging from it.

I was just reading about varying the diet which I have been trying to do. But if it is internal parasites and they are in the main tank how do I treat them?

COBettaCouple · April 6th, 2008

Parasite Clear or Clout. Adding Fish Protector and/or Vita-Chem would help the meds be more effective.

Faye Rod · April 6th, 2008

Thanks so much for your prompt reply. I saw on a thread from June 17th that you recommended for internal parasites - http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Produc...&N=2004+113016
I just ordered it......do you think I should treat the whole tank with the Parasite clear or try this first?

COBettaCouple · April 6th, 2008

That link didn't work. Are you getting the medicated food?

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Produc...88&c=3578+4616

Faye Rod · April 6th, 2008

Yes - I ordered the one for anti-parasite.

COBettaCouple · April 6th, 2008

Well, chances are most or all of them will get some in the feeding frenzy.

But it should be ok either way really.

Faye Rod · April 6th, 2008

Thanks for your help.....again!!

Faye Rod · April 15th, 2008

While I was away over the weekend the Anti Parasite medicated fish food by Jungle arrived and my husband went ahead and started the 3 day a week dosage....which we will repeat as directed for four weeks.

Question: I need to do my 25% water change. My husband said the fish really didn't want to eat the stuff when he put it in.....can I vacuum the gravel?

Also: CoBetta Dave recommended Daphia to someone and I ordered it....but I can't remember why it was recommended! What is a good schedule for feeding the variety of community fish I have? I have been doing fish flakes twice a day for three days...then dry blood worms or frozen brine shrimp...then back to flakes. I'll go ahead and check for past posts about this. I'm sure it's already been covered somewhere

susitna-flower · April 15th, 2008

This sounds like it could be an infestation of camallanus worms.

I suggest you

and see if this fits your situation. These are highly communicable. They will spread to all your tanks, and need to be brought under control if this is what your fish have.

They need stronger medications than suggested in the first posts, if that is the case.

COBettaCouple · April 16th, 2008

You can vacuum out the gravel - I think the damage from rotting food would be worse than the damage of cleaning it out. Perhaps you could clean the uneaten food out with the water change?

If the fish won't eat the medicated food, you might try soaking it in garlic juice before feeding it to them. If they won't eat that, then you might need to get the Parasite Clear or Clout.

Daphnia is a light, floating food that you can often feed to fish that won't eat other food. It also can work in a manner similiar to peas in clearing constipation.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Faye Rod

While I was away over the weekend the Anti Parasite medicated fish food by Jungle arrived and my husband went ahead and started the 3 day a week dosage....which we will repeat as directed for four weeks.

Question: I need to do my 25% water change. My husband said the fish really didn't want to eat the stuff when he put it in.....can I vacuum the gravel?

Also: CoBetta Dave recommended Daphia to someone and I ordered it....but I can't remember why it was recommended! What is a good schedule for feeding the variety of community fish I have? I have been doing fish flakes twice a day for three days...then dry blood worms or frozen brine shrimp...then back to flakes. I'll go ahead and check for past posts about this. I'm sure it's already been covered somewhere

Faye Rod · April 16th, 2008

We did our water change today - all of the fish seem to be doing great. The Platy that looked sick looks better and they are all darting around and coming to feed. His color looks better also. We will feed the medicated food for internal parasites as directed - 3 days a week for the next 3 weeks - and if no one looks sick I'll figure it worked.

None of the Cherry barbs or guppies have ever looked like they were infected - and our two babies are getting bigger.

Thanks for the suggestion of the garlic juice - we'll try it with the next dose.

I am amazed at the knowledge on this site - and the quick responses. Thanks.

Faye Rod · April 16th, 2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by susitna-flower

This sounds like it could be an infestation of camallanus worms.

I suggest you

and see if this fits your situation. These are highly communicable. They will spread to all your tanks, and need to be brought under control if this is what your fish have.

They need stronger medications than suggested in the first posts, if that is the case.

Thanks Susitna-flower - I went to this link

http://www.petfish.net/kb/entry/154/

The article was very clear and the worms seem to stay attached for long period of time - I think that what I see is more of a constipation problem - there is no red as described in the article. And the stringy things fall off. Since the fish seem to be healthy I hope I won't have the nightmare of the camallanus worms!

COBettaCouple · April 17th, 2008

Sounds good and I'm glad to hear the tank is getting better. Hope it's all 100% good asap and stays that way.

susitna-flower · April 17th, 2008

Glad your fish are doing better, and not the worst case scenario.

Faye Rod · April 21st, 2008

We finished our second dose of the Jungle food for internal parasites. We tried the garlic juice - didn't see much difference in how they ate. But it did make the house smell like garlic for a few hours! We figure that the three days of only receiving the medication assures they eat it eventually.

It was so funny to see them go after the fish flakes this morning. They are like children who fight taking antibiotics - pretty funny to watchhttp://www.fishlore.com/fishforum/images/smilies/green_tea.gif

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