Black skirt with a parasite?

[kdwyer]

hi my black skirt tetra has an internal parasite because he has white stringy poop. i ordered the prazipro medication and it won’t be here until monday? will he survive that long?

 

[JenC]

He might. Some fish can live a long time with parasites. Unfortunately, I don't think there's much you can do to change things until the medicine arrives. I hope he gets better soon.

(Remember to treat the whole tank and remove any carbon from the filter during treatment. You can cut it out of filter pads if needed.)

 

[kdwyer]

He might. Some fish can live a long time with parasites. Unfortunately, I don't think there's much you can do to change things until the medicine arrives. I hope he gets better soon.

(Remember to treat the whole tank and remove any carbon from the filter during treatment. You can cut it out of filter pads if needed.)

what if some fish don’t have the parasites should i still treat them and what is the carbon?

 

[JenC]

what if some fish don’t have the parasites should i still treat them and what is the carbon?

Parasites transmit easily so it's best to treat the whole tank, not individual fish. Otherwise the fish could just get it again from the water or other fish. With parasites, a separate hospital tank is not suggested as you want to eliminate all the parasites in the tank.

Filter media comes in three kinds: mechanical (sponge/foam), biological (ceramic/glass/plastic), and chemical (carbon, Purigen). If you run carbon in your filter (it might look like black granules or a black pad) you need to remove it so it doesn't absorb the medicine. If you use cartridges then there might be some inside the cartridge but you can cut it out and leave the rest of the cartridge.

 

[kdwyer]

Parasites transmit easily so it's best to treat the whole tank, not individual fish. Otherwise the fish could just get it again from the water or other fish. With parasites, a separate hospital tank is not suggested as you want to eliminate all the parasites in the tank.

Filter media comes in three kinds: mechanical (sponge/foam), biological (ceramic/glass/plastic), and chemical (carbon, Purigen). If you run carbon in your filter (it might look like black granules or a black pad) you need to remove it so it doesn't absorb the medicine. If you use cartridges then there might be some inside the cartridge but you can cut it out and leave the rest of the cartridge.

so i should put him in the main tank? my medicine is coming on monday.

 

[JenC]

so i should put him in the main tank? my medicine is coming on monday.

It's up to you but if he had parasites while he was in the main tank I'd treat the main tank too. If you want to treat the main tank and his hospital tank separately you can. If he's really bad off and you think he might die then that could be a reason to keep him separated during treatment if it would be tough to fish him out if he passed away. But if he seems okay and you have to treat everyone anyway I'd probably treat them together. You could just put him back in the main tank when you have the medicine before you start dosing it. But either way is fine.

I like to do three rounds of Prazipro, one per week with water changes in between.

 

[kdwyer]

It's up to you but if he had parasites while he was in the main tank I'd treat the main tank too. If you want to treat the main tank and his hospital tank separately you can. If he's really bad off and you think he might die then that could be a reason to keep him separated during treatment if it would be tough to fish him out if he passed away. But if he seems okay and you have to treat everyone anyway I'd probably treat them together. You could just put him back in the main tank when you have the medicine before you start dosing it. But either way is fine.

I like to do three rounds of Prazipro, one per week with water changes in between.

he seems fine other than being very stressed in the other tank i also put him in there because i thought he had fin rot

 

[DoubleDutch]

I'd put it back (if it is not skinny a.s.o.). As mentioned : If this one has an internal parasite (there are more causes for stringy poop) one should treat the main tank.

 

[kdwyer]

hi so a couple days ago i noticed my black skirt tetra had some white poop and i read online that it’s usually a parasite so i ordered prazipro. i had him in a quarantine tank but he was so stressed i didn’t want to get him even more sick if he was so i put him back in the original tank. he hasn’t been popping white as much but today i noticed it a little again. should i treat the whole tank? if they don’t have a parasite, with the medicine hurt or kill the fish?

 

[goldface]

Prazipro is mild enough to treat the entire tank, regardless if the fish has parasites or not; so quarantining in a separate tank isn't necessary.

 

[JenC]

I completely agree with scarface.

I don't know if your fish have parasites or not but treating them with Prazipro won't hurt. All my fish get three rounds of it in quarantine before entering a display tank.

 

[kdwyer]

I completely agree with scarface.

I don't know if your fish have parasites or not but treating them with Prazipro won't hurt. All my fish get three rounds of it in quarantine before entering a display tank.

so it won’t hurt any of them if theu don’t have a parasite?

 

[JenC]

so it won’t hurt any of them if theu don’t have a parasite?

I don't see how it could. Praziquantel is considered a very gentle medication. That's partly why it's often administered prophylactically. In my experience it doesn't negatively impact fish, shrimp, plants, or beneficial bacteria.