QT tank fish flashing and diarrhea?

Newms118 · 07/11/2018, 09:12 PM

So I have a few fish in QT right now and they were treated with API general cure for suspected flukes and just in case theres some intestinal issues. So far the sickest looking fish in the purple firefish that sits with most of its fins clamped. Its still really hungry but when it eats, it has to fight to keep food down. It acts like its coughing, then spits the food out and goes into a twitching fit, as if something is itchy. Itll then go rub up on the PVC tubes and the glass bottom. I mention the diarrhea bc when the fish pooped today, it wasnt the typical long poop that looks like what food its been eating. Instead it call kindof just came out of the fish quickly and broke apart. So to me it seemed like diarrhea. The metronidazole from General cure should be able to tackle potential intestinal worms, but I'm just wondering if thats typical or seems unusual.

The other question I have is the general effectiveness of general cure for flukes. Like I said, I treated on Sunday afternoon, and its been 3 days since. I was waiting until Friday (5 days later) to give the second dose of general cure, but I'm noticing today that all the fish are running around scratching on things. I read that prazi is out of the water in 48 hours, and that when the flukes dislodge they can make the fish itchy, but what would cause this reaction at 72 hours later? It cant be that more flukes are dislodging bc the drug shoudn't be in the water anymore. I was also thinking maybe some fluke eggs hatched but then it seems quick since the die off was just 2-3 days ago, and I thought the eggs would hatch 5 - 7 days later (depending on temperature).

So any ideas what would cause the fish to be so itchy? I dont see signs of ick or anything else. The fish are all eating well too, its really just the purple firefish that is struggling with food.

lagatbezan · 07/12/2018, 11:44 AM

They could be flashing due to the irritation caused by the flukes falling off.
A 5 min fw dip will confirm if you are still dealing with flukes or not. there has been instances of prazi resistant flukes so keep that in mind.
you can always do 5 days in hypo which will take care of them and their eggs.
If you are dealing with internal parasites, its best to use metro and focus added to their food so that they can ingest it. use 1:1 metro/focus and add it to one teaspoon of food and feed daily for a min of 10 days. just dosing it in the water usually tends not to treat the ones that are in the intestines. (usually signs of internal parasites is long white stringy poop).
Other factors that can cause them to flash could be stray voltage or sometimes ammonia.
Also keep in mind just because you don't see ich, it doesn't mean its not there. It can infect their gills and could be the reason they are flashing as well.

Newms118 · 07/12/2018, 06:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lagatbezan

They could be flashing due to the irritation caused by the flukes falling off.
A 5 min fw dip will confirm if you are still dealing with flukes or not. there has been instances of prazi resistant flukes so keep that in mind.
you can always do 5 days in hypo which will take care of them and their eggs.
If you are dealing with internal parasites, its best to use metro and focus added to their food so that they can ingest it. use 1:1 metro/focus and add it to one teaspoon of food and feed daily for a min of 10 days. just dosing it in the water usually tends not to treat the ones that are in the intestines. (usually signs of internal parasites is long white stringy poop).
Other factors that can cause them to flash could be stray voltage or sometimes ammonia.
Also keep in mind just because you don't see ich, it doesn't mean its not there. It can infect their gills and could be the reason they are flashing as well.

I have yet to do a FW dip successfully. Last time I did it, use RO/DI water, temp balanced, and used API pH up or whatever to raise the pH to match the tank water (tested with a FW API test). I put a flame angel in, 5 minutes, took it out and put it back in the tank and dead within minutes. No idea how people do this without killing their fish.

For the flukes, would you expect them to still be falling off 72 hours after being exposed to prazi? Doesnt the drug only stay in the water for 48 hours?

lagatbezan · 07/13/2018, 04:08 PM

FW is easy and effective but you need to keep in mind it will be hard on a fish thats already weak, sick beyond help or extremely stressed. Just get the temp to match and add an airstone. Don't really need to be concerned about pH. just add a little bit of the tank water to the fresh water and it will help buffer it.
Prazipro will do its job usually within 24 hours unless you are dealing with a prazi resistant fluke. the best way to be sure thats what you are dealing with is to do a FW dip and do a visual confirmation. Another option is to gradually drop the salinity within a day or two to 1.009 and keep it there for a min of 5 days. This will take care of the adults as well as the eggs.

Newms118 · 07/13/2018, 10:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lagatbezan

FW is easy and effective but you need to keep in mind it will be hard on a fish thats already weak, sick beyond help or extremely stressed. Just get the temp to match and add an airstone. Don't really need to be concerned about pH. just add a little bit of the tank water to the fresh water and it will help buffer it.
Prazipro will do its job usually within 24 hours unless you are dealing with a prazi resistant fluke. the best way to be sure thats what you are dealing with is to do a FW dip and do a visual confirmation. Another option is to gradually drop the salinity within a day or two to 1.009 and keep it there for a min of 5 days. This will take care of the adults as well as the eggs.

So what is a "little bit of tank water" What volumes do you typically work with? 1 cup tank water into gallon of RO/DI?

lagatbezan · 07/15/2018, 09:59 AM

not much to change the specific gravity. just a little needed to buffer it. I usually do the fresh water dip in a specimen fish container (like the one in the video below) and I usually add about 5ml of tank water to it.
you want to make sure the fw is well aerated.
here is a great video:

07/11/2018, 09:12 PM	#1
Newms118 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2013 Posts: 364	QT tank fish flashing and diarrhea? So I have a few fish in QT right now and they were treated with API general cure for suspected flukes and just in case theres some intestinal issues. So far the sickest looking fish in the purple firefish that sits with most of its fins clamped. Its still really hungry but when it eats, it has to fight to keep food down. It acts like its coughing, then spits the food out and goes into a twitching fit, as if something is itchy. Itll then go rub up on the PVC tubes and the glass bottom. I mention the diarrhea bc when the fish pooped today, it wasnt the typical long poop that looks like what food its been eating. Instead it call kindof just came out of the fish quickly and broke apart. So to me it seemed like diarrhea. The metronidazole from General cure should be able to tackle potential intestinal worms, but I'm just wondering if thats typical or seems unusual. The other question I have is the general effectiveness of general cure for flukes. Like I said, I treated on Sunday afternoon, and its been 3 days since. I was waiting until Friday (5 days later) to give the second dose of general cure, but I'm noticing today that all the fish are running around scratching on things. I read that prazi is out of the water in 48 hours, and that when the flukes dislodge they can make the fish itchy, but what would cause this reaction at 72 hours later? It cant be that more flukes are dislodging bc the drug shoudn't be in the water anymore. I was also thinking maybe some fluke eggs hatched but then it seems quick since the die off was just 2-3 days ago, and I thought the eggs would hatch 5 - 7 days later (depending on temperature). So any ideas what would cause the fish to be so itchy? I dont see signs of ick or anything else. The fish are all eating well too, its really just the purple firefish that is struggling with food.

07/12/2018, 11:44 AM	#2
lagatbezan Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Long Island, NY Posts: 1,109	They could be flashing due to the irritation caused by the flukes falling off. A 5 min fw dip will confirm if you are still dealing with flukes or not. there has been instances of prazi resistant flukes so keep that in mind. you can always do 5 days in hypo which will take care of them and their eggs. If you are dealing with internal parasites, its best to use metro and focus added to their food so that they can ingest it. use 1:1 metro/focus and add it to one teaspoon of food and feed daily for a min of 10 days. just dosing it in the water usually tends not to treat the ones that are in the intestines. (usually signs of internal parasites is long white stringy poop). Other factors that can cause them to flash could be stray voltage or sometimes ammonia. Also keep in mind just because you don't see ich, it doesn't mean its not there. It can infect their gills and could be the reason they are flashing as well. __________________ Ryan. 300g with velocity t4 for return and a Reflo dart on a closed loop, T5 lights & SRO3000 skimmer. Current Tank Info: 300g

07/13/2018, 04:08 PM	#4
lagatbezan Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Long Island, NY Posts: 1,109	FW is easy and effective but you need to keep in mind it will be hard on a fish thats already weak, sick beyond help or extremely stressed. Just get the temp to match and add an airstone. Don't really need to be concerned about pH. just add a little bit of the tank water to the fresh water and it will help buffer it. Prazipro will do its job usually within 24 hours unless you are dealing with a prazi resistant fluke. the best way to be sure thats what you are dealing with is to do a FW dip and do a visual confirmation. Another option is to gradually drop the salinity within a day or two to 1.009 and keep it there for a min of 5 days. This will take care of the adults as well as the eggs. __________________ Ryan. 300g with velocity t4 for return and a Reflo dart on a closed loop, T5 lights & SRO3000 skimmer. Current Tank Info: 300g

07/15/2018, 09:59 AM	#6
lagatbezan Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Long Island, NY Posts: 1,109	not much to change the specific gravity. just a little needed to buffer it. I usually do the fresh water dip in a specimen fish container (like the one in the video below) and I usually add about 5ml of tank water to it. you want to make sure the fw is well aerated. here is a great video: __________________ Ryan. 300g with velocity t4 for return and a Reflo dart on a closed loop, T5 lights & SRO3000 skimmer. Current Tank Info: 300g