Haxamita living in biological filter or aquarium water

[khooyang]

Hi all,

My discus have had Hexamita. I have successfully treated them with Metro in hospital tank for 5 days and bring them back to my display tank. The question now is the fish looks fine and free from disease symptoms, but I cannot 100% guarantee that no Hex. protozoa attach to the fish or water of the original display tank. So, I am feeding all discus with food containing Metro.

Do you think this protozoa can live in biological filter or water and stay dormant and attack the fish once the condition is right? If so, what you think is the best way to get rid of this protozoa completely?

One obvious solution is to Metro the whole tank. But I think I will need more Metro for that. Would like to see if there is any other better solution.

Or under this situation, if I am going to Metro the whole display tank, how many days you think I should Metro it?

Thank you very much.

[Ardan]

The only way to know if the parasite is eliminated is to do microscopic examinations of fresh feces from the fish as fish can harbor them in small numbers and not show any outward signs unless the fish becomes stressed.

good article http://www.simplydiscus.com/library/disease_medications/internal/hexamitiasis.shtml

hth
Ardan

[brewmaster15]

Hi all,

My discus have had Hexamita. I have successfully treated them with Metro in hospital tank for 5 days and bring them back to my display tank. The question now is the fish looks fine and free from disease symptoms, but I cannot 100% guarantee that no Hex. protozoa attach to the fish or water of the original display tank. So, I am feeding all discus with food containing Metro.

Do you think this protozoa can live in biological filter or water and stay dormant and attack the fish once the condition is right? If so, what you think is the best way to get rid of this protozoa completely?

One obvious solution is to Metro the whole tank. But I think I will need more Metro for that. Would like to see if there is any other better solution.

Or under this situation, if I am going to Metro the whole display tank, how many days you think I should Metro it?

Thank you very much.

Hi Khooyang,

Totally eradicating the parasite is difficult and not something you will accomplish by feeding a medicated feed . The lifecycle of this class of parasites is one where theres 2 stages.. The first stage is a motile flagellated form that isnt thought to survive long outside the fish but can be found in the feces.. and can directly infect the host fish.. These then reproduce and form a very protected encysted form. These can be shed into the water column with the fishes feces since the parasite colonizes the intestinal tract. Fish get infected when they ingest the encysted forms.The parasite also colonizes internal organs so these encysted ones can stay dormant a long time and re-infect a fish with an immuno compromised health. Thats one reason why its very important to provide the best conditions for fish.

A medicated feed can help when dealing with an acute outbreak of this parasite, but because of the encysted forms that can be in the tanks substrates and filters and the fish itself... medicated feeding is not going to eradicate the protozoan.

hth,
al

[Woodduck]

If you already have the fish in the HT, do a 10-1 water/bleach on the whole aquarium. When you rinse clean, leave the chlorinated water in for a couple a days. Keep running your filter to kill the buggers in them and any living in your substrate. Alotta work, but it will be worth it to not worry. Good Luck!!
Woodduck

[khooyang]

Thank you very much Al, Ardan and Woodduck for your reply. Great informative explanations, Al. Thank you so much.

Yeah...tht's a lot of work, Woodduck, but I think I will try that. The only concern is that might knock off the bio filter?

I read on internet that in the latent form of the disease, there were no detectable clinical signs. Also, while encysted, parasitic life stages are refractory to chemical treatment, but cysts can be removed by thorough cleaning and removal of debris from gravel substrates.

So in conclusion, to remove most parasites, the best way is to siphon the sand and clean filter media often to provide the best clean environment for the fish.

[Woodduck]

Yes, you're pretty much starting over. I did years ago many times. But, when it's all said and done, it's worth it. You'll lose your bio, but if you don't kill it too, the bugs will still be there. Time to hostpital up, friend. Your fish will thank you many times over for it. And, after all, that's why we do it.
Woodduck

[khooyang]

Thanks a lot, Woodduck.

I am now thinking that since PP is a strong oxidising agent, could we use PP instead of bleach? I heard people use 1ppm of PP in water for discus competition. Could 1ppm of Potassium Permanganate knock off the cysts?

[brewmaster15]

Cleaning the tank with bleach or pp will remove parasites..10% bleach would work...pp at greater than 6 pp (With no fish) would work as well. But neither method addresses the encysted forms In the fish Itself. With internal parasites like this... sterilizing the tank is not really going to help much.

Honestly I think that it would be overkill to bleach or high pp a tank because fish in it may have Hexamita. Metronidazole used properly combined with a healthy immune system (from an excellent water quality,food, care ) are probably all you need.

Lastly,Its been my experience that most people that think they have fish with hexamita don't even know that for sure. Its a guess based on general symptoms....symptoms like loss of appetite,stringy whitish feces, hanging in the corner,facing the back of the tank,darkened and hiding...these symptoms may mean Hexamita but they also are symptoms of many other issues and illnesses. Often times a best guess is all we have to go on....but a best guess isnt a diagnosis.

Hth,
al

[khooyang]

Cleaning the tank with bleach or pp will remove parasites..10% bleach would work...pp at greater than 6 pp (With no fish) would work as well. But neither method addresses the encysted forms In the fish Itself. With internal parasites like this... sterilizing the tank is not really going to help much.

Honestly I think that it would be overkill to bleach or high pp a tank because fish in it may have Hexamita. Metronidazole used properly combined with a healthy immune system (from an excellent water quality,food, care ) are probably all you need.

Lastly,Its been my experience that most people that think they have fish with hexamita don't even know that for sure. Its a guess based on general symptoms....symptoms like loss of appetite,stringy whitish feces, hanging in the corner,facing the back of the tank,darkened and hiding...these symptoms may mean Hexamita but they also are symptoms of many other issues and illnesses. Often times a best guess is all we have to go on....but a best guess isnt a diagnosis.

Hth,
al

Thank you so much for the explanations, now I have a clearer direction to go. Appreciated them, Al.