Thanks for your help everyone. I put in the second 300w heater in the tank and will run the temp higher. I ordered the pure metro and will start dosing per the instructions when it shows up. I’ll keep everyone updated on the status
You're right Brendan, my bad, metroplex is 70% pure.
I bumped the temp and they’re starting to act more normal but still hiding and not aggressively eating. I’m going to keep up with the metroplex until the pure metro comes in the mail.
Quick side question, I just bought a tdr meter and it’s reading 195. What range should I be targeting?
Hi all. Following up on this. Since my last post I’ve done the folllowing:
1. raised the temp to 90 degrees
2. Used pure metro for 10 days at 1gram/20 gallons
3. Then reduced the temp back to 85
4. Completed 2 doses of praziquantel
5. Just did a dose of levamisole yesterday
I still have 2 discus alive but one is in the corner and still pooping white. I’m not sure what else I can do at this point. Any help would be appreciated.
Are you still feeding raw beef heart
Jeanne
I’m feeding seachem discus flake and the cubes of frozen beef heart
Is a 2nd metro treatment ever necessary?
I would say yes, especially if you only dosed 1 time daily. Metro in humans is 3 times daily because of the active half life in the blood stream. You may have a particularly virulent parasite that requires re-dosing. I dose 3 times daily with 1 x 50% water change before the next dose. 2 doses 120hiurs apart is better than 1 daily dose...
I don’t have enough metro to dose the full tank again for 10 days. I can go out 4 days with my supply. Would it be better to just take out the one sick 3” discus in a 5 gallon hospital tank with a bubbler and dose it accordingly?
In a way humans are easier than fish, if I prescribe 500 three times a day, 100% goes in the patient through the mouth. Reason that it has an 8 hour half life though has nothing to do with how long it lasts in water and everything to do with metabolism by the liver and excretion, primarily by the kidney with a minor portion out the colon. As I recall about 1/2 is passed through the urine un-metabolized.
This has no bearing on how long metro lasts in aquarium water, or what proportion passes through the fish (or plant, or snail, or whatever else is alive in the tank) and what proportion of that is then metabolized and only with that info could a drug half life be estimated. A google search did not turn up any data on metro concentration measurements in an aquarium, also the dosage recommendations are kind of all over.
Daniel, just to be clear you state you dose every 1 gram/20 gallons every 8 hours with a 50% water change just prior to each dose? I am confused, are you dosing only the water you are replacing or the entire tank capacity, i.e. for a 20 gallon tank, 1 gram q 8 for a total of 3 grams per day, vs 1 gm first dose then 0.5 gm q 8 after each water change for a total of 2 grams day 1 and 1.5 grams all following days?
The metro guidelines I’ve seen mostly are 500mg/ 10 gallons for 10 days. Some people recommend dosing every 8 hrs and others recommend daily. Others will recommend high heat and Epsom salt so I’m sure there’s lots of ways to treat it.
Thanks for the advice Daniel. I’ll try dosing him 3x daily in the hospital tank. Thanks for the advice
If your going to use antibiotics never cut the treatment short. You may do more harm than good. 10-14 days or not at all.
That’s good advice mervin. I’ve got him in a quarantine now and will keep him going in there for 14 days.