Flukes, anyone have success?

[brewmaster15]

Well I am no expert here by any means , a fish pathologist would be better suited for definitives here.. These are my opinions and experiences and maybe a tad of Biology backround. ...nothin more.

One method I have used with good luck to determine flukes is to use a microscope slide cover to gently scrap over the Gills of larger fish...same method works for the body....so thats something people can use to evaluate what they have going on and treat accordingly.

Salt to me is a medication....and has specific uses that may help treat certain things. In my experiences with discus it is useful for treating and preventing nitrite poisoning. Its useful as short time dip for parasites. Useful to alleviate stress in a fish by making It easier for the fishes gills to function properly, this is true under various stresses including disease and ammonia burns. and lastly..its promotes slime coat turn over and may have some usefulness in dealing with external bacterial infections...particularly columnaris... That last point is subjective and some swear by and others swear at those that use it. Like all things we put into our tanks...hobbyists need to take the time to research things on their own and learn as much about the agent as they can....advice by anyone on a forum should NEVER be followed blindly.

Hth,
al

Ok Al,

That is what I suspected. Another question, I often here about gill flukes with discus, but seldom to I here about body flukes. This seems odd to me, or are people just over-generalizing and grouping all flukes into one category?

While the medications are typically the same in treatment, the treatment protocol is different. Gill flukes are livebearers, while body flukes are egg layers. Add to the confusion, body flukes can and will infest the gills.

And one last thing I would like you to clarify, the proper use of salt. It seems like everytime someone posts to the disease section, the first few posts to come back are add salt this add salt that. Salt, IMHO, should be treated as a medication, and what we are eventually (if not already) going to do is develope salt resistant strains of everything. This is especially true when "shotgunning" salt with additional medications at the same time, which often times contradict each other in terms of the mode of operation.

[nc0gnet0]

Useful to alleviate stress in a fish by making It easier for the fishes gills to function properly, this is true under various stresses including disease and ammonia burns.

While this may indeed be the case, I find methylene blue to do a much better job in this particular case. Once again, just my opinion.

[brewmaster15]

Meth blue works there too....nothing wrong with that preference...Only thing to consider is that often times when theres a nitrite spike the gills may have been burned by either ammonia or the nitrite and thats where salt may be useful.

hth,
a

[Eddie]

I claimed to lost about 12 out of hundreds of fry over a long period including the ones I culled. I also mentioned a couple times that I looked at some fry under scope and saw 2-3 if any flukes. I will see what works best for me.

That does sound like your best option.

Good luck,

Eddie

[jimg]

When scoping for Flukes on discus, sacrificing the discus is probably the most effective way to get a picture of how bad the infestation is in a tank. On juvies and fry thats what I do here ...not many hobbies would feel comfortable doing that which makes ID even harder, IMO. On adults...a small Gill snip is possible...but Not easy and its not something most hobbyists would really want to try.

Most of the time...a fish flashes or breathes out of one Gill and meds are dumped in for Flukes and you hope for the best....this is the reason why resistant strains develop.

hth,
al

I agree with you on this Al a majority of the fry I culled/died I had to dissect them and completely remove all gill material and scope them.
A lot of times I was sure I eliminated the flukes but found a couple were buried deep in the gill near the base.
Whenever I tried gill washes on the larger adults I never saw anything. Jim

[nc0gnet0]

A lot of times I was sure I eliminated the flukes but found a couple were buried deep in the gill near the base.

I have seen several debates on this and am kinda on the fence. General consensus from other forums is that if you look long and hard enough at any fish's gills, eventually you will find a few flukes, attempts at total eradication may cause more harm then good, the question is how many flukes is cause for concern. Personally, on my koi, I like to see less then 2 per 50 fields. I am curious how other feel about this as it relates to discus.

[jimg]

I have seen several debates on this and am kinda on the fence. General consensus from other forums is that if you look long and hard enough at any fish's gills, eventually you will find a few flukes, attempts at total eradication may cause more harm then good, the question is how many flukes is cause for concern. Personally, on my koi, I like to see less then 2 per 50 fields. I am curious how other feel about this as it relates to discus.

The way I look at it is if there are two there can be many, just a matter of time. I could have terminated all my fry when I found a couple of flukes on them. but then I would never know exactly what treatment worked best for me.