New tank sterilization after gill fluke infestation

[ipace]

Hi all, first of all a happy Christmas to everyone :)

Being Christmas I got myself a 1040L tank which will be delivered on Wednesday. Was wondering if you guys can offer any suggestions regarding sterilizing my current substrate, bog wood etc....

I will be cycling this new tank using a fish less cycle by adding ammonia, and also using stability. in fact, I am already doing this on the sump to gain some time....
I'm basically doing it this way as I would like to sterilize EVERYTHING that's coming from my current display tank as I had/have a Gill fluke issue which I have been fighting for two whole months. I have tried formalin, potassium permanganate and sterazin, but these pests (for the lack of a more decent word) keep coming back!

Before transferring the fish I will be giving them a pp bath to make sure they are totally clean prior to the transfer.

What procedure would you suggest to transfer the substrate etc? I am worried that there will be fluke eggs in the substrate, media etc....

Any suggestions would be greatly apriciate do as I want to make sure that I don't overlook anything!

Thanks!

Ian

[DISCUS STU]

Hey Ian. Typically Praziquantel is the drug of choice for gill flukes. There are others but the ones you mentioned may not be effective. It is commonly available as PrazPro by Hikari. 10 days is recommended for gill flukes and their offspring, per Hikari. it's relatively mild and shouldn't disrupt the biofilter.

As far as substrate goes, first I would recommend going bare bottom, no substrate. This is a much healthier way to raise Discus. The bottom of the tank would be painted. If you have to bring in the substrate you could drying it or using a great deal of the same ammonia you're using for the cycling and then wash it down. Extremely hot water may also do the trick.

[ipace]

Hey Ian. Typically Praziquantel is the drug of choice for gill flukes. There are others but the ones you mentioned may not be effective. It is commonly available as PrazPro by Hikari. 10 days is recommended for gill flukes and their offspring, per Hikari. it's relatively mild and shouldn't disrupt the biofilter.

As far as substrate goes, first I would recommend going bare bottom, no substrate. This is a much healthier way to raise Discus. The bottom of the tank would be painted. If you have to bring in the substrate you could drying it or using a great deal of the same ammonia you're using for the cycling and then wash it down. Extremely hot water may also do the trick.

Hi stu,


Thanks for your reply. Regarding bare bottom, I know it's the best way, in fact I have two other tanks which are bare bottom, however this is a display tank and in all honesty I hate the look of a bare bottom :)

Unfortunately prazi pro is not available locally (Malta-Europe) hence why I used the above mentioned treatments.

Re ammonia, I never actually thought of that!!! Will probably use ammonia, rinse, bleach, rinse, boil and finally add clean water and dechlorinate! Hopefully that would be enough to to eradicate all the eggs! They are incredibly stubborn and are now seriously getting in my nerves!
Im hoping to do the same with the filter media!

Must admit it was my fault as I didn't quarantine one particular fish, which is plain stupid as I always quarantine usually!! Oh well.... You live and learn i guess!

[Kyla]

are u sure the fish still have flukes even after treatment?

[ipace]

are u sure the fish still have flukes even after treatment?

Unfortunately yes! It goes away for a couple of days and reappears after a week or so!

[SNap0283]

If possible boil everything for 5 minutes and theres no chance of anything transferring. If that's not possible bleach bath for 24 hours 1:10 ratio then rinse rinse rinse. Don't worry about 10 different ways to sterilize, pick one and do it the right way and itll be enough. Depending on the substrate potassium permanganate at about 50ppm would also do the trick if its rock and plastic. Anything once living ie driftwood this wouldn't be the choice for. Take your time with it and any of these options will eliminate ANY living organism that may be hiding.

[Kyla]

Unfortunately yes! It goes away for a couple of days and reappears after a week or so!

have u confirme actual gill flukes?

the reason i ask is because i have seen discus itch when their water quality was sub-par... sometimes itching can be a sign of flukes, but then again perhaps the fish r just irritated, or they just need more water changes?

i've seen discus breathe with one gill (another sure sign of flukes) and then revert to breathing fine with both gills after water changes were increased.

in both cases it seems no flukes were ever present??? the tanks were never treated with meds, and the fish were great after their water quality was improved....

so i have become a skeptic - in the past i would have treated tanks right away at any sign of flukes, but now my first response would be to increase water changes and observe.

[Ryan]

What is your substrate? Honestly, if it's cheap enough (sand or gravel) I'd just toss the old one and buy brand new stuff. I had a nasty bacterial issue here once and rather than risk having stuff living in my sand, I siphoned it all out, treated the bare bottom tank, and then bought new sand after it was clear. 200 pounds cost me $20. That's not much money for peace of mind.

[ipace]

have u confirme actual gill flukes?

the reason i ask is because i have seen discus itch when their water quality was sub-par... sometimes itching can be a sign of flukes, but then again perhaps the fish r just irritated, or they just need more water changes?

i've seen discus breathe with one gill (another sure sign of flukes) and then revert to breathing fine with both gills after water changes were increased.

in both cases it seems no flukes were ever present??? the tanks were never treated with meds, and the fish were great after their water quality was improved....

so i have become a skeptic - in the past i would have treated tanks right away at any sign of flukes, but now my first response would be to increase water changes and observe.

Your reasoning does make a lot of sense but in all honesty I believe that the water should be fine.... I clean the substrate and also do 60% water change every two days.... It also has sump filtration so I don't think I can do more re water on a 460L tank. :( All parameters are also perfect.

[ipace]

What is your substrate? Honestly, if it's cheap enough (sand or gravel) I'd just toss the old one and buy brand new stuff. I had a nasty bacterial issue here once and rather than risk having stuff living in my sand, I siphoned it all out, treated the bare bottom tank, and then bought new sand after it was clear. 200 pounds cost me $20. That's not much money for peace of mind.

To be honest the new tank is 1040 liters, so I would need around 220eur worth of sand which is quite a lot! If I manage to reuse some of my current one that amount will half.

[Akili]

Unfortunately prazi pro is not available locally (Malta-Europe) hence why I used the above mentioned treatments.

I think you can order prazipro from amazon.co.uk,20 years ago I treated my discus with Droncit.Got the tablets from my dog’s Veterinarian.Droncit is a wormer with a single ingredient praziquantel.