gill flukes,plz help

[majik]

i have just read an article that recomends to use snail away or had-a-snail to treat flukes it was very intresting has anyone used this before and was it sucessfull or has anyone used any other copper based chemicals to treat flukes all i can get hold of in nz is formalin and would rather not use if i dont have to:confused:

[Don Trinko]

I think prazi pro (or similar) is the most common treatment for flukes. I think Formaldahide works also but prazi is the prefered treatment. Don T.

[brewmaster15]

Hi Tanya,
Is there a reason you don't want to use formalin? Its relatively safe to use, and is effective against a broad range of external parasites...something that is useful when you are not 100% sure if theres a fluke issue or something else.

Copper meds are not good to use except when its a severe issue and last resort..I would not advise them for flukes.

Can you get a product called fluke tabs or "life bearer" products for flukes?

vets may be able to get you prazi in the form of droncit.

hth,
al

[majik]

thanks for your replies i had just read that formulin wasnt very effective and was hard on the fish hence my hesitation very few meds are avaiable in nz i have tried getting prazi pro and couldnt so ordered from america and maf have kindly stopped it for me .also i think i have other problems aswell i have had white stringy poop from first 1 and now 3 fish and loss of condition of these fish and stopped growing as fast i suspect hex but once again having a nightmare finding metro or flagyl is there anything else i can use for that heat mabe? i wanted to treat for worms first so they gain condition to then treat with formulin is that the right way round it???

[brewmaster15]

Tanya,
Alot of subjective comments can be made about the effectiveness of a medication...Often these are made without any explanation as to the tank conditions or even what was really and positively the "target" of the treatment... Some may not have found formalin to be effective.....but generally, in a clean tank... My experience is its very effective for flukes... it won't kill the eggs...but it will knock off the adults flukes and give fast relief... I use formalin alot and have access to Prazi....but still use formalin as my first line of defense...because it is broad spectrum and its a mechanical killer.... its also relatively inexpensive and theres little chance of resistent parasites developing.

Since you have access to it...but not other medications... you may want to try it...

AS for harsh.... I guess its how you interpret that...it is a caustic dangerous chemical and needs to be used with care. BUT....Its been a breeders maintstay for decades as its tolerated well even by newly hatched fry....and is used by many in their tanks as an antifungal once eggs are layed.... Its not without risks...you can overdose it, kill your biofilter or your fish....but its a decent med to use for external parasites, IMO and IME.

As for the internal issues... how long has this been going on and what do you normally feed?

Check your local fishstores for what anti=parasitic meds they sell...post them here and we'll try to steer you towards alternative to metro/flagyl.

hth,
al

[Don Trinko]

You might want to try metro for the internal problems. It will kill many internal parasites. Some people say that raising the temp to 90 helps even without the metro. I did both. It might be a good idea to have some of the common meds around. Even if you buy from good sources you can end up with various diseases. Don T.

[majik]

thanks for the replies i have decided to treat for internal first and then look at flukes with formalin as the internal seams to be main problem at the moment have 2 non eaters and a third usually aggresive eater stopped eating today i feed frozen bloodworm and tetra flakes also tetra bits i have been scouting around today for meds all i could find at lfs was fluke tabs i got some anyway and mabe able to get metro in pill form from vet but need a pescription also can get mebendazole and liquid flagyl and pyrantel from chemist but also need script what would be the best to go for my vet dosnt kno a thing about discus and is making me mad he wants me to bring my fish in yeah right hes neva seen discus so how can he know what hes looking at-for:mad:but thanks so much for helping i have in the mean time raised temp up to88f so far and rising hoping to get ubove 90 have got an extra heater in it 120g tank so takes some heating

[brewmaster15]

I think if you can get metro as a Pill...its best...just be sure to find out the concentration in the pill......its probably 250 mg if for animals...or 500 mg if for humans....The liquid will work as well...but its probably more expensive on a concentration basis...

hth,
al

[majik]

thanks for that ive managed to get the pill form 400mg and am dosing at 400mg per 10g for 4 days have had two days and am about to do w/c and do third dose have managed to get tank up to 94.6 very happy bout that is it usual for the worst affected to not resume eating straight away?? thank u again for your help one sure does loose sleep when fish not well

[brewmaster15]

Generally it takes several says treatment before an effect is seen.... If you see an improvement by the time the treatment is concluded and the fish are not fully recovered...I'd advise seeing if you can get a script for another couple of days.


hth,
al

[majik]

ok thanks al ill do that and please could u tell me how long rest should i give them before i treat the flukes with formalin oviously i need to bring temp down slowly over 10 days?would that be enough time thank u for your help
tanya:)