Praziquantel with wrigglers

[dpete9]

:confused:

Hello all wise and valuable Discus keepers, I need some help.

I recently moved to Maastricht Netherlands from the U.S. and decided to start with Discus again after several years of saltwater fish keeping.
Here is my dilema:
I recently purchased two unproven pairs of discus from hobbyist in Germany. (really beautiful Discus) I have them together in my 240 liter bare bottom tank with nothing else. Shortly after getting them home the two pairs began fighting a lot. so I put a divider in the tank and separated them and gave them cones. I noticed also they had been really scratchy just on their face around their gills and appear to have slightly labored breathing. They have zero signs of ich or anything that I can notice, except one of them has cyst like bumps on one of her fins. After a lot of researching on this forum I am convinced that they have flukes. AND NOW THE PROBLEM:
in the meantime one of the pairs decided to lay eggs and low and behold i have 100 plus wrigglers. the parents and the other two fish are obviously pretty irritated by the flukes or whatever they have and I really don't want to have to wait much longer to treat them.
So my questions are as follows:

Should I/ can I treat the fish without harming the wrigglers?

I found a veterinarian who can sell me some prazinquantel in pill form. Can I use that? If so how should I administer it (crush it and put in the tank) and at what dose for 240 liters?

THANK YOU IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR EXTREMELY VALUABLE ADVICE!
Pete

[dpete9]

It might help if I fill out the questionnaire too.

DISEASE QUESTIONNAIRE


Problem

1. Please explain the problems with your fish/when and how they started

1 1/2 weeks ago I noticed the fish's eyes got a little darker and every once in a while they wiggle furiously and dart to a place and scratch the sides of their faces on things.




2. Symptoms (i.e. turning dark, excess slime, not eating, clamped fins, flashing, darting, clamped gills, white/yellow/green poop, hiding, headstanding or tailstanding, white on tips of fins, rotting or fungus, blisters/ white zits on fish, bloated, cloudy eyes, wounds)

darker eyes, slightly duller color, not eating a lot, darting, twitching, scratching, one fish has a few cyst looking things on her fin. there are no visible signs of fungus or ich.





3. What medications/ treatments that you have already tried and results. Include dosages and duration of treatment.


nothing yet


Tank/Water

4. Tank size and age, number and size of fish

240 liters
6 months old
4 adult discus (7-8 inch total length)


5. Water change regime/ how long has tank been running/ bare bottom or gravel/ do you age your water?

tank has been running 6 months, no gravel, bare bottom
60% reverse osmosis 40% tap aged one day prior to change
25% water change daily

6 Parameters and water source;

- temp _86 F____

- ph __6.5___

- ammonia reading __0__

- nitrite reading _?___

- nitrate reading __?__

- well water _No___

- municipal water __yes__

7. Any new fish/plants added recently

yes these fish were added 2-3 wks ago. I believe whatever they have they brought with them

[Jennie]

? Nitrites in your water can cause flashing and labored breathing. You must know your parameters before throwing meds at them. If nitrites are in water, up water changes

[dpete9]

I could go out and throw money at nitrate & nitrite test kits, not to mention finding travel arrangements to the nearest store that sells them, but I really don't think that is the case. Here is a bit more information I forgot to mention. The tank has been running for 6 months. prior to getting these guys I had 8 younger discus I grew out in the tank. they ate like pigs and i fed heavy, they were all very healthy with no problems and they grew to adult size. I changed 25-30% water daily. I sold all of them because I wanted a different strain and replaced them with new discus pairs. and that's when things started happening. I really hope I can get some answers soon as I have fry that I want to live.

[dpete9]

ohh also the white cyst type things on the fin of the one female would not indicate Nitrates/Nitrites, that would be more of a parasitic thing??

[Jennie]

OK water parameters change daily. I can go months without having problem and then bam, there it is. no one will want to advise you to treat for that at risk of you losing your babies. Only thing is, they can tell you their own personal experience if they have one to share. I can say this, the health of the adults outweighs the batch of wigglers.

[dpete9]

Thank you and you are right. I'm going to work on this and if needed treat the adults accordingly, hope the babies survive. or maybe I should leave them be? My thought is they would have to be feeling at least okay to spawn and care for offspring??

[Jennie]

yes!

[Eddie]

Thank you and you are right. I'm going to work on this and if needed treat the adults accordingly, hope the babies survive. or maybe I should leave them be? My thought is they would have to be feeling at least okay to spawn and care for offspring??

I agree about the nitrites, need to know what they are. If they are in check, then it sounds like possible external parasite/protozoa. Also since you added new fish a few weeks ago, its more than likely a bug issue.