Gill Fluke??

[Mulla]

Hi all

I recently bought 2 kissing gourami's and one of them looks a bit weird.

His right gill looks very red and can't close properly. I haven't noticed any mucus or worm like creatures hanging off it as described on many websites.

His head also kinda looked a bit larger than the other one. He isn't flashing / scratching against anything. Just looked a bit slow and often rests on the bottom of the tank.

Read one of WetmanNY's previous post and if a gill can't close it's definatly gill fluke??

I can't really choose the fish when I got them since there were so many of them in the tank swimming left and right really fast.

The other one looks perfectly fine.

What sort of med could I get? Should I QT the sick fish first?

[OrionGirl]

I would quarantine the sick fish for treatment, and then watch all exposed fish closely for possible infestation. Parasites spread easily, so you may end up treating the entire tank, but it will be easier to start with the obviously infected fish. Use a medication that is specific for treating gill flukes.

[Mulla]

Thanks OrionGirl for the reply. I'll do that this afternoon when I get home from work. Probably drop by the LFS to get some meds for him too.

Anyone know what type of med I should get?

Thanks

[wetmanNY]

Praziquantel.

[Mulla]

I bought some Fluke Tabs. from the LFS last night I think it does contain Praziquantel 100mg per tablet. It's written for fluke / tapeworm.

I've only put the fish in QT since the guy at the LFS thinks it's a birth defect "gill curve"??? No other fish are showing signs of disease (touch wood).

Haven't used the meds since I just want to monitor how he goes in the QT for a few weeks. He's not getting worse or better so I thought it might be true that he's born handicapped :(

Anyway I'll keep you all posted if you're interested :)

[Mulla]

Hi all

Unfortuantely, he died this morning :(

I've been monitoring him in the QT tank but he isn't getting any better and just sits at the bottom most of the time. Started medicating with Praziquantel the next day.

For a few days he's still hanging there but not getting better at all. In the end I just found him dead before I left for work in the moning :(

Never really knew what happened. Now I'm getting a bit paranoid about the main tank but so far they're doing fine (touching wood).

But thanks to all those that helped me out. :)

[wetmanNY]

Fluke Tabs have been reformulated you say and now contain Praziquantel? No more organophosphate insecticide? Is that what the label says?

[Mulla]

Sorry my bad. In saying "Fluke Tabs" I thought people are referring to Fluke Tablets in general instead of a specific product.

I just picked up some tablets that contain paraziquantel 100mg per tablet.

Apologies for the confusion :o