Fish Lice/Hikari Products, BIG problems

[zue]

I have two ten gallon tanks, both divided, and two 2.5 gallon tanks. In each 10 gallon I have a Betta on either side, and 1 female Betta in each 2.5 gallon. Each tank is properly heated, and they all go through routine cleanings/water changes. I noticed in one 2.5 gallon tank my small baby red Betta had become lethargic. I soon noticed she lost her appetite and twitched as she swam, whenever she swam. I did some research and discovered she has fish lice, which are visible minutely within the water of her tank. I then noticed they are present in all of my tanks, just the worst in hers. Having researched them online, I discovered a website in which the author cases the appearance of fish lice after an aquarium was fed with live Daphnia. I had been feeding my fish dried Daphnia by Hikari for a long time, and am thinking that food might be the culprit. As well when I was feeding my Bettas dried brine shrimp by Hikari, there were Damselfly eggs present in the food, which all hatched into nymphs in my tanks.

I'll not be purchasing any Hikari foods again for my Bettas, but now I'm concerned for the health of the school. I'm currently treating the small Betta with a general medication I bought at Petsmart claiming to treat a plethora of parasites, including fish lice, but she hasn't shown much improvement and the lice are still present in the water. It's been now almost 2.5 days of treatment. I don't know what to do to help my fish, and could use some help in figuring out how to treat them. If it takes a complete tank breakdown I'll have to go that route, I just hope it's not too late for my fish.


P.S. She is the only fish to show symptoms thus far, and I've been feeding them pellets/flakes.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

from http://animal-world.com/encyclo/fresh/information/Diseases.htm

Argulus (Fish louse)

Symptoms: The fish scrapes itself against objects, clamped fins, visible parasites about 1/4 inch in diameter are visible on the body of the fish.

The fish louse is a flattened mite-like crustacean about 5 mm long that attaches itself to the body of fish. They irritate the host fish which may have clamped fins, become restless, and may show inflamed areas where the lice have been.
With larger fish and light infestations, the lice can be picked off with a pair of forceps. Other cases can best be done with a 10 to 30 minute bath in 10 mg per liter of potassium permanganate. Or treat the whole tank with 2 mg per liter, but this method is messy and dyes the water.

I have been using Hikari FD daphnia and their frozen blood worms and brine shrimp for years with nary a problem. In fact they are known for the safety of their foods. I would not be so quick to label them as the cause withoutout more evidence than you first spotted the problem about the same time you used their food.

 

[zue]

potassium permanganate seems to be an expensive treatment method, one that is also risky. It's usually used to treat entire ponds. I'm not sure if it'd be safe to treat my small aquariums with the chemical, or how to obtain it since it's a 5.1 hazardous substance.

 

[Malbri]

have you talked to your lfs yet? They migth know what has worked for some people and what is avalible locally. But then again, depend on the store, the may be no help at all

 

[zue]

I'm going to Petco tomorrow, there's a kid who has been working in the aquatics department for a while now, always been very helpful. Petsmart is so-so. Sometimes no help at all, sometimes just a little, never been a great help. An employee at Petsmart suggested to me this: General Care by API; Anti-Parasitic Fish Medication. About 15 bucks for a box filled with small packets of a white, powdery substance comprised of Metronidazole and Praziquantel, and the contents are known in the state of California to cause cancer. Comforting. I'm hoping this treatment works.

 

[webcricket]

I also have been using Hikari for years with no problems.

Fish lice look like this - on the fish:

What you describe as minutely visible objects in the water don't match up. I'd hesitate to call it fish lice unless you are seeing the lice on the fish.

What are your water parameters? Ammonia/nitrite/nitrate, etc. What is your water change routine? Filtration? Are the minute objects in the tank moving, or just floating? Any structure to them? I also feed the Hikari freeze-dried daphnia, and since it is a "dusty" food, it creates a lot of specks floating in the water. My filter takes care of it within a couple of minutes of feeding.

 

[zue]

The visible objects move around in the water and look like this:

I can also see them on the side of my fish, and when she twitches they either fall off or jump off.

 

[Toirtis]

I would be more that surprised if anyone evr had fish contract fish lice from any freeze-dried or frozen foods, although I can personally attest to the parasite risks of feeding livedaphnia or shrimps from any body of water that also houses fish of any sort.

 

[Star_Rider]

I'm not sure many parasites(if any) could survive the freeze dried processes.
I do agree if live food had been introduced there is a chance the fish could contract lice.

treatments vary..from raising heat and adding salt( like ich treatment) the lice would be a freshwater version and may not be able to adapt to higher salinity.
raising the temp to around 86 degrees is standard practice with parasites. you could also try parasite meds like Parasite guard from jungle labs.

check out this thread there are other recommendations.


http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=76266