gill flukes (Harlock)

[Jtd724]

put Harlock in the title cuz he seems to know everything and anything about aquaria so maybe I can get him to answer this one.

Hi everyone, I have a question on gill flukes. I have 3 meds available, CopperSafe, Quick Cure (formalin), and fluke tabs.
My question is, does anyone know a proper dosing of any of those? they all give me instructions for 1 or 2 days, flukes require about a week of dosing so you can kill the eggs that hatched and all that. I just can't seem to find specific clearly understandable dosing procedures for any of those meds in regards to gill flukes. I would be so grateful if someone can post dosing instructions. Please Obi Won your my only hope!

Stats: 55 gallon, 9 malawi cichlids (1-2inches), gravel substrate, 3 AC 300's

 

[Harlock]

Well, I don't know everything about aquaria, I just know a little about Google. Here's some info from one site regarding Fluke Tabs:

Do not use on tropical fish from the Amazon River. Discuses are particularly sensitive. There is significant toxicity of the Carbamates to certain fish, most notably Discus and Catfish, who may be affected adversely. Fluke tab treatments should not be continuous, as many types of fish, but especially the larger cyprinids (Koi and Goldfish) may experience a strange inflammatory dermatitis if the product is left in the water longer than 48 hours. Therefore, it is recommended that you do a fifty percent water change after 48 hours, and re-treat after a 24 hour hiatus in the middle.

Man, these things are rough. Here's info from another site:

Right from the start let me say that in many cases flukes are hard to treat and complete eradication is virtually impossible. For individuals affected with flukes, consecutive salt baths over 2-3 days can be useful. Using a quaternary ammonium compound in conjunction with, but not at the same time as, salt baths can be useful, in both clearing the skin and gills of excess mucus and debris as well as soothing damaged tissues.

Malachite and formalin is often affective, although my experience is that the stronger dose needs to be used. It most cases, where the flukes are a nuisance rather than a real danger the old M&F will probably suffice.

For all out war, the best treatments are organophosphates such as masoten.

Another promising treatment is high dose, bath treatments with chloramine-T. A few trials I have carried out show that in most cases chloramine-T is quite effective, but it is early days to draw any firm conclusions. The draw-back of bath treatments is that it does mean handling the fish and having a large treatment tank. Due to the complications of using chloramine-T in a typical pond, it is unlikely to be so successful as a pond treatment. Bath treatments also allow the life phases which exist in the ponds (eggs and embryos) to continue to survive. Your freshly "cleaned" individual fish will be returned to a pond with emerging stages in it!

Whilst, with enough determination, beating skin flukes is relatively easy, however, the same can't always be said for gill flukes. Because of gill hyperplasia and increased mucus, the gill-dwellers are often afforded a high degree of protection from chemical treatments. I have had several experiences of flukes surviving multiple treatments safely ensconced in the gill. In such a situation the outlook for the fish is poor, because in addition to the gill flukes there will almost certainly be other gill damage and gill disease.

The most important step in preventing a serious fluke or indeed any parasite problem is first to investigate abnormal behaviour - that is incessant rubbing and flashing or lethargy. Take a scrape and see what's going on. Don't just say "parasites" and dump some chemical into the water. It is important to know what you're dealing with and how severe the problem is. In severe cases it is important to do a follow up at the end of the treatment to see how effective it has been. How severe is severe? One or two flukes in a mucus sample is not abnormal. Any more than that definitely warrants treatment.

This one sounds most promising:

Most sites will give you an elaborate procedure for treating with harsh chemicals that, in my experience, do more harm than good. I've found a much better way. Go to your local fish store and get something made from copper. I recommend Had A Snail, (pictured below) but medicines like Coppersafe work too. I have found that it will end the almost immediately. It also has no effect on your fish, unlike malachite green and many other antiparasitics, which are extremely hard on them. The only drawback is that you must remove all your invertabrates: The reason it's effective is that it kills ALL invertabrates, from the Ich parasite to shrimp. Invertabrates include snails, clams, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, and crabs. Note that you should treat for at least 5 days, as the hatching period of fluke eggs (unaffected by copper meds) varies from 2-4 days depending on the water temperature.

From the last one I am really curious as to how these parasites wuold react to increased salt. Do you add cichlid salt or anything to your tank, our of curiosity? If you have a really bad outbreak, then I would try the had-a-snail if there are no other inverts in the tank, but if it's minor, you may consider the salt/heat treatment for ich, just treat it agressively.

 

[Kasakato]

To the first poster:
If you need fast info about fish go to google.com and search what you are looking for. Of course if you need more info you are always welcome to post here.

 

[Jtd724]

Harlock, thank you, and truth is, i was looking on google but couldnt find solid dosing instructions, each site said something different, but i gathered the 3 best meds I learned from google. My problem was understanding the proper way. Thank you again Harlock, I am going to go with the CopperSafe. :dance