My first treatment with flubendazole

Test 2 underway. This is the biggie and most nervous one of all. The Hydra in the main Oto breeding tank has really blossomed. I looked in the tank yesterday and just saw them everywhere. Which is really interesting because a few days ago, I would only see one here or there. Not like what was seen yesterday. And there are also hundreds of Ninja shrimp zoea in the tank too. So it was time for immediate action. I was hoping to hit a couple of the smaller breeders first before going for the juggler.

I moved the two Briggs out of that tank and put them in with my Crystals for now. Not sure how long it will be before they can go back into their own tank after the treatment.

So I added just under 1/8tsp of the Flub yesterday afternoon. Will assess the tank today and see how it is going as compared to the first test tank.
 
No sign of the Hydra in the second tank at the moment. Still have a few more days for the meds to sit in the tank. No sign of ill effects on the other critters in the tank. Namely the young Otos. May proceed in dosing all now whether they need it or not just to be safe.
 
Be careful with your Briggs- I was not able to put Briggs or Nerites back in my tanks after using flubendazole. It was a problem several months afterward- even the MTS eventually succumbed- only the ramshorns (and shrimp, and fish) were unaffected. I haven't tried briggs or nerites again yet- it's been more than a year but I'm still gun-shy. Tank is heavily planted with driftwood and fluorite substrate. Supposedly the flubendazole forms a coating on some of the tank surfaces.
 
That's not good. I was hoping to put some more briggs back in the tank after a few weeks. Now I'm really starting to wonder if I should treat all tanks or not? I've only seen Hydra in one other tank. I may just let it go for now and treat only if I have to as was the case with the latest treatment. I love Briggs and want to have them around.

As an update, the Hyrdra infestation in the second tank is gone. Haven't seen any signs of them for the past few days.
 
fishie111 said:
Supposedly the flubendazole forms a coating on some of the tank surfaces.
Click to expand...

After thinking about this more, I wonder if it is a benefit that there are Oto's in the tank since they graze over everything? That may help if this coating does exist. Man I hope this ain't true as I have to get Briggs back. They are just too cool not to have. :)
 
I don't know. I've had otos and ancistrus in the tanks I've treated with flubendazole, and it didn't help. I really miss having Briggs. Maybe I should try again since it has been awhile. I just put a couple of assassin snails in one of the tanks that I had trouble with- I'll see how they do. I don't recall reading anything specific about whether they are sensitive or not. I think flubendazole is a very useful medication, but I'm much more cautious about using it now.
 
Ok...now I'm definately not happy with the treatment. Came home today to find (3) dead ninja shrimp and (1) tiger shrimp. Now I can't say that the Flub treatment was the cause or the subsequent large water change. Water change was done slowly via drip method as usual. Just sooooo not happy right now. Dang It!
 
After sleeping on it and having a refreshed brain reset, I'm pretty sure the large water change was the root cause and not the Flub. If that were the case, I'm sure I would have lost more during the treatment and not after. Will just have to monitor the tank closely.
 
Hydra and Planaria are sings of a dirty tank. You need to vacuum the tank more thoroughly and don't feed as much. Too much food going to waste, this is what feeds them. Vacuum and water changes should be done weekly.

Even though you have bottom feeders, they do not "clean" the tank or get into cracks and crevices. They only get what is on the very top. Once in a while you might see them try for a "buried treasure" but it is rare.
 
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