Orange Chromid in Trouble... Parasite?

[janfow365]

Hello Everyone

I have a 1 year old orange chromide that I purchased about 4 months ago that was in perfect health. Now, he/she seems to be in trouble. The problem looks to be a parasite in the digestive system, however I'm not sure. Here's the symptoms:

- long white stringy poo (sometimes)
- and exhausted fish who spends most of his/her time at the bottom of the tank on the sand, especially when defecating
- He/she has been getting progressively worse
- They do not seem to be sheding any weight or body mass
- He/she can swim to catch food, but their swiming is more of little shifts forward, not swimming with fins as other fish (not his/her regular behaviour)

- A member of another tank (sailfin mollie) had a similar problem, and almost wasted away to nothing. I did a major water change on both my brackish 35 G tank (with the chromide), and the 10 G nursary tank with the mollie and her juvinile fry. Since typical anti-parasite food, the mollie has survived, though not gained back body weight.

- None of the other 35 G tankmates seem to have any problems.

- I feed the same basic food to both tanks, now I feed flake to the mollie tank (as I found out they are vegetarians). I'm wondering if the parasite may have come from the food.

- Also, I have tried the typical anti-parasite pellets, but the chromide and brackish tank won't eat it in general.


Help? What can I do? She is sitting at the bottom of the tank and beginning to list to one side, crawling along the bottom...

 

[Lupin]

What other foods do you use? No, parasites would not thrive in commercialf foods. Use levamisole hydrochloride to treat the chromide. It is safe and can be used as a precaution in the main community.

 

[janfow365]

Human drug on fish?

levamisole hydrochloride? That'a drug for humans that I'd have to get with a perscription... it's an aid drug to cancer patients.... how and why the heck would I use that on a fish?

- J

 

[Lupin]

levamisole hydrochloride? That'a drug for humans that I'd have to get with a perscription... it's an aid drug to cancer patients.... how and why the heck would I use that on a fish?

- J

Levamisole hydrochloride has been used for quite awhile in the hobby to deworm several fish of their internal parasites such as camallanus, other nematodes, etc. Several drugs used for livestocks and humans have been used on fish without too much problems provided dosage is done carefully such as erythromycin, metronidazole, piperazine and terramycin.

For full details, please check this link. I'd go with 3-4 mg per liters and have used it without issues.
http://www.loaches.com/Members/shari2/levamisole-hydrochloride-1

 

[janfow365]

is there anything else I can do besides this? I read the article and am not convinced that this will work effectively without killing my other very expensive and rare fish.

- j

 

[Lupin]

I find it best levamisole is used when the fish is still under quarantine after a trip from the lfs. It should be able to work depending if you are early or late enough to treat. I've treated my striped Raphael catfish with it and he was able to gain his appetite soon after.

Your options are either try to treat or simply watch them waste away. Levamisole is actually safe. It isn't if overdosed. Follow the instructions on the link accordingly.

 

[Ruben Tolon]

levasole is definitely very effective and pretty darn safe. I used it last year in my camallanus infestation and it was very effective.

 

[janfow365]

Is it expensive?

How expensive is the stuff? Where and how would I get it?

The orange chromide has been in a community tank for some time, over 3 months now. He/She didn't start showing symptoms till about 2-3 weeks ago.
She doesn't look like she's wasting away, however, but is swimming funny and is exhausted all the time.

None of his/her tankmates are sick at all. In fact the rest are doing very well.

Any ideas?

 

[Lupin]

How expensive is the stuff? Where and how would I get it?

Where are you located? It's not expensive in my case and I get them from stores that sell equipments intended for livestocks.

The orange chromide has been in a community tank for some time, over 3 months now. He/She didn't start showing symptoms till about 2-3 weeks ago.
She doesn't look like she's wasting away, however, but is swimming funny and is exhausted all the time.

None of his/her tankmates are sick at all. In fact the rest are doing very well.

Any ideas?

It'll be worth your while treating it with levamisole. It also serves to increase immunity against most parasites.