Any Way To Get Rid Of These External Parasites?

[fry_forever!]

Hey guys. Somewhere along the lines of sharing nets between tanks, (I don't do that anymore) a disease spread to all my tanks. I treated them all with Jungle Parasite Clear, and the diseases (Which were external parasites) are gone in all tanks but one.

In my 39 gallon, the fish in there still are occasionally rubbing against the gravel and coconut caves, and their gills are slightly inflamed, and they sit there with their fins clamped most of the time. They are still eating fine, but the livebearers in particular look irritated. I tried treating them with Jungle Parasite Clear for 3 weeks straight, to no avail. I also tried a gill fluke medication that has worked well in the past, and that only made it a little bit better.

Is there any way to completely alleviate these external parasites?

Water Stats:
Ammonia: 0ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: 10ppm
Ph: 7.5

The tank has been set up for 3 months.

Thanks in advance,

-f_f!

 

[WILDER]

When did the med say you have to retreat.

You have to keep medicating to kill the young as they hatch.
One off treatment will only kill the adult parasite.. You then have to treat to kill the young as they hatch. As some flukes are egg layers.

 

[fry_forever!]

I treated four times. The directions say;

"Treat with 1 tablet per 10 gallons, in 48 hours, do a 25% water change and repeat treatment."

After I did that, I repeated the original treatment 5 days later.

 

[WILDER]

Flukes are hard to get rid off. But the treatment should of wiped them out by now.

You can be treating flukes up to 4 weeks.

 

[fry_forever!]

Ooh, that's quite a bit of money.... Are there any medications that you recommend?

Btw, if you remember, I've been having that internal parasite problem for ages.... My 2nd and 3rd generation fish seem to still be slightly affected by it. They aren't really having fry, and I notice stringy clear poo from time to time. It's only in my livebearers though, in the 39 gallon. The rest of the fish in the 39 gallon don't have that problem.

Thanks.

 

[WILDER]

Are you sure it's flukes.
Can you list the symtoms.

 

[fry_forever!]

They clamp their fins.... From time to time flash against objects, I even see some clear stringy waste from time to time. Anti-parasite medicated food has no effect. It's only the livebearers & zebra danios that have these symptoms. Also, they don't move around a ton, especially the zebra danios. (But then again, the danios are couple years old.... Could it be old age?)

Like I said, the kribs and bristlnoses don't show any of these symptoms.

Thanks,

f_f!

 

[WILDER]

Anti parasite med treats internal flukes. Though fish can get internal flukes as well as external.

Get you a link to some meds for flukes.

Treat with Clout, Fluke Tabs, Paraform, Trifon, Paragon, Quick Cure, Formalin, orParasite Guard. Gill flukes are highly contagious, therefore, all fish in the same aquarium should be treated.

 

[fry_forever!]

Thanks. Why is it that only the livebearers & zebra danios show symptoms?

 

[WILDER]

Not convinced totally they do have gills flukes.

Red gills can also be bad water quality bacterial.

Signs of gill and skin flukes are.

Opaque body with excess slime.
Red inflamed gills, gills that look like there bleeding, or pale gills with excess slime.
Flicking and rubbing.
Darting, or erratic swimming.
Swimming in a jerky movment.
Laboured breathing or gasping at surface of tank.
Weighloss.
Spitting food out.
Red pin pricks marks on fish or red sores.


Sure the meds have irratated the fish. Causing flicking and rubbing and inflamed gills.

Best thing to do is remove a fish from the tank.
Wrap the fish in a cloth soaked in tank water. Ask someone to hold the fish down for you.
Steralise some tweezers before removing the fish.
Gently raise the gill flap, and look with a magifying glass for tiny worms.
Don't have the fish out of the tank long.

 

[fry_forever!]

Thanks, I'll see if I can try that. How should I sterilize the tweezers? (Dumb question, but.)

 

[WILDER]

Sterilise the tweezers in boiling water.

What make of test kit do you use?

 

[fry_forever!]

Okay, that was pretty obvious - I am not the brightest bulb.

I use an API master liquid test kit for fresh or salt water use.

 

[WILDER]

That's fine.
Let me know how you get on if you don't mind.

 

[fry_forever!]

Like how it works out?

Oh man, I feel so dumb. lol