Are Catfish Sensitive To Praziquantel

[kowgirl_kate]

My fish have either flukes or an internal parasite and I want to treat them & the whole tank with AquaMaster Fluke tabs (The only thing I could find we have here apart from Waterlife Sterazin) but I was reading here http/www.adelaideaquariums.com.au/faqs/d...sp?DiseaseID=10 that some catfish are sensitive to the main ingredient in the tablets so I was just wondering if anyone has used it or not or whether they know if it will hurt them.

I have 2 bristlenoses & 4 corydoras

 

[dylema]

Hi,

I believe your BN should be fine but the Corys might not be. I believe (but don't quote me) that the corys can absorb the medication through their skin more than other fish and so can be effected differently. I don't know if it damages their skin or can cause an overdose but perhaps you can find out if their is a better med for the corys.

What are the symptoms the fish have? I don't know much about flukes but someone else might want to know the syptoms to help better.

You could try and ask in the emergency section here.

Hope this helps

Dylan

 

[kowgirl_kate]

Thanks for that. I'm not 100% sure it is flukes as only a few guppies and a few neons do the scratching themself occasionally and that could just be water quality or PH. They have no red gills or slime so I don't really want to treat at all until I'm absolutely sure.

I've read elsewhere that cories are highly sensitive to it so you were right about that.

I think I'll just wait a while or treat with Sterazin, as that's all we have here that's safe for all my fish.
I don't want to stress the cories out by catching them & putting them in another tank while I treat.
I think I might need to learn some patience too instead of jumping at every symptom I see and start panicking.
It could be something or it could be nothing.

Thankyou though

 

[dylema]

Since your not 100% sure if they have flukes maybe just keep up water changes to keep the water in tip top condition and give them all some good food (all my fish (BN, guppies, platies, neon) eat peas and other vegies as well as flakes and algae wafers) and see how they go. I would hold on the meds until you know for sure.

Good luck

Dylan

 

[kowgirl_kate]

Well I'm now convinced it is flukes. One of my cories up and died with heavy breathing as did the clown loach who I'm convinced brought it into the tank in the first place.
Guppies are scratching more than usual and some with heavier breathing.

I have commenced treatment with the Sterazin first. Even though others have told me on here it won't do a thing but I'll keep my fingers crossed and move onto the Praziquantel if it doesn't work.

I think I will put the cories in another tank with a lower dose if I have to use the Praziquantel.

My BristleNoses are the only fish who don't seem affected by the flukes. Either that or they're scratching themselves in the cave where I can't see.

 

[dylema]

That's no good.

I don't know how good you are with dead fish but I have heard that it is a good idea to leave the dead fish in a container for a while (I guess a couple of hours) and see if anything tries to make an exit. If the fish has worms the worm will know the fish is dead and try to get out to find a new host. I don't know if this works for flukes (how big are flukes anyway? microscopic or just small?). I found out my fish had worms this way by accident but I glad I found out and treated them before anything else died.

Dylan

 

[kowgirl_kate]

I've read that you can't see flukes with the naked eye. Need to do a skin scrape and look under a microscope. I wouldn't know what to look for and living in backward Tasmania our vets here probably wouldn't have any idea either.

I really hope it's not internal. I'm starting to worry heaps now cause I just saw one of my guppies with white kinda clear, slimey poo.

What did you use to treat the worms with by the way?

My fish were all buried in a pot plant straight away so I didn't see any worms. I'll keep that idea in mind for next time. Even though I really hope that there won't be a next time.

 

[dylema]

Hi,

I treated the worms with a product sold for drenching cattle called nilverm. The active ingredient is 40g/L Levamisole hydrochloride. I believe it is a broad spectrum worming medicine. The vet prescribed me 1ml per 7 lt of tank water, leave in for 24hours then do a 100% water change. I can't say if it is effective for flukes or not and I also can't say if it is safe to use with all your fish. The vet was unsure about using it on the BN's but it was decided that they might die if not treated so I took the risk.

I think your best bet is to ask here in the emergency section and do a search for fish problems. There are a few good pages out there with all kinds of diseases and treatments. If you find that Nilverm is going to be useful your vet should be able to get it as it is a widely used product in Aus.

Dylan