Not an emergency, just maybe the best place to post…

[Magnum Man]

In my mixed, medium Cichlid tank, I have a “huffer” my diamond angel fish has been huffing and puffing, for a couple weeks now, the tank is well stocked, with everyone else acting normal… the water is good, and the fish eats well, except for the rapid breathing appears normal… any ideas what would effect a single fish like that, and not effect smaller weaker fish???

 

[GaryE]

Panting usually says there's an internal infection, or parasitic gill flukes.

 

[Magnum Man]

As a specialty tank bred fish, curious as to the best treatment??? It’s particularly fond of the frozen blood worms, a potential source???

 

[GaryE]

@Colin_T can help there, when he checks in.

Gill flukes can have come from any fish in the tank, introduced over the past weeks to months. One man's specialty bred fish is another man's weak inbred form...

Stress gives parasites a foothold as well. It sounds like a parasite in the gills, and if the tank doesn't blossom into Ich or velvet, it's likely flukes spread through all the fish. I haven't seen signs of it here for many years, so I'm not up to date on the meds. It used to be a tough one, but treatable.

 

[Alice B]

I think i use praziquantel dissolved in a litttle vodka but i am not home to look it up

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Prazi should work. However, so will Flubendazole which is also goof for other things as well. It can be absorbed by the fish without having to be eaten. I keep both in my med kit but have never had to treat flukes. I just know that both are effective treatments for gill flukes. I use the Flubendazole for treating wasting disease.

Flubendazole definitely need to be turned to a paste with a few drops of vodka and then mixed with tank water. You can get information about it as well as buying it in the states from here https://www.inkmkr.com/Fish/ItemsForSale.html

 

[Colin_T]

Gill flukes is the most common cause of rapid breathing in fish that are acting and eating normally.

use Praziquantel or Flubendazole to treat gill flukes. Praziquantel also treats tapeworm, while Flubendazole treats flat and round worms as well as the gill flukes.

You need to treat all your tanks at the same time because they will all have some gill flukes.

Your Tilapia will probably have them too. However, due to the number you have and the size of their containers, I would wait until you have harvested them and move the adults indoors. Then dry out and bleach the outdoor ponds and treat the brood stock indoors in the aquariums.

Treat the tanks once a week for 4 weeks. Do a huge (75-90%) water change and complete gravel clean before re-treating the aquariums. Give the filters a clean after treating them.