Shrimp/ Plant Friendly Fluke Treatment?

[jpedersen024]

Needing to treat my planted tank for flukes. Been having issues for too long now, and they all point back to the same thing... flicking, flashing, swimming against the current, and in some cases - secondary infections.

I would love to use Coppersafe (which I already have - bonus!!) but not feasible I don't think with plants? I could always try to rehouse my shrimp temporarily...

Any one use Coppersafe with plants before? ANy luck? Anything else that is plant/ shrimp friendly out there??

 

[GoldLenny]

I have read that Praziquantel is probably safe for shrimp but here is what Doc Johnson says about it... You could remove one shrimp with a gallon of water and add a proper 1G dose of Prazi and see how the shrimp does. Prazi is also used to treat intestinal worms on dogs and cats and even humans. You may be able to get it from your local Veterinarian if your LFS does not sell it. Prazi is 100% safe with plants. I'm just not 100% sure about the shrimp.

http/www.pondrx.com/products/16162.html

Q: Hi. I want to treat gill flukes in a freshwater aquarium that has lots of shrimp, clams and snails in it, all of them ornamental or at least useful and worth keeping. Will praziquantel harm these invertebrates (everyone tells me flukes are invertebrates and you can't kill them without killing all invertebrates!). Also, I'm told that shrimp are an intermediate host for gill flukes. Does this mean they can escape prazi while they are in the shrimp (assuming, of course, that the shrimp don't die)? Finally, do you have smaller quantities of prazi for aquarium use (one gram would be plently)? Thanks


A: Shrimp are not an intermediate for Flukes, you should worry about the one who told you that. A monogenetic trematode (fluke) is just that: Monogenetic meaning it has no intermediate host. So don't worry about the shrimp. It's a safe bet that anything that would kill the Flukes would also hammer your invertebrates, however, Prazi is safe with SOME invertebrates. This is the testing we want to accomplish at KoiLab.com - Anyway - you should remove the fish for 2-3 weeks and treat in a separate system, OR consider a small biological test on ONE clam, ONE shrimp, ONE snail, in a container - to see whether the product you're considering will cause harm to them.


A smaller gram-size Prazi is going to be available within the month!


Doc Johnson

Here is another long article on Prazi but still no definite answer about shrimp.
http/www.koivet.com/html/articles/articl...ame=Medications

 

[GoldLenny]

Since I have a cherry shrimp tank, I decided to do more research on drugs for shrimp and I found this post about Prazi which says it is safe for all other aquatic animals and plants.

http/www.kokosgoldfish.invisionzone.com/...st&p=290551

 

[jpedersen024]

Ok, thanks for that!

I can pretty easily get my cherries and amanos out I think. The only concern was catching them, but hopefully won't be too hard. I'd hate to lose any of them, so maybe re-housing for a time will be the best option.

Next question becomes - how easy is Prazi to pick up? Will it be something I can find at my lfs?? And is it labelled as such? Or under a different name? I have to admit - haven't seen much in drug names marketed out there... More likely are the catchy 'Snail-B Gone's and 'Fix-it Fish' remedies!!

 

[jpedersen024]

Since I have a cherry shrimp tank, I decided to do more research on drugs for shrimp and I found this post about Prazi which says it is safe for all other aquatic animals and plants.

http/www.kokosgoldfish.invisionzone.com/...st&p=290551

Looks like we were posting at the same time.... I missed this before my last reply. Great site link - thanks!

So Prazi is what I should look for then, or Prazi-Pro, as a back up option?

 

[GoldLenny]

I also asked for more info from another group I belong to and got this reply from a very experienced fish keeper.

Lenny, Prazi was safe with my snails, my ghost shrimp, fish (goldies, cories, otos), goldfish eggs and fry!
Which makes it even safer than salt
Maybe I should put this info into our medication sticky, thanks for the hint.

The actual medication is called praziquantel. There are several different brands that carry it as the sole ingredient. Make sure you only use prazi and not some of the other parasiticides that may not be safe for shrimp/plants.

I also found this very good (but LONG) article on another parasiticide that appears to be safe for shrimp. http/www.loaches.com/Members/shari2/leva...hydrochloride-1 with this snip from the summary. It may not be the right treatment for your issue though. Are you sure your fish have flukes? Read the long article on how to figure out what parasite you have.

Summary
Levamisole HCL is a safe and effective anthelmintic for use in aquariums. It does not harm the biofilter, plants or invertebrates (including shrimp) in your tank and has the added benefit of stimulating the immune system of the tank inhabitants. I highly recommend its inclusion in any fishkeeper's arsenal of medications. For those of us who purchase wild-caught fish, it is something that should be part of our quarantine tank treatments for newly purchased fish.

 

[GoldLenny]

I did a search on BigAlsOnline.ca for "praziquantel" and found these products on their page. Check out the ingredients on each before buying.

http/www.bigalsonline.ca/edealinv/servle...mp;ctl_nbr=3664

I took a look at the Hikari PraziPro X and it seems to only contain praziquantel but check the bottle at the store or get more info from Big Als.

 

[jpedersen024]

You have been IMMENSELY helpful GoldLenny!! Thank you!!!

I am fairly certain that it is flukes... flicking, flashing, swimming into currents, and a general unhappiness - in extreme cases serious secondary infections in a couple of older fish... nothing else seems to fit. They are otherwise healthy in appearance and eating/ pooping well.

Being that this is a safer/ less harsh med, I am putting my bets on it first... hopefully it will do the trick, and I'll be very careful in quarantining any future arrivals.

Thank you again. I'll keep you posted!