Ectoparasite meds?

[captmicha]

What's the medication of choice for this?

Obviously, I'd prefer something safe for sensitive fish, as well as not harmful to plants and biological filtration.

Something that isn't really prone to developing resistance would be nice.

(Should I do preventative treatment as well, or only use as needed?)

I'd like to keep something on hand and I've also spotted fin flukes on two fish!

I've never had this problem before. I'm wondering if it's from growing some plants outside with tadpoles getting into it. I always QT my fish.

Prazi seems to be for mainly internal parasites. I use Safeguard for that.

It hasn't had any effect on these flukes.

The only things I have on hand for possibly ectoparasites are Methylthene Blue and Nitrofuracyne Green.

I prefer to not use the latter if necessary bc it's so wide use. It's a last resort med I keep on hand.

 

[Frank Cowherd]

External parasites are relatively easy to get rid of with salt baths. The salt level and time in the bath can be increased or lowered to account for the size and sensitivity of the fish.. Some blackwater fish species cannot survive even low levels of salt however, So salt baths should not be used on blackwater species. But then blackwater species do not seem to have many parasites perhaps because of the tannins.

Most public aquariums use water dips as a routine to remove parasites for newly purchased fish. They use salt water dips (sea water) for freshwater fish, and freshwater dips for marine fish.

When you place a freshwater fish in sea water it has to struggle to stay under the water because the density of sea water is higher than the density of fresh water. As long as the fish is trying to swim normally, it is fine. As soon as the fish quits struggling, take it out and put back in water that is appropriate for it. Do not put it back in the same tank unless you know it is free of parasites. Parasites are very much smaller than the fish and cannot survive the change is salt level. You can get the dead parasites off the bottom of the treatment container for identification.

 

[captmicha]

External parasites are relatively easy to get rid of with salt baths. The salt level and time in the bath can be increased or lowered to account for the size and sensitivity of the fish.. Some blackwater fish species cannot survive even low levels of salt however, So salt baths should not be used on blackwater species. But then blackwater species do not seem to have many parasites perhaps because of the tannins.

Most public aquariums use water dips as a routine to remove parasites for newly purchased fish. They use salt water dips (sea water) for freshwater fish, and freshwater dips for marine fish.

When you place a freshwater fish in sea water it has to struggle to stay under the water because the density of sea water is higher than the density of fresh water. As long as the fish is trying to swim normally, it is fine. As soon as the fish quits struggling, take it out and put back in water that is appropriate for it. Do not put it back in the same tank unless you know it is free of parasites. Parasites are very much smaller than the fish and cannot survive the change is salt level. You can get the dead parasites off the bottom of the treatment container for identification.

I remember that from the talk, very interesting!

I didn't think to ask about potential shock from omosis, saline, etc.

I've seen it on two of my fish, so I think it's likely to be in the tank as well, so need a whole tank treatment.

I ended up using up the test of my Praziquental on their tank. I've ordered more, but I wonder if there's a cheaper source of this active than the fish stuff. I've seen reviews from people using it for their dogs, so it seems it's cheaper than the other species stuff.

Wouldn't it be safer to use a safe medication like this as a dip than salt water? Especially without knowing the individual sensitivity per species?