Blind Trigger Fish. Treatment's ?

427HISS · Jul 25, 2015

Ok, Just dipped him for 4 min, and we did not see any white worms, all we saw was I think,.......were small round scales ?

427HISS · Jul 25, 2015

A friend just wrote me saying,...."The aren't worms, they are round/ oval shaped pests. I bet that's what you saw, not scales!

So, what are these and how do we deal with them ?

scardall · Jul 25, 2015

Will increasing you magnesium level help this issue???

Humblefish · Jul 25, 2015

How many did you see? Below are two videos of a fish with flukes. In the first video, you will see a closeup of what flukes look like once exposed to FW. In the second video, you will see a wrasse afflicted by Neobenedenia (a genus of flukes which prefers the face, lips & eyes, and is usually visible even in SW.)

All credit for these two videos goes to Cody aka Arkaeus, a fellow Louisiana reefkeeper.

427HISS · Jul 25, 2015

I'm pretty sure that's what he has. I wish I had not thrown away the RO water he was in, just to see if I could have taken a zoomed in photo and posted them here.
So, should I repeat in 24 hrs ?

That Wrasse laying on it's side & breathing so fast, would have scared me to death ! (kind of,.... lol)

Thanks to both of you, for the video's ! You guys are great !!!

UPDATE-

Here's a FB PM's with my friend and he says the same as you.
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Gill Flukes/ Eye Flukes are common names. It is a monogenetic trematotode. The genus is Benedinia

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Kevin Gilmore
Ok, so it's fluke's, but their not worms ? And what we saw fall off the fish, are those scales or these pests ?

A trematode is per say a "worm", but not per say like a earth worm, bristle worm, or tape worm. When they fall off a fish, they look white, and are about the size of a fish scale. When alive, they are literally like little contact lenses all over the fish....

427HISS · Jul 25, 2015

Dr. Fish, where do I go now ?
Repeat in 24 hrs ?

Should I soak him in a antibiotic bath, setup a different hospital
tank, or can I put it in the Q/T ?

Don't know if any local's carry that specific fluke brand, so I may need to order from the Amazon link you posted.

Humblefish · Jul 25, 2015

Best option is to treat the entire DT with Prazipro. However, I feel the trigger will need to be treated separately in a QT. He almost certainly will have a secondary bacterial infection to deal with after the flukes are gone.

I would give the trigger a FW dip in 24 hrs and then immediately treat him with Prazipro in a QT. You want to clear some of the flukes via the FW dip before treating with Prazi, as that causes flukes to spasm and dislodge from the fish. If too many spasms occur all at one that can actually kill the fish.

Fot both DT & QT - You treat with Prazipro, wait 5-7 days, do a 20-25% WC and then treat again. The reason for the second dose is to eradicate the “next generation” of worms before they can lay eggs of their own. Because while Prazi does kill worms, it doesn’t eliminate any eggs they might leave behind.

After the second dose, if his eyes still look cloudy I would hit him with this combination of meds: Furan-2, Seachem Kanaplex, Seachem Metroplex

That is an aggressive (but safe) combination of broad spectrum antibiotics.

427HISS · Jul 26, 2015

He's not in the display tank yet, as I leave all new fish in the Q/T for 6 weeks. So, should I treat the Q/T with antibiotics ?

miyags · Jul 26, 2015

Treat for flukes first, then antibiotics in QT. some antibiotics you cant use with prazipro

427HISS · Jul 26, 2015

Do you happen to know which ones you can ?

Humblefish · Jul 26, 2015

miyags said:
Treat for flukes first, then antibiotics in QT. some antibiotics you cant use with prazipro

^^This. You gotta be careful mixing Prazipro with any other meds. This is because it's solubilizing agent can interact negatively, leading to a bacteria bloom.

You can mix the powder form of praziquantel, as found in API General Cure, with most antibiotics (exs: Furan-2, Seachem Kanaplex); but I'm not entirely convinced that the powder form is as effective as the liquid form, as found in Prazipro.

sawdonkey · Jul 26, 2015

3FordFamily said:
To add to this, use a dark bucket to help see the flukes. Very hard to do with a white bucket.

And once you do this, the flukes look similar to sesame seeds.

427HISS · Jul 26, 2015

I need to either drive 50 miles to a store to buy the liquid,.... Prazipro, order it from Amazon or Dr. Fosters & Smith.
Which one out of the three antibotics do you suggest, then l'll order it as well, if my LFS does not carry it.
(You do mean one,... of the three, correct) ?

He looked great last night after his first fresh water bath. So much, that he ate very well then and today !
Mysis soaked in garlic and also high protein flake. So,.......he can see again !

I also did a 25% water change this afternoon.

427HISS · Jul 26, 2015

scardall said:
Will increasing you magnesium level help this issue???

Also, maybe hipper salinty down to .010, like when treating with ick ?

4FordFamily · Jul 26, 2015

427HISS said:
Also, maybe hipper salinty down to .010, like when treating with ick ?

Won't take care of flukes

Humblefish · Jul 26, 2015

My order of preference is: Kanaplex, and then Furan-2.

Metroplex (or Metro-MS) only treats anaerobic bacterial diseases (of which there are not very many in SW), but metro is very useful for treating internal parasites/intestinal worms.

HOWEVER ... using all three of the above in conjunction affords a very powerful, yet safe, broad spectrum antibiotic medication.

4FordFamily · Jul 26, 2015

Humblefish said:
My order of preference is: Kanaplex, and then Furan-2.

Metroplex (or Metro-MS) only treats anaerobic bacterial diseases (of which there are not very many in SW), but metro is very useful for treating internal parasites/intestinal worms.

HOWEVER ... using all three of the above in conjunction affords a very powerful, yet safe, broad spectrum antibiotic medication.

I cannot find metro on Amazon :/