Dosed with Prasipro, no fish eating the next day?

Helms Reef · May 20, 2021

I'm treating a clown with possible internal parasite with prasipro in DT. Dosed accordingly, next day no fish are eating. Confused here. Should I give it a day or so?

Jay Hemdal · May 21, 2021

Is the water cloudy/hazy? Are you offering strong aeration (not just circulation)? You need to have a strong aerator in the tank - a big air stone is best, but running your protein skimmer with the cup off helps. In this case, it isn't the drug, but the solvent that causes the issues - it is a glycol, and bacteria consume it, and when they do, they take in oxygen from the water and give off carbon dioxide. If you don't have good aeration, that will cause problems with the fish.

Also, prazipro is only effective against certain external worm parasites, it is not very effective against internal worms, and does nothing for protozoan or bacterial diseases. It is very possible that your clown has some other issue and is going downhill simply because the prazi isnt the correct treatment.

Jay

Helms Reef · May 21, 2021

I also dosed with metro. I did add an aerator pump today in case it’s an oxygen problem. Let’s see how the do tonight at feeding time

Jay Hemdal · May 21, 2021

Helms Reef said:
I also dosed with metro. I did add an aerator pump today in case it’s an oxygen problem. Let’s see how the do tonight at feeding time

Typo in my post! I wrote IS and it should have ISN’T - sorry, was on my phone.
Jay

Helms Reef · May 21, 2021

All fish but the one i'm trying to get to eat is eating now. He is a small clown 1.25" and typically only eats flakes but is trying to get small pellets but he's too small. Any idea's? I might try a small amount of frozen mysis tomorrow. See how aggressive he is and go from there. I'm also going to add another dose of metro in a day or so.

Jay Hemdal · May 21, 2021

Helms Reef said:
All fish but the one i'm trying to get to eat is eating now. He is a small clown 1.25" and typically only eats flakes but is trying to get small pellets but he's too small. Any idea's? I might try a small amount of frozen mysis tomorrow. See how aggressive he is and go from there. I'm also going to add another dose of metro in a day or so.

Try dicing the mysids with a sharp knife or razor blade.
Jay

Helms Reef · May 24, 2021

The small clown maybe got a bite or two of the mysis yesterday. He is still lethargic and has stringy poo. I'm dosing the tank with metro every two days. Not sure what else I can do to try to get him to eat.

Helms Reef · May 24, 2021

Helms Reef said:
The small clown maybe got a bite or two of the mysis yesterday. He is still lethargic and has stringy poo. I'm dosing the tank with metro every two days. Not sure what else I can do to try to get him to eat.

Ugh he's going downhill. Might not make the night! sadly

Helms Reef · May 27, 2021

So, the small clown is still not eating but he has also had no stringy mucous poop in 2 days. Is the metro dosing working then?
My other clown has also lost much of her appetite. I checked all water parameters, they are spot on. The larger female is also making sand beds now. Could this be spawning and loss of appetite?
The two other hawkfish eat like pigs. I'm so confused.

Jay Hemdal · May 27, 2021

Helms Reef said:
So, the small clown is still not eating but he has also had no stringy mucous poop in 2 days. Is the metro dosing working then?
My other clown has also lost much of her appetite. I checked all water parameters, they are spot on. The larger female is also making sand beds now. Could this be spawning and loss of appetite?
The two other hawkfish eat like pigs. I'm so confused.

I've never seen much in the way of lack of appetite in my spawning clowns, something else is going on I think. The hawkfish still eating tends to lead me away from water quality problems, as well as common external diseases that would affect all fish in the tank. That, combined with the stringy feces makes me think of internal protozoan infections, possibly just affecting the clowns. Metronidazole can help with that. Which metro are you using? Are you following the label instructions?

Jay