Fire fish flashing after adding general cure?

Ento-Reefer · Jan 18, 2018

I have 3 fire fish and a scopas tang that have been in qt for just about 5 weeks. They have gone through the coppersafe treatment and I decided to to do 2 rounds of general cure for flukes. Since adding it to the tank on Monday evening the fire fish have started flashing. This did not start until the day after adding the general cure. I am baffled because none of the fish have ever shown any symptoms of disease and I was just treating prophylactic. The scopas is not flashing and all fish are still eating. I am supposed to add the second does tonight and then water change 48 hours later. Should I assume the flashing is because the meds are irritating the gills? No ammonia present. Would you do the second dose or a water change first? Thanks.

Big G · Jan 18, 2018

I've done the same treatment you describe but did not see my Firefish behave that way with GC. It's pretty gentle stuff as far as the praziquantel dosage. Let's get you some help. #Reefsquad

Crabs McJones · Jan 18, 2018

Lets see if maybe @4FordFamily or @Humblefish might know as well.

Brew12 · Jan 18, 2018

I would say it is likely that they have flukes. The Prazi in GC will make any flukes on the fish twitch and spasm which irritates the fish. That can lead to the fish flashing. It is also why it is recommended to do a FW dip prior to prazi treatment for severely infected fish.
I wouldn't worry as long as the flashing stops after a day or two.

dede · Jan 18, 2018

I had something similar happen with my Sailfin Tang. I was treating prophylactic with prazi for flukes and he broke out with black ich during the treatment. Thought that was very odd. He also started to display more symptoms during the treatment like yours: flashing, yawning etc.

I continued the treatment as was directed on the bottle and did an extra treatment to make sure the black ick was gone. He came out of it fine.

Ento-Reefer · Jan 18, 2018

Thank you all. I did not notice any signals before treating that these fish even had flukes. Glad I decided to go ahead and treat them anyway.

I had a bad experience with a freshwater dip many years ago so I am a little gun shy of using them.

Big G · Jan 18, 2018

Usually if a fish doesn't make it through a properly prepped and done freshwater dip, it probably was not going to make it anyway. Been there; done that. Agreed though, it still is nerve wracking. Those Firefish are pretty tough little guys and one of my sentimental favorites. It's great that you are taking the time and effort to get them healthy. Well done.

Humblefish · Jan 18, 2018

Something else to consider: Did you dissolve the powder in a cup or add it directly to the tank? I advocate always doing the former when dosing powder medications, because it is possible for some of the undissolved powder to irritate the gills & scales.

Ento-Reefer · Jan 18, 2018

Humblefish said:
Something else to consider: Did you dissolve the powder in a cup or add it directly to the tank? I advocate always doing the former when dosing powder medications, because it is possible for some of the undissolved powder to irritate the gills & scales.

I did premix it in some saltwater before pouring it in. However it did not mix completely clear. There was still some smallish particles blowing around for a few minutes. I am hoping nothing goes wrong after them doing so well this whole month. I guess if they look good tonight except for the flashing I should go ahead and follow through with the second dose?

Ento-Reefer · Jan 18, 2018

Big G said:
Usually if a fish doesn't make it through a properly prepped and done freshwater dip, it probably was not going to make it anyway. Been there; done that. Agreed though, it still is nerve wracking. Those Firefish are pretty tough little guys and one of my sentimental favorites. It's great that you are taking the time and effort to get them healthy. Well done.

I have always like fire fish. These three have been perfect up until they started flashing yesterday. I really hope this is nothing more then irritation and they continue to dowell and make it into the big tank soon.

Humblefish · Jan 18, 2018

Ento-Reefer said:
I guess if they look good tonight except for the flashing I should go ahead and follow through with the second dose?

Yes, in 5-7 days.

Ento-Reefer · Jan 18, 2018

Humblefish said:
Yes, in 5-7 days.

Thanks @Humblefish .

Big G · Jan 18, 2018

Are your Firefish getting along? At some point two of them will probably pair up and shun the odd one out. Another reefer and I were discussing the idea of trying a large number of Firefish, like a school. In my tank two of them did pair up and shun the odd one out.

Ento-Reefer · Jan 18, 2018

Big G said:
Are your Firefish getting along? At some point two of them will probably pair up and shun the odd one out. Another reefer and I were discussing the idea of trying a large number of Firefish, like a school. In my tank two of them did pair up and shun the odd one out.

I have not seen any aggression yet. I would like to try a larger group myself. I figure in the 180g there should plenty of room even if they do decide to split up.

Ento-Reefer · Jan 19, 2018

I watched the fish for quite a long time last night and I didn't see any flashing at all. So I am hoping this is a good sign. If all goes well they should be ready to move over sometime next week.

Big G · Jan 19, 2018

Ento-Reefer said:
I watched the fish for quite a long time last night and I didn't see any flashing at all. So I am hoping this is a good sign. If all goes well they should be ready to move over sometime next week.

That’s good news! That initial flashing must have been some flukes coming off and the irritation from that made them itch.