Flukes/flatworms best treatment

[Reefkeeper28]

Hello I have a tomini tang in qt. Bought a month ago and noticed discoloration. Did research and decided to do a freshwater dip which proved it to be flukes/flatworms. Sounds like everyone uses prazipro. Question which is best cupramine or prazipro. I've researched alot lol. Talked with many and still confused lol. Three Lfs say cupramine and internet say prazipro everywhere. Please help I just want to treat one medication for less stress. Also fish eats none stop plays lol only thing is a little shy/hides and flashes. Also if prazipro is the way will All Cure from API work much easier to find locally. Thanks so much in advance...

 

[Spare time]

Cupramine does not do anything for flukes. Prazipro can be dosed directly into your tank (as long as you remove carbon and follow directions) and is a favorite of mine

 

[Spare time]

API general cure has prazipro (praziquantel) and metroplex (metronidazole). This can be used in the display tank if you bind it to food using seachem focus

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Hello I have a tomini tang in qt. Bought a month ago and noticed discoloration. Did research and decided to do a freshwater dip which proved it to be flukes/flatworms. Sounds like everyone uses prazipro. Question which is best cupramine or prazipro. I've researched alot lol. Talked with many and still confused lol. Three Lfs say cupramine and internet say prazipro everywhere. Please help I just want to treat one medication for less stress. Also fish eats none stop plays lol only thing is a little shy/hides and flashes. Also if prazipro is the way will All Cure from API work much easier to find locally. Thanks so much in advance...

Can you describe the flukes you saw in the dip? Were they rather large, (like the size of the fish's scales) with a big suction cup at one end? If so, they may be Neobenedenia. Neo is not easily treated with praziquantel. The issue is this: Neo has a resistant egg stage that can live for 30+ days. Prazi doesn't affect the eggs. That means you need to dose multiple times - at least 3, usually 4, spaced 7 to 10 days apart. Here is the issue: most people are unaware, but heterotrophic bacteria soon grow in your tank that consume prazi. By the end of a Neo treatment series, these bacteria eat up the prazi within hours of you adding it. Additionally, years later, if you go to use prazi, those bacteria are still there, ready to eat your expensive meds! I can no longer use prazi to control flukes in any of my systems - unless I sterilize the tanks at some point.

For Neo, I suggest hyposalinity down to a salinity of 17 ppt, I think that works out to an SG of 1.013. Some fish and no inverts can tolerate that though. The Tomini would handle it fine.

Jay Hemdal

 

[Reefkeeper28]

Can you describe the flukes you saw in the dip? Were they rather large, (like the size of the fish's scales) with a big suction cup at one end? If so, they may be Neobenedenia. Neo is not easily treated with praziquantel. The issue is this: Neo has a resistant egg stage that can live for 30+ days. Prazi doesn't affect the eggs. That means you need to dose multiple times - at least 3, usually 4, spaced 7 to 10 days apart. Here is the issue: most people are unaware, but heterotrophic bacteria soon grow in your tank that consume prazi. By the end of a Neo treatment series, these bacteria eat up the prazi within hours of you adding it. Additionally, years later, if you go to use prazi, those bacteria are still there, ready to eat your expensive meds! I can no longer use prazi to control flukes in any of my systems - unless I sterilize the tanks at some point.

For Neo, I suggest hyposalinity down to a salinity of 17 ppt, I think that works out to an SG of 1.013. Some fish and no inverts can tolerate that though. The Tomini would handle it fine.

Jay Hemdal

The flukes looked like sesame seeds like others say I have a video

 

[Reefkeeper28]

Cupramine does not do anything for flukes. Prazipro can be dosed directly into your tank (as long as you remove carbon and follow directions) and is a favorite of mine

This is what I've researched, but then at lfs they swore prazi does nothing we were going back and forth. I was showing them that the entire internet can't be wrong lol it definitely confused me some though that's reason for this post thanks

 

[Spare time]

This is what I've researched, but then at lfs they swore prazi does nothing we were going back and forth. I was showing them that the entire internet can't be wrong lol it definitely confused me some though that's reason for this post thanks

Prazipro saved my fish from some sort of internal parasite (I think from bad food). However, I have never heard of Jay Hemdals point which is really interesting!

 

[Spare time]

Cupramine does not do anything for flukes. Prazipro can be dosed directly into your tank (as long as you remove carbon and follow directions) and is a favorite of mine

EDIT: Idk why reef2reef wont let me edit my comment but cupramine will kill flukes but needs to be dosed in a qt tank.

 

[Spare time]

Ok so now that I found cupramine actually does work for flukes (not sure what I saw earlier that led me to believe that), but you can always try prazi in the tank or feeding API general cure with seachem focus (which I wonder if that would help semi fix the issue Hemdal pointed out).

 

[Reefkeeper28]

Hello I have a tomini tang in qt. Bought a month ago and noticed discoloration. Did research and decided to do a freshwater dip which proved it to be flukes/flatworms. Sounds like everyone uses prazipro. Question which is best cupramine or prazipro. I've researched alot lol. Talked with many and still confused lol. Three Lfs say cupramine and internet say prazipro everywhere. Please help I just want to treat one medication for less stress. Also fish eats none stop plays lol only thing is a little shy/hides and flashes. Also if prazipro is the way will All Cure from API work much easier to find locally. Thanks so much in advance...

EDIT: Idk why reef2reef wont let me edit my comment but cupramine will kill flukes but needs to be dosed in a qt tank.

Ok yes the fish is in a qt by itself and has been since I got it my DT is all good

 

[Spare time]

PS Jay Hemdal knows 500x more about this sort of stuff than me sohe is going to be a much better help!

 

[Reefkeeper28]

Hello I have a tomini tang in qt. Bought a month ago and noticed discoloration. Did research and decided to do a freshwater dip which proved it to be flukes/flatworms. Sounds like everyone uses prazipro. Question which is best cupramine or prazipro. I've researched alot lol. Talked with many and still confused lol. Three Lfs say cupramine and internet say prazipro everywhere. Please help I just want to treat one medication for less stress. Also fish eats none stop plays lol only thing is a little shy/hides and flashes. Also if prazipro is the way will All Cure from API work much easier to find locally. Thanks so much in advance...

Can you describe the flukes you saw in the dip? Were they rather large, (like the size of the fish's scales) with a big suction cup at one end? If so, they may be Neobenedenia. Neo is not easily treated with praziquantel. The issue is this: Neo has a resistant egg stage that can live for 30+ days. Prazi doesn't affect the eggs. That means you need to dose multiple times - at least 3, usually 4, spaced 7 to 10 days apart. Here is the issue: most people are unaware, but heterotrophic bacteria soon grow in your tank that consume prazi. By the end of a Neo treatment series, these bacteria eat up the prazi within hours of you adding it. Additionally, years later, if you go to use prazi, those bacteria are still there, ready to eat your expensive meds! I can no longer use prazi to control flukes in any of my systems - unless I sterilize the tanks at some point.

For Neo, I suggest hyposalinity down to a salinity of 17 ppt, I think that works out to an SG of 1.013. Some fish and no inverts can tolerate that though. The Tomini would handle it fine.

Jay Hemdal

Jay Hemdal did you see my reply that the flukes were small like sesame seeds at the biggest

 

[Reefkeeper28]

Jay Hemdal did you see my reply that the flukes were small like sesame seeds at the biggest

Also its in a qt would cupramine work or should I just go the hyposalinity route

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Also its in a qt would cupramine work or should I just go the hyposalinity route

In my opinion, chelated copper treatments like Cupramine have limited effect on flukes (small gill flukes mostly) and have no real benefit in treating large capsalid flukes such as Neobenedenia.

Jay

 

[Reefkeeper28]

In my opinion, chelated copper treatments like Cupramine have limited effect on flukes (small gill flukes mostly) and have no real benefit in treating large capsalid flukes such as Neobenedenia.

Jay

Jay I tried sending a video but I can't get it to work lol but here's a still from it hope it helps but the flukes were small. Any thoughts?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Jay I tried sending a video but I can't get it to work lol but here's a still from it hope it helps but the flukes were small. Any thoughts?

Sorry - not clear enough to see anything. For the future, this little item help a lot:
Jay

 

[Reefkeeper28]

Sorry - not clear enough to see anything. For the future, this little item help a lot:
Jay

Ok no problem but picture was just so you could see the size of them very small like sesame seeds. Thanks for all info.