How long should I let my tank sit fallow

[The Desi Reefer]

My fish got internal parasites and I don't have access to Seachem focus to treat it in my DT. How long should I keep my tank fallow to eradicate all the parasites? 30 days or 60?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

My fish got internal parasites and I don't have access to Seachem focus to treat it in my DT. How long should I keep my tank fallow to eradicate all the parasites? 30 days or 60?

Hi, what symptoms do your fish show? How did you diagnose internal parasites?

Fallow periods are for marine ich, it comes from data extrapolated from a paper written many years ago. It also happens to coincide with the needed fallow period for other external parasites. Fallow periods were not designed for internal parasites. There are three basic internal diseases: bacteria, protozoan and metazoan (worms). The first two are found in every fish, and only become diseases when the fish's resistance is lowered due to some stress. The metazoans can lay eggs, and some have secondary hosts, so clearing a tank of them is not well known. I rarely see metazoans in fish that didn't arrive with them when I got them.

Jay

 

[The Desi Reefer]

Hi, what symptoms do your fish show? How did you diagnose internal parasites?

Fallow periods are for marine ich, it comes from data extrapolated from a paper written many years ago. It also happens to coincide with the needed fallow period for other external parasites. Fallow periods were not designed for internal parasites. There are three basic internal diseases: bacteria, protozoan and metazoan (worms). The first two are found in every fish, and only become diseases when the fish's resistance is lowered due to some stress. The metazoans can lay eggs, and some have secondary hosts, so clearing a tank of them is not well known. I rarely see metazoans in fish that didn't arrive with them when I got them.

Jay

My fish started having white faeces. Other than that they seem healthy and active. Should I not treat it with praziquantel in a hospital tank since you said it's because my fishes' resistances are lowered? I thought I'd keep the DT fallow so after treating the fish they wouldn't get reinfected. Thanks for replying.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

My fish started having white faeces. Other than that they seem healthy and active. Should I not treat it with praziquantel in a hospital tank since you said it's because my fishes' resistances are lowered? I thought I'd keep the DT fallow so after treating the fish they wouldn't get reinfected. Thanks for replying.

How long have your fish been producing white feces?
What species are affected?

Praziquantel only affects flukes and tapeworms. Neither of those parasites really cause fish to produce white feces. More often, it is nematodes, bacteria or protozoans that do that. In addition, simple diet issues can cause white feces.

Metronidazole in food, dosed at 5000 ppm, and fed daily for three days is one possible treatment. You would have to make up your own gel diet to mix it up in though. Also, metronidazole is very bitter. Many fish won't accept food dosed with it.

Here is a link to an article I wrote up on medicated foods:

Proper Dosing of Medicated Foods

This article offers information about developing medicated foods for aquarium fish

www.reef2reef.com

Jay

 

[Harold999]

My fish started having white faeces. Other than that they seem healthy and active. Should I not treat it with praziquantel in a hospital tank since you said it's because my fishes' resistances are lowered? I thought I'd keep the DT fallow so after treating the fish they wouldn't get reinfected. Thanks for replying.

Firm white faeces could be caused by a change of diet and should dissapear by itself in a couple of days. Semi transparant/whitish long stringy poo is caused by the fish not eating for a while. Reason of not eating could be (internal) parasites or stress.