Internal parasite

Damon Jensen · Dec 13, 2020

Hello all, Are internal parasites contagious? Fairly certain my rock move wrasse has an internal parasite, had a long white string thing coming from his anus, looked segmented. I tried to catch him and of course it fell off somewhere. Historically I have had to remove everything from the tank to catch him. He is cool, but a real pain in the butt.

Most likely I will need to try and treat him in the DT plus I need to protect the other fish. Unsure if he is eating, about two days ago I saw him eat.

Sorry no pics.

Thoughts

Thanks Damon

Tired · Dec 13, 2020

Yes, internal parasites are contagious. That's how they continue to exist and spread from fish to fish instead of dying out. Fortunately for you, internal parasites can sometimes be successfully treated with medicated food, which is safe for your display tank. I don't know any brands off the top of my head, you should look read up.

Jay Hemdal · Dec 13, 2020

Damon Jensn said:
Hello all, Are internal parasites contagious? Fairly certain my rock move wrasse has an internal parasite, had a long white string thing coming from his anus, looked segmented. I tried to catch him and of course it fell off somewhere. Historically I have had to remove everything from the tank to catch him. He is cool, but a real pain in the butt.

Most likely I will need to try and treat him in the DT plus I need to protect the other fish. Unsure if he is eating, about two days ago I saw him eat.

Sorry no pics.

Thoughts

Thanks Damon

Were the segments uniform in size? It is unusual for tapeworms to come out all at once unless they have been killed by a treatment. Any chance this was just stringy feces?
Tapeworm are not highly contagious, and I’ve never had a fish actually die from them.
I’m more worried that this is mucus from lack of food or protozoan parasites as you seem unsure if the fish is eating well. If it isn’t, then medicated foods are pretty much off the table.
Take a look in the article section here, about 7 or 8 down, for an article I wrote on medicated food.
Jay

Damon Jensen · Dec 13, 2020

Thanks Jay, normally he eats really well, my plan is as soon as I see him wake up, I will feed him regardless of the other fish. He has his routine that does not alway align we feeding the tank.

This guy is tough, he is about 4 years old and has survived all my learning as i ventured into this hobby..

More to come

Damon Jensen · Dec 14, 2020

So he ate this morning just fine. I have metroplex in a frozen food mix similar to your recipe, but of course my fish won't eat it....I have picky fish. I figure if they don't eat the mix, I will start adding the metro directly to the water.

I do feed my tank lobster so it is possible that it is just white feces from the lobster.

bherbold8 · Mar 15, 2021

Not to Jack your thread but my clownfish is dealing w what I believe is internal parasites. Have you dosed the tank directly yet? Mine isn't eating much so soaking food isn't an option. Hearing prazipro is effective and reef safe ? Picking up the meds today

bherbold8 · Mar 15, 2021

bherbold8 said:
Not to Jack your thread but my clownfish is dealing w what I believe is internal parasites. Have you dosed the tank directly yet? Mine isn't eating much so soaking food isn't an option. Hearing prazipro is effective and reef safe ? Picking up the meds today

Ugh this site won't let me upload videos ......:

Jay Hemdal · Mar 15, 2021

bherbold8 said:
Not to Jack your thread but my clownfish is dealing w what I believe is internal parasites. Have you dosed the tank directly yet? Mine isn't eating much so soaking food isn't an option. Hearing prazipro is effective and reef safe ? Picking up the meds today

Prazipro is mostly reef safe, the solvent adds nutrients and the prazi itself may kill feather dusters. Be sure to have strong aeration when dosing it, and take the collection cup off the skimmer.
Jay

bherbold8 · Mar 15, 2021

Jay Hemdal said:
Prazipro is mostly reef safe, the solvent adds nutrients and the prazi itself may kill feather dusters. Be sure to have strong aeration when dosing it, and take the collection cup off the skimmer.
Jay

Going back and forth between dosing in DT or setting up a QT. I have 5 gallons from a water change on Saturday still , would it still be okay to use to fill up half of my 10 gallon QT? Would likely do RO mixed for other half and introduce a few of my bio balls

Jay Hemdal · Mar 15, 2021

bherbold8 said:
Going back and forth between dosing in DT or setting up a QT. I have 5 gallons from a water change on Saturday still , would it still be okay to use to fill up half of my 10 gallon QT? Would likely do RO mixed for other half and introduce a few of my bio balls

I worry that a few bio balls won’t contain enough bacteria to manage the ammonia. Still, it would be safer for your DT to not dose it directly. The fish will need to stay out of the DT for 35 days though.
Jay

bherbold8 · Mar 15, 2021

Jay Hemdal said:
I worry that a few bio balls won’t contain enough bacteria to manage the ammonia. Still, it would be safer for your DT to not dose it directly. The fish will need to stay out of the DT for 35 days though.
Jay

Well I probably have 15ish bio balls in my DT so I could prob spare a few more. My pipefish isn't displaying on signs of illness but should I remove him as well?? He's a shy fish i'm afraid it would be a lot of stress on him. How contageous does internal parasites tend to be?

Jay Hemdal · Mar 15, 2021

Well, since there isn’t any way to determine what the internal parasites could be, and since pipefish really need a stable tank, it probably would be better to leave it there.
Jay

bherbold8 · Mar 15, 2021

Jay Hemdal said:
Well, since there isn’t any way to determine what the internal parasites could be, and since pipefish really need a stable tank, it probably would be better to leave it there.
Jay

Alright, thanks for your help Jay. It does sound like prazipro is fairly reef safe, I don't have any extensive/expensive coral frags that I would be overly worried about.....yet people seem to be wary about dosing the display tank. I'm going to pick up a 10 gallon QT tomorrow and get it set up and prepare to pull my clown from the display.

Reef Mamma · Mar 22, 2021

Jay Hemdal said:
Well, since there isn’t any way to determine what the internal parasites could be, and since pipefish really need a stable tank, it probably would be better to leave it there.
Jay

Sorry, seems like your threads get hijacked a lot

.. But your advice is also on point .. If you wouldn't mind .. I'm a little frantic.. I've had a mccosker's fairy wrasse in QT for coming up on 2 weeks and was getting ready to transfer to DT. Over weekend noticed he slowed down eating, then started swimming funny (vertical) then got stressed (changed color) and now after research seem to think he has parasites. noticed long stringy poop on Sunday. LFS recommended dosing Prazipro liquid into 13 G QT tank (1/2) tsp - Now after reading your last thread thinking if I should do Metro also (which I ordered) and If i can do both at the same time ?? Sorry for the rant .. really trying to save this little guy