Is this flukes? Please help

[Lps_lover12]

I just got this blue flasher wrasse a week ago from a new fish store I’ve never tried before. It’s in qt and I’ve noticed a few symptoms:
Cloudy eye on the right side
Not swimming around just hanging out in the bottom corner of tank
Doesn’t swim too well
Looks like white stringy and big poop

I did a freshwater dip and found these fall off of it, it’s circled in black below. I’ve never dealt with flukes before and I’m in Canada so I’ll have to hope it crosses the border and any help about using prazipro would be appreciated.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

The focus isn’t real good - only one type of fluke, Neobenedenia , is large enough to be seen in dips without a microscope - they are oval, but two of these look round.
Hyposalinity works for flukes.
Is the wrasse still eating? It may have multiple issues.
Jay

 

[vetteguy53081]

I just got this blue flasher wrasse a week ago from a new fish store I’ve never tried before. It’s in qt and I’ve noticed a few symptoms:
Cloudy eye on the right side
Not swimming around just hanging out in the bottom corner of tank
Doesn’t swim too well
Looks like white stringy and big poop

I did a freshwater dip and found these fall off of it, it’s circled in black below. I’ve never dealt with flukes before and I’m in Canada so I’ll have to hope it crosses the border and any help about using prazipro would be appreciated.

It is possible but a difficult pic to work with due to reflections. Some symptoms generally are rapid breathing, fish acting lethargic or swimming near the water surface, hiding in the corner of tank or behind rocks, loss of appetite, shaking its head, flashing/darting, develop clamped fins, , or scratching against objects. They may also exhibit what looks like yawning from gill irritation develop, cloudy eyes and loss of color.
Youve described some of these symptoms so, I would recommend treating in quarantine opposed to display tank which you technically can.
Treatment will be Prazi pro and recommended to dose at 80% of recommended and allow it to do its thing for 8 days, do a water change and do one more 8 day dose interval
Use airstone with prazi as it does reduce both oxygen and appetite

 

[Lps_lover12]

The focus isn’t real good - only one type of fluke, Neobenedenia , is large enough to be seen in dips without a microscope - they are oval, but two of these look round.
Hyposalinity works for flukes.
Is the wrasse still eating? It may have multiple issues.
Jay

Still eating but not like the other flasher in there, only eats a little bit

 

[Lps_lover12]

It is possible but a difficult pic to work with due to reflections. Some symptoms generally are rapid breathing, fish acting lethargic or swimming near the water surface, hiding in the corner of tank or behind rocks, loss of appetite, shaking its head, flashing/darting, develop clamped fins, , or scratching against objects. They may also exhibit what looks like yawning from gill irritation develop, cloudy eyes and loss of color.
Youve described some of these symptoms so, I would recommend treating in quarantine opposed to display tank which you technically can.
Treatment will be Prazi pro and recommended to dose at 80% of recommended and allow it to do its thing for 8 days, do a water change and do one more 8 day dose interval
Use airstone with prazi as it does reduce both oxygen and appetite

It has a few of those symptoms for sure. I’ll order the prazipro and just hope it gets here in time to save it. Thank you for your help! It’s greatly appreciated

 

[Lps_lover12]

The focus isn’t real good - only one type of fluke, Neobenedenia , is large enough to be seen in dips without a microscope - they are oval, but two of these look round.
Hyposalinity works for flukes.
Is the wrasse still eating? It may have multiple issues.
Jay

It is possible but a difficult pic to work with due to reflections. Some symptoms generally are rapid breathing, fish acting lethargic or swimming near the water surface, hiding in the corner of tank or behind rocks, loss of appetite, shaking its head, flashing/darting, develop clamped fins, , or scratching against objects. They may also exhibit what looks like yawning from gill irritation develop, cloudy eyes and loss of color.
Youve described some of these symptoms so, I would recommend treating in quarantine opposed to display tank which you technically can.
Treatment will be Prazi pro and recommended to dose at 80% of recommended and allow it to do its thing for 8 days, do a water change and do one more 8 day dose interval
Use airstone with prazi as it does reduce both oxygen and appetite

Not sure if this pic is any better

 

[vetteguy53081]

Not sure if this pic is any better

sort of. neobendenia flukes are visible by the naked eye and if so best treated with hypo salinity opposed to prazi pro and this is unconfirmed as to if flukes or not

 

[Lps_lover12]

sort of. neobendenia flukes are visible by the naked eye and if so best treated with hypo salinity opposed to prazi pro and this is unconfirmed as to if flukes or not

Okay thank you, I’ve read that ph is super important with hypo is this true? Never done hypo before and want to make sure I do it right

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Not sure if this pic is any better

Yep - that looks like Neobenedenia.
Jay

 

[Lps_lover12]

Yep - that looks like Neobenedenia.
Jay

Would prazipro work on them?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Would prazipro work on them?

Yes, but they are tough to control because they have eggs and the prazi doesn't kill the eggs. You need to dose the prazi multiple times, 8 or 9 days apart to try and break the life cycle. It can take as many as 5 treatments. I prefer to run the fish in half salinity (no inverts of course) for 35 days, that seems to work better, takes less time and is less expensive.

Jay

 

[Lps_lover12]

Yes, but they are tough to control because they have eggs and the prazi doesn't kill the eggs. You need to dose the prazi multiple times, 8 or 9 days apart to try and break the life cycle. It can take as many as 5 treatments. I prefer to run the fish in half salinity (no inverts of course) for 35 days, that seems to work better, takes less time and is less expensive.

Jay

Ok I will give hypo a shot. Thank you for all your help

 

[Lps_lover12]

Yes, but they are tough to control because they have eggs and the prazi doesn't kill the eggs. You need to dose the prazi multiple times, 8 or 9 days apart to try and break the life cycle. It can take as many as 5 treatments. I prefer to run the fish in half salinity (no inverts of course) for 35 days, that seems to work better, takes less time and is less expensive.

Jay

Update: lost the blue flasher this morning. But I still have a Mccoskers flasher in the same tank that I added 2 days ago. I’m guessing the Mccoskers will probably get the flukes right? I don’t see any symptoms on it now but I think I still need to run hypo

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Update: lost the blue flasher this morning. But I still have a Mccoskers flasher in the same tank that I added 2 days ago. I’m guessing the Mccoskers will probably get the flukes right? I don’t see any symptoms on it now but I think I still need to run hypo

Sorry to hear. Yes, the Neo eggs will hatch out over the next 8 to 12 days, and can reinfect the McCoskers.

Jay

 

[Sebastiancrab]

If you are moving your fish to a hospital tank (or anytime in treatment), I have found it helpful to do a saltwater dip in Ruby Reef Hydroplex. It will kill the bugs on them and provide low stress relief. You will still need the treatment Jay recommends long term.

 

[Lps_lover12]

Sorry to hear. Yes, the Neo eggs will hatch out over the next 8 to 12 days, and can reinfect the McCoskers.

Jay

Thank you, dropping the salinity over today and tomorrow. Thanks for all your help

 

[Lps_lover12]

If you are moving your fish to a hospital tank (or anytime in treatment), I have found it helpful to do a saltwater dip in Ruby Reef Hydroplex. It will kill the bugs on them and provide low stress relief. You will still need the treatment Jay recommends long term.

I’ll take a look into that, thank you

 

[MarineLunatic]

I think there is a bad batch of fish going around at the moment the amount of people that I have seen post this about wrasses in the last few weeks is unbelievable I bought fish from the lfs a few day ago and he was ok for the first half day then he started to look ill and stressed with heavy breathing and stuff the day after he had a few patches and then today one eye was cloudy and he looked really ill I managed to get him out and freshwater dip him with some medicine and when I put him back in the tank his eye had cleared and looks healthy and swimming freely until the last hour in which I has noticed some patches coming back so tomorrow I'm traveling 70 miles to a fish shop to collect prazipol to nuke the entire reef with them bare in mind in the 5 years I have been reefing I never lost a fish or had any pest other than some hair algae and aptasia which I got rid of