Maroon clown fish looking a little beat up!

[Kelsey Fletcher]

But the tang doesnt appear to have flukes. should i dip him anyway??

 

[Big G]

But the tang doesnt appear to have flukes. should i dip him anyway??

That's something you have to decide. But many consider it a good thing to do with new fish:
Freshwater dip to check for flukes
Treat fish prophylactically with Prazipro or General Cure for external parasites (flukes) and internal parasites (worms)
Treat fish prophylactically with copper or CP for external parasites Ich/Velvet (Velvet is rampant in the industry these days)

 

[Deezill]

I agree if you can't freshwater dip then put in a QT tank and use something like Prazi Pro.

 

[Sarah24!]

The most important thing to remember is dim your lights, and try not to stress them out more. I honestly think if you can catch them with out to many attempts, I would qt them at your local fish store. This way leave them there for a month or 6 weeks that way, whatever’s in your tank will die off from starvation. This seems to be a recurring problem, so I’d there are no fish the bug that’s harming your fish will starve to death. Plus the experts there can determine more what it is, and possibly give you something to help treat the tank, while they heal in clean water.

 

[Kelsey Fletcher]

ok so I dipped both of them and they are alive. I used a 10 gallon tank and put them in a huge net and they stayed for 5 minutes. Do flukes live in the tank or just the fish? I put them back in the main tank and the clown already is flairing his fins again that were clinched up about 15 mins ago. the tang is still in hiding but I think he is doing better already. I did go ahead and add melafix just to be safe but is there anything else I can do other than send them off to my local fish store for qt? will the flukes return?

 

[Big G]

You can treat the main tank with Prazipro. Here's Humblefish's treatment guidelines. Ignore the directions on the bottle. Dose once and then wait 5-7 days. Do a 25% water change and then dose again. No need to re dose after 48hrs. Hope this helps. Freshwater dips are nerve wracking

Prazipro (praziquantel): Treats flukes, black ich, and some internal parasites (worms).

How To Treat - In either a quarantine or display tank, dose Prazipro at the rate of 1 teaspoon per 20 gallons of water. DO NOT OVERDOSE (especially with wrasses), try not to mix with other medications (for various reasons), and provide additional gas exchange while treating with Prazi. Wait 5-7 days, do a 20-25% water change and then repeat dosage. The reason for the second dose is to eradicate the “next generation” of worms before they can lay eggs of their own. Because while Prazi does kill worms, it doesn’t eliminate any eggs they might leave behind.

Prazipro is generally considered reef safe, although it may kill any tube worms/feathers dusters you have. It may also eradicate bristle worms. If you have mass quantities of these, the resulting die-off can lead to an ammonia spike. After treatment is done, activated carbon may be used to remove any residuals (if you need to use a different medication next). If using a protein skimmer post-treatment, be advised that it will “over skim” for at least a couple of weeks.

Pros - Reef safe, effective dewormer that is relatively gentle on most fish.

Cons/Side Effects - Mild appetite suppression, moderate oxygen depletion, wrasses are sensitive to overdosing.

 

[Tahoe61]

You say you cleaned the tank in the first post, did you vacuum sand and such.
Have you tested for ammonia and nitrites?
If there were dead fish or live stock in the tank you might be seeing an ammonia spike exacerbated by disturbing the biological filter and lack of oxygen.

 

[Kelsey Fletcher]

Yes I vacuumed sand, scrubbed rock etc. It was a deep cleaning. I also did a water test and everything that needed to be at 0 was. I think it was flukes because there were a lot of little things coming off of the fish when I did the freshwater dip. I couldn't quite make out what they were but im pretty sure it was flukes!!

You say you cleaned the tank in the first post, did you vacuum sand and such.
Have you tested for ammonia and nitrites?
If there were dead fish or live stock in the tank you might be seeing an ammonia spike exacerbated by disturbing the biological filter and lack of oxygen.

 

[Big G]

Yes I vacuumed sand, scrubbed rock etc. It was a deep cleaning. I also did a water test and everything that needed to be at 0 was. I think it was flukes because there were a lot of little things coming off of the fish when I did the freshwater dip. I couldn't quite make out what they were but im pretty sure it was flukes!!

Flukes coming off a fish kinda look like whitish sesame seeds.

 

[Kelsey Fletcher]

either my tang was pooping white poop or there were flukes in that net lol! I hope it was flukes!!! Do flukes live in/on everything or just the fish? Will the fish get them again if I put them back in the tank??

Flukes coming off a fish kinda look like whitish sesame seeds.

 

[Big G]

either my tang was pooping white poop or there were flukes in that net lol! I hope it was flukes!!! Do flukes live in/on everything or just the fish? Will the fish get them again if I put them back in the tank??

Yep. That's why you need to treat the tank with a praziquantel product. And the only one that is display tank safe is Prazipro. It's easy. 2 doses 5-7 days apart. Then observe. There are praziquantel resistant flukes out there. So you need to watch for symptoms. Which you seem to be pretty good at doing.

 

[Big G]

Or you have to leave the main tank "Fallow" fishless for 4 weeks to starve out flukes.

 

[Kelsey Fletcher]

so the flukes ARE in the water??

 

[Big G]

so the flukes ARE in the water??

Yep, they are and so are their eggs.

 

[Kelsey Fletcher]

now my clownfish is trying to jump out of the tank and is going crazy!!!!!!! What do I do?!?!?!?!?

 

[Kelsey Fletcher]

will they live in coral or on inverts?? should i freshwater dip the inverts too??

 

[Big G]

will they live in coral or on inverts?? should i freshwater dip the inverts too??

That's the tough part. Prazipro says it is reef safe, but some have had things like feather dusters, bristle worms die when the display tank is treated with prazi. So it's either take the chance or let the main tank go fallow for 4 weeks.
The jumping around by the clownfish is seen after doing freshwater dips. The flukes attached on the skin or gills made irritation points and now that most of them have dropped off they "itch" like crazy. Poor fish. That's why it's important to get the prazipro into the water quickly. Finish off the flukes and fluke eggs.

 

[Kelsey Fletcher]

The clownfish ended up dying... Very upset that I didnt catch it in time However, I am about to pull my tang out and qt him for at least a month. Anything I should do to the dt?? Should I also dip the inverts and qt them with the tang?? Also, I dipped the tang earlier today but would the flukes have had time to get back onto the tang so should i dip him again before adding him to the qt tank?? I also put melafix in the qt tank because it cant hurt!!

That's the tough part. Prazipro says it is reef safe, but some have had things like feather dusters, bristle worms die when the display tank is treated with prazi. So it's either take the chance or let the main tank go fallow for 4 weeks.
The jumping around by the clownfish is seen after doing freshwater dips. The flukes attached on the skin or gills made irritation points and now that most of them have dropped off they "itch" like crazy. Poor fish. That's why it's important to get the prazipro into the water quickly. Finish off the flukes and fluke eggs.

 

[Big G]

Sorry for your loss. The tang needs prazipro or General Cure. The DT just leave it be. Put a bit of food in there for the corals and inverts every now and then.

 

[Kelsey Fletcher]

Sorry for your loss. The tang needs prazipro or General Cure. The DT just leave it be. Put a bit of food in there for the corals and inverts every now and then.

should i re-dip the tang because i dipped him so long ago that the flukes may be already back on him??