Parasite

[ivo]

hi guys, i got a question and hopefully you will be able to assist. my discus have an ongoing problem but it does not seem to be life threatening. sometimes they jump and fins contract quickly like something is bitting them, and sometimes they rub themselves against objects. these only happen from time to time and their colour, eating and swimming normal. i can't see any parasite on them but i have been using medication like paradox and hardley "bacteria" treatment. could you please suggest what can i do in this situation? thank you heaps.

[samir]

gill or body flukes. they can be very hard to get rid of if not treated properly.
what does paradox contain ???
here's a step by step.
1. get a sterile hospital tank ready at same temperature and ph.
2. do a thorough clean of your main tank and a gradual 90% water change. clean everything out, scrub the sides and bottom of tank, clean filters.
3. treat with fluke tabs (prazi or trichlorfon) for stubborn infestations even a combination of the two (provided you know what you are doing and can recognise any signs that your fish are in trouble).
4. move your fish to the hospital tank by netting them and putting them directly into the new tank.
5. give them 4 more treatments in the hospital tank every 48 hours. before each treatment do a large water change 50% plus. The larger the wc the slower you do it.
6. nuke your main tank. everything filters, hoses, nets, anything that has come in contact with water from the main tank. keep your now sterile main tank at same temp and ph as hospital tank.
7. once finished with treatment take about half a bucket of water from you main tank and add salt to the concentration of seawater. take your fish and one at a time put them in the bucket, as soon as they lose equilibrium and flip on their side take them out and put them in your main tank.
8. never add another fish to your tank again unless it has been through the same treatment.
its a bit of overkill but some flukes have become pretty resistant to a lot of stuff. if you decide to do all this your filter bacteria will be dead, so you will need to get something like nitrivec or cycle or the stuff seachem makes to re-establish things. for plants in think bleach will strilise them, but better to ask the plant people on the forum

[ivo]

OMG but thank you vey much for your advice.

[samir]

i know its overdoing it by a long way, there are simpler ways to treat for flukes, but imo they just come back with only a couple of treatments and by not sterilising everything.