Gill flukes?

[FroFro]

I've been monitoring my fish with the raised water temperature and steady 40 percent water changes every 48 hours for about a week now in hopes that I can determine if its ich or not. Yes, I've added an air stone to the tank as I know warmer water means less oxygen. I've noticed no improvement when it comes to the flashing and rubbing against the plants. In fact one of my angels has begun to have extremely labored breathing, while everyone else is eating and behaving normally. No signs of white spots, red streaks, but the ill angel has slightly swollen gills and clamped fins which I found this morning.

I've since separated the ill angel from the main tank as he is lethargic and I don't want to risk any bullying, we all know how savage some angels can be when a weak fish is in the tank with them. He's resting in a heated container with a gentle air stone. He's swimming a bit more but is still hanging at the surface breathing irregularly, willing to eat it seems as he will nibble my finger if I place it in the water, but I want to refrain from feeding until I start medicating. After reading online I think the tank may be suffering from gill flukes as I've seen NO sign of white spots on any fish after close observation. My question to you is what medications would you recommend for gill flukes? I've always had luck with API brands in the past, but what is your take on this?

 

[Byron]

For true gill flukes, PraziPro (made by Hikari, formerly Aquarium Solutions) was very effective when I used it. I was advised by a marine biologist at the time that it was safe for most ornamental fish species. I used it in a tank with cories, characins, loricariids and cichlids.

http://www.hikariusa.com/solutions/healthaid/prazipro/

Now, having said that, a note on ich. This can be extremely persistent in the gills without showing external spots. My first treatment would be heat and salt, but not at the same time as anything else like PraziPro. I'm not saying your fish don't have gill flukes, just want to be clear on things.

I had a terrible bout of serious flashing in one tank, it came and went several times (using metronidazole in the food) over several months. Never saw signs of external spots, but the flashing was terrible to observe, and it kept returning. Neale Monks got me to use salt, and it cleared up; that was a year ago now. He thought it was possibly a stubborn case of ich or velvet, though there were never any external spots or dusting.

 

[FroFro]

For true gill flukes, PraziPro (made by Hikari, formerly Aquarium Solutions) was very effective when I used it. I was advised by a marine biologist at the time that it was safe for most ornamental fish species. I used it in a tank with cories, characins, loricariids and cichlids.

http://www.hikariusa.com/solutions/healthaid/prazipro/

Now, having said that, a note on ich. This can be extremely persistent in the gills without showing external spots. My first treatment would be heat and salt, but not at the same time as anything else like PraziPro. I'm not saying your fish don't have gill flukes, just want to be clear on things.

I had a terrible bout of serious flashing in one tank, it came and went several times (using metronidazole in the food) over several months. Never saw signs of external spots, but the flashing was terrible to observe, and it kept returning. Neale Monks got me to use salt, and it cleared up; that was a year ago now. He thought it was possibly a stubborn case of ich or velvet, though there were never any external spots or dusting.

I do have salt on hand, for right now I'm going to do a medication remedy because another of my fish has become lethargic. I've bought a medication and am currently using it now. If I don't see any progress within four days (as the instructions on the package states) I'll follow up with the salt treatment.