Angel With Internal Parasite

[DiscusKeeper403]

Hey.

First off ammonia and nitrite is 0. My other angel fish I got just stopped eating one day and started to wither away. I indrocued some garlic into the food and ended up getting some Jungle Internal Parasite Guard. Sadly though, it died shortly after. So all is good then, I noticed my koi angel not really eating... I thought I should keep an eye on him. I fed him today and he wont take anything. He looks like he wants to have it but doesnt go and take it from the top. What should I do? Im at a loss of treatment methods and I don't have a hospital tank.

 

[Tolak]

Put the angel in a quar tank, I usually use a 10 gallon. Increase the temp over a day or so to 90-94F. Treat daily with 40 mg/gallon metronidazole, with 50% water changes daily. If the fish isn't eating, don't feed for the first 3 days. After 3 days, get some frozen brine shrimp. Take a portion about the size of a few match heads, and sprinkle on some metro. You have to eyeball this one, make the shrimp look kind of like a tiny powdered donut. Once it thaws, mix it in & feed. Sometimes they still don't eat for a few days, but once they start to mouth the food & spit it out, the meds seem to get in their system real good. Continue medicating the water & food for 7-10 days.

Metronidazole is sold as flagyl, het-a-mit, and a few other names I can't recall offhand, used to treat hexamita & hole in the head. They usually suggest 20mg/gallon, this often isn't enough. Metro deteriorates in 8 hours, so you could do twice daily water changes. I've done this on the weekends when I have time.

Don't let the high temp scare you, angels can handle higher than that. I've had them as high as 98 due to a broken heater. Just make sure to have only angels in the tank at that temp. Make sure to have plenty of aeration also, as warmer water holds less O2.

I've also added epsom salt while using metro, this helps with any constipation issues, cleans out the digestive tract. I start with 1 teaspoon per 10 gallons of water, increasing by 1 teaspoon daily for 2 more days to bring it up to 3 teaspoons per 10 gallons. You will have to adjust how much you use when doing water changes. You may want to give this a try.

 

[DiscusKeeper403]

Thanks for the reply. I'll try to see what I can do as I do not use a heater. The tank stays at 80 degrees because of the climate and house i'm in. I also don't have a hospital tank, I wanted to get one but my mom never let me. I got a breeding net i'll pop him into, ill add the salt and pick up the metronidazole on Saturday. Thanks for the help, i'll keep my fingers crossed.

Connor.

 

[Tolak]

A rubbermaid bin or 5 gallon bucket will work as well as a glass tank will.

 

[DiscusKeeper403]

I don't really have anything like that, I use my moms wash bucket to put the fish water into and dump it outside...