My Common Plec Has Internal Parasites, What Med Should I Use?

[Tokis-Phoenix]

About week ago i noticed one of my common plec boys was looking rather skinny...So i thought maybe he just hasn't been getting enough snacks to keep him going (there's 4 plecs in the tank, plus numerous scavengers like amano shrimp and cories), so i made sure he got plenty of algae wafers, cucumber and catfish pelets and little treats like tubifex which he gobbled up over teh next couple of days.
A week on he's still looking very skinny, if not skinnier, and his activity levels/behavior havn't been normal- he is spending an aweful lot of time just hugging the sides of the tank, although not eating the algae i ensure for the catfish there, and he's acting extremely hungry all the time (i know common plecs have large apetites, but he's exceptionally hungry compared to the other common plec in the tank, but not keeping a normal healthy weight). A long time ago he learnt how to feed at the surface of the tank (i can actually feed him from my hand which he loves) to grab passing foods like lumps of freezedried tubifex, and although he's eating large quantities of high protein dried foods i put in for the other fish, yet again he's not putting on any weight...

Last night i was watching him, he's not very active although apart from that and his weight, he is looking very healthy- nice dark color, no stress stripes, no other symptoms, not getting roudy with the other plecs or anything- but i did notice his anus was looking a bit red - i'm now totally convinced its internal parasites, and not somthing like internal bacteria.

There's a lfs i know of thats quite a distance from me, but it stocks a large range of meds and things and i'm sure i will be able to get some internal parasite meds from there, i'm willing to drive the long distance as my common plecs are my favorite fish...I cannot say how long he has had the parasites, being a full grown male common plec he's naturally quite slender, and he's a very peaceful fish.
What should i do and treat him with ?
The tank he is in is 125gals, and it has some shrimp and snails in it- i'm assuming internal parasite meds would wipe them out? I will take them out if i have to, but if there's any meds that kill internal parasites but won't harm them, and is still effective, i would prefer that med most.

 

[black angel]

I know some people will disagree with me but tubifex worms arent a great source of food for fish. Unless it says on the pack how it is farmed then some types are taken from sewerage and contain parasite and protozoan diseases. They can even go through the freeze drying process.
I read this in an article from pfk and ive never bought tubifex again.
As far as meds go I dont know which will work but i would say a vet would be a start and maybe he can give something to the feed or water.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

I know some people will disagree with me but tubifex worms arent a great source of food for fish. Unless it says on the pack how it is farmed then some types are taken from sewerage and contain parasite and protozoan diseases. They can even go through the freeze drying process.
I read this in an article from pfk and ive never bought tubifex again.
As far as meds go I dont know which will work but i would say a vet would be a start and maybe he can give something to the feed or water.

I knew tubifex worms could contain parasites but i thought it was ok if the worms were freeze dried or frozen? I think i will avoid tubifex though if you say they can be contaminated and stuff though, was the pfk article on the internet or in a magazine?

 

[black angel]

It was in the magazine and i read it within the past 6 months i think. Ive tried to find it on the archive online but no luck.

 

[WILDER]

Some info for you tokis, got permission to use this information below.



I've been derelict in my duty--I really meant to post a sticky about internal parasites long before this, and I've been so busy lately I just haven't gotten it done. Part of the problem is that I need to rewrite it, because right at the moment, levamisole is almost impossible to get, unfortunately. There is only one manufacturer producing it, and they're having financial problems and have suspended production; I sure hope it's just temporary, because levamisole is still the best, widest spectrum and most nontoxic dewormer you can use on tropical fish. IF you can get levamisole, and that's a big if right now, this is what I do:

If they’re eating, I use a ColorBits cocktail, which consists of ColorBits soaked in metronidazole and levamisole, two broad spectrum antiparasitics and antihelminthics. I get the 5 gram vials of pure metronidazole that Foster & Smith sells. It comes with a little spoon (just like the kinds that come in SeaChem water test kits). I use Tetra ColorBits because it holds together better than flakes do and it’s easy to mix. Take off the cap, put one spoonful of metronidazole and one spoonful of levamisole (available in powder from most vets, one brand name is Levasole); add about a teaspoonful of water and mix as thoroughly as you can. Add enough ColorBits to the cap to soak up all the water; mix thoroughly. One capful of this is enough for me to deworm all my tanks, which I do on a regular basis, about every 3 or 4 months; I also do any new fish I purchase while they're still in quarantine. Just feed as much as you can fit on the end of your finger. After you’ve done it a couple of times, you can easily judge how much to put in. Both of these meds are very nontoxic, but be careful if you have shrimp; you don’t want them chowing down on it. Most antiparasitic medications will kill shrimp. I’ve used the cocktail in a tank with wood shrimp with no problems, but they don't generally scavenge the bottom for food. This may sound complicated but once you’ve done it once there’s nothing to it, and the results are pretty amazing, especially when you realize fish that you thought were perfectly healthy are throwing all kinds of worms.

If they’re not eating, you can treat the water with Levamisole. It’s most effective at a ph below neutral, so if necessary you can kick up your CO2 to bring it down a little, or put a bottle on your quarantine tank if necessary. Mix ¼ teaspoon per 10 gallons in a cup or so of tank water to dissolve, and then pour into the tank. After 24 hours, do a big water change, at least 50%, and the following day do another one; this will help get rid of expelled worms and any eggs or cysts. After you’ve done two water changes, the fish should begin to eat normally and put weight back on. If it DOESN’T work, you may need to try another antihelminthic like piperazine or metronidazole or both, but levamisole is effective against a pretty wide variety of organisms, and is particularly good for everything that most commonly troubles cichlids. I have never used this treatment on shrimp and would be leery of doing so; however, it doesn’t seem to have any impact on snails.

If you CAN'T get Levamisole, one thing you could use instead is DiscoMed, a medication made by AquaTronics. It contains metronidazole, levamisole and nitrafurazone, and you can also soak their food in it and feed it that way, or treat the water if they're not eating; there are directions right on the medication. Piperazine is also a good option--it's readily available most places as Pipzine, also from AquaTronics.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Levamisole is only effective in pH 7 or lower. It is absorbed through the gills so it doesnt matter if fish are eating or not.

Metro should be fed to be most effective.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

I cannot get any of those meds over here in england i don't think - i looked on ebay, but they don't do it either.
I did find another med on ebay though called "OCTOZIN" on ebay which claims to treat internal parasites and post does post to the UK, is this any good?

 

[WILDER]

It dosn't work tokis, tried the med by waterlife my self, you can get them online i will try and find a site for you.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Apart from the OCTOZIN by Waterlife (which apparently does not harm shrimp), i found out they do another anti parasitic med called STERAZIN which "also aid the control of internal parasites such as Round Worm, Thread Worm, and Intestinal Worm"- i cannot find the ingredients of either of these two meds, and so far they seem to be the only ones i have found available in the UK, i think i will go with the OCTOZIN med though as it says it is a treatment for internal parasites while the STERAZIN only says it "aids the control of internal parasites" .

Does anyone know or can find the ingredients of either of these meds, as so far i cannot? Thankyou so much for your time, any info/advice is much appreiciated !

EDIT: oh...sorry i posted before you wilder, it doesn't work then?

 

[black angel]

I asked waterlife for an ingredients list for their meds but they wouldnt tell me saying it didnt give out information that other companies could use.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

I read on another forum (i'm not a member of) somthing about octozin, they said;

"Octozin contains small amounts of Metronidazole and at the levels found in Octozin do very little to help, just another way to get money out of your pocket and into theirs."

http/myfishtank.net/forum/printthread.php?t=16552

Metronidazole, is the ingredient needed to kill internal parasites? But i take it i cannot overdose on the tank with octozin just to get enough metronidazole...

I think a visit to the vet is my only hope now? Man, this sucks. America has all the important fish meds, the meds over here don't even treat the fish they're intended for !

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

It was in the magazine and i read it within the past 6 months i think. Ive tried to find it on the archive online but no luck.

I think this is the article you spoke of?;

http/www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/pfk/...em.php?news=693


Ah man.... .


Thats it. No more tubifex.


I cannot lose my common plec, he is one of my oldest fish that i have had since almost the start of my fish keeping hobby just over 3 years ago.
I'm going to the vet monday. Or should i called the vet around to look at the fish tank?

I feel lost right now.
I pissed off at this country for selling piss-poor variety of meds for internal parasites, i cannot lose my fish like this.

 

[WILDER]

Sorry tokis computor freezed, i've heard that hole in the head meds can be used, and i used them and heard some other members using them, but they never amounted to anything.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Sorry tokis computor freezed, i've heard that hole in the head meds can be used, and i used them and heard some other members using them, but they never amounted to anything.

Thats ok, i really appreiciate your help , don't worry about it- after i did a search, i found others who also said that OCTOZIN was a pretty useless med too. I think i will just go to the vet and tell him my story and ask for a perscription of Metronidazole (which as far as i know, is the ingredient that kills internal parasites and octazin doesn't have enough of), or whatever he advises for treating internal parasites in tropical fish.

Oh- i just have one more question; should i feed the plec lots of food to keep him going until monday, or cut down on feeding as so not to empower the internal parasites?

 

[WILDER]

Ok that sounds the best thing to do a vet, found a supplier but it was going to cost £200 to £300 pound.