Okay, These Internal Parasites Aren't Going Away! =(

[fry_forever!]

Hey guys. For the past month, I've been treating my fish with an anti-internal parasite food, ( <a href="http/www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod...fm?pcatid=12788" target="_blank">http/www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod...fm?pcatid=12788</a> ) and though they have gained a lot of weight, they are still pooping out those clear worms that the whole disease started with. And most of these worms are attached to regular poop, which I find is very weird. Also, I'm pretty sure some of them are alive, because I can see them moving in my tank. But I'm not sure if that's just my water current pushing them around.

Does anybody know what I should do? My fish are doing great, besides the fact that they're pooping out all those clear, stringy and white worms. I have tried peas, just in case, but that didn't work. I'm treating them with the medicated food again, but just for 3 days.

Thanks in advance for any help!

-f_f!

 

[Tolak]

Feed for 10-14 days straight, avoid any heavy protein foods such as bloodworms.

 

[fry_forever!]

Feed for 10-14 days straight, avoid any heavy protein foods such as bloodworms.

Okay thank you. Even despite the instructions? It says feed 3 consecutive days a week for 4 weeks. I'm already done treating, but I figured it couldn't hurt to treat for 3 more extra days.

How come the worms are attached to regular poop?

 

[WILDER]

Follow med instructions. The manufacture does know what they are doing. So don't medicate any longer than they state.

Colin t and me have explained why there are still worms in the poo.

 

[fry_forever!]

Follow med instructions. The manufacture does know what they are doing. So don't medicate any longer than they state.

Colin t and me have explained why there are still worms in the poo.

Okay, thanks.
I'll have to check that out again.
Was it you who asked for me to say when my fish have babies again? My swordtail and platy had babies, and another sword is about to.

By the way, my platy all of a sudden got a sunken in stomach, and got the "pine cone" effect. I'll have to treat with an anti-bacterial med I guess, but I can't get that for awhile, so I'm kind of in a tight situation.

Thanks again.

 

[Tolak]

Follow med instructions. The manufacture does know what they are doing. So don't medicate any longer than they state.

The manufacturer sure does know what they are doing; assuring they sell a product to make a profit.

Properly medicating a fish is not much different from medicating most any other living thing, many many meds are the same or similar. Treatment protocol is the same or similar. That food is medicated with prazi & metro, while a treatment or two with prazi in food is usually effective, a few days on metro with 4 days off certainly is not. I read those instructions before I posted, having used both meds, especially metro, I can assure you from experience that this is probably part of the problem. The same with the antibiotic flakes they are selling; feed for 10-14 days.

Now why would they shorten the medication time? The easier they make it on you, the fishkeeper, the easier sell they have. Medicated fish food is not a big seller, they hope to sell it once, and they've made their profit. Trying to get the aquarist to properly medicate fish with a water soluble medication is even a tougher sell. Look up the instructions for Maracyn, MaracynII, or most any other fish antibiotic sold through your LFS. Treat once daily for five days. These are the same antibiotics originally designed for human use, often used with other mammals, birds, reptiles, you name it. Most any antibiotic treatment for a human runs 10-14 days, same goes for other animals. Why are your fish shortchanged?

To properly treat it's a daily remed with at least a 25% water change, every day, for 10-14 days. Try to sell that idea over the counter to your casual aquarist at the LFS! Most don't have a spare smaller tank to med fish, they are seeing dollar signs & a lot of work, and often this means the fish is not worth that expenditure of time & money.

They don't sell a product, and they don't make a profit if they don't sell a product. The packet a day treatment for 5 days might work, it might not work, worst case is it partially works, as this is how drug resistant strains of diseases are created. You can thank these manufacturers & their sales tactics for the resistant strain of ich that is starting to appear.

Folks dealing with fish on a larger scale don't go out & buy multiple containers of medicated flake, or multiple packages of antibiotics. They buy it in bulk, as a medication, preparing their own food, and medicating an outbreak in a larger system with a larger bulk quantity. They deal with organizations that have pharmacists on staff that specialize in aquatic diseases and the proper prevention and medication.

Now I'm not a pharmacist, and I'm not an aquatic veterinarian by any means. These folks are; http/www.nationalfishpharm.com/about_us.html Feel free to call their help line, ask for Brian, be prepared for at least a half hour on the phone, and a learning experience that is more than worth the long distance call. I talked to them about a week ago, concerning the microencapsulation process claimed by Maracyn+, on behalf of a local shop that was looking to buy a couple of gallons of it, thinking this is the only product with that specific medication.

Feel free to ask them word for word anything I've stated here, as we've had many long conversations concerning many of these things. I'll tell you right now if he suspects callamanus he'll suggest Paracide D, as we were discussing the lack of availability of levamisole, another effective worming medication.

 

[fry_forever!]

Wow, interesting stuff, thanks. So, should I treat for a week or so without stopping? Sorry, I'm having trouble grasping this, only 13, and I know that's not a good excuse, but I'm just not good wrapping my head around stuff like this.

Thanks very much.

 

[fry_forever!]

So should I or should I not treat for a 7-10 days in a row!? Please give me a straight answer, yes or no, please! I'm tired of my fish having diseases!

 

[Tolak]

As I stated, feed for 10-14 days straight.

 

[fry_forever!]

As I stated, feed for 10-14 days straight.

Okay, thanks. Despite what Wilder said though? I though she was an expert on fish medicines? So I treat for just 10-14 days straight, not for weeks in a row, or after the original treatment?

Thank you very much.

 

[WILDER]

Despite what Wilder said though? I though she was an expert on fish medicines?

No i'm not an expert on fish medicines.
Or an expert on fish deseases.
I just try and point you in the right direction. There tons of stuff I don't know.

 

[Tolak]

I'm no expert either!

In my mind a professional is someone who makes all or most of their income from the particular field they are a professional in, for an extended period of time. An expert is someone the professionals turn to for guidance. I am neither, but the folks I gave you the information about are both.

 

[fry_forever!]

Okay, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say expert. You guys just know SO much more than I do! Since I don't know much about fish meds, (though I blow my friends away.) you guys seem to know everything in my eyes.

Sorry for all misunderstandings. You guys are extremely smart, I'm not, that's all I meant. And you may not know everything, but like I said, you know more than I.

So I'll treat for 10-14 days in a row, with no treatments before or after?

Thanks guys, very much.

-f_f!

 

[fry_forever!]

Okay, so say I'm in the middle of my 3 day for 4 week treatment. Can I just stop the treatment on the instructions and treat for 10-14 days straight? Then I'm done?

Thanks.

Are you sure not following the directions won't harm the fish?

Thanks very much.

-f_f!

 

[Tolak]

http/www.nationalfishpharm.com/products3.html

Metronidazole is the first product at the top. They give instructions on how to make your own medicated food, and how long to feed. Your flake has the same medication in it. I've treated fish with metro countless times, mostly angels, but many other fish as well. Metro is the only med I keep on hand on a regular basis, as I deal with fish that are often prone to this, as well as getting in wild caught fish which usually need to go through a worming procedure.

By following their directions you are not following the proper directions as far as I'm concerned. Feel free to call the number I provided, though I'm sure they won't be there until Monday.