Planaria or Something Else?

[Rokuzachi]

I hate to cross post, but I'm pretty worried. I don't ever remember finding planaria on my fish before. They started as almost unnoticeable specs, but now are like super tiny hairs, randomly scattered about the fish - no concentration around eyes, gills, mouth etc. They seem to be a milimeter or less in size, more often less. I can't imagine it's a fungus since its not spreading from a central location.

I can't see them anywhere else, just on the 3 catfish.

I noticed them (specks) about 3 days ago, and until this morning hadn't seen any of the fish flash. They're still active, hungry and playful so at least if its something harmful it doesn't appear to have gotten too bad yet. I guess this is why we quarantine, but I'm not even sure what's up. I've dealt with the usual spread of fish disease/illnesses before but don't remember seeing this.

Ammonia is 0-.25ppm
Nitrites 0
Nitrates <5ppm
PH 7.6
Temp 78-80
Daily 50% water changes as long as there's residents in the QT
Feed once per day sparingly, 1-2 pellets per fish and immediately remove uneaten food.
2x HOB filters with sponge and bio-max type media + airstone

Any help is greatly appreciated.

[Rokuzachi]

I talked to some folks at LFS' today and they didn't really know what to tell me, except that it might be some kind of skin fluke. I had multiple recommendations for 'Seachem Paraguard'. I've picked up a bottle and began the recommended dosage, so we'll see how things go.

I've taken out my cleanup snails for the time being, but thus far the baby snails that have found their way into my tank seem unaffected by the medicine.

[JustOneMore20]

Very interesting. I have never seen planaria on fish either. Gill flukes seem like a likely culprit though, so I would see how the paraguard works. Sorry we don't have any other ideas! Let us know how the treatment works out.

[Jason7894561230]

Also think about some stress coat to help the fishes slime coat. Lets hope that whatever is on the fish its not eating it

[Rokuzachi]

Thanks for the suggestions. I added some stress coat a few minutes ago.

4 hours after initial treatment, the fish are acting like it's business as usual and the heavy breathing has stopped. They took their dash of NLS pellets in the usual feeding frenzy and then spent an hour looking around hoping to find more. The little things are still there but I didn't expect them to be gone with one dose.

I didn't know that Hoplos, even though they're 'armored' are considered scaleless, so I'm most definitely going to do 1/2 dosing from now on. I've been observing closely the entire day and have yet to see any of them flashing again. With all of the baby snails seemingly surviving, I've introduced the cleaning crew back in and much like the Hoplos, business as usual.

[Rokuzachi]

~15 hours after the initial treatment and not much has changed. I can't tell if the 'things' have been reduced or may have increased. The fish are still their usual selves.

It was suggested that I find a medication that uses Praziquantel, Metronadizole or Flubendazole. If there are no signs of improvement after tomorrows treatment of Paraguard, then I'm going to pick up some Jungle Parasite Clear as it contains Prazi and Metronadizole. I've been told that these are very mild on the fish but harsh on the parasite, which I certainly hope is true.

I may even skip the next dose of Paraguard all together since the fish seemed irritated by it. The last thing they need if they're dealing with a parasite is something that will freak them out.

[Rokuzachi]

40 minutes ago I added the recommended (by box and lfs) dosage of API General Cure (Prazi & Metro) to the tank.

The fish seem to have gone into overdrive since then. Not only did they eat their daily allotment of NLS pellets, but they also shredded my Anacharis and left it mostly leafless. They're cruising the tank faster than usual, and it's like they think everything is food. They aren't flashing or gasping, they've just... gone turbo!

I don't know if I should think that;
- The medication is making them act this way
- This is normal for them and the comparatively subdued behavior I'd seen before was because they were in fact sick prior to visible signs of parasites

[Rokuzachi]

~3 hours after the initial dose, parasites showed a significant decrease in population. The fish are sprightly, extremely active, and hungry. The cleanup snails appear unaffected by the medication.

~10 hours after the initial dose, the parasites are nearly gone. The Hoplo's behavior remains unchanged from above. Will follow through with the second half of treatment on 4/3 to make sure the parasites are gone for good.