Does Hexamita cause any external symptoms? Not the HIH kind

[Kilgore]

Can someone please tell me if Hexamita can cause external symptoms
such as fin clamping, flashing, and frayed caudal fins? I have guppies in
two separate tanks exhbiting these symptoms in addition to the classic white stringy poo symptom. Sometimes the feces is more clear than white. Juveniles under one month old do not seem to be affected, and not all of the guppies are affected. Two of them have died rather suddenly. There are no visible spots, no grey or white slime, nothing else that would identify this disease.

Perhaps there is another external/internal protozoan that can cause white poo? Or maybe they have 2 separate conditions!? Ack!

Anyway, what anti-protozoan medication(s) can be used in tanks with pregnant females, fry, and shrimp, that will not negatively affect the biological filter, and can be used in combination for internal/external symptoms? I obviously need to treat the whole tanks, as the tanks themselves appear to be infected. I can always move the shrimp to the hospital while I treat the main tanks... so I guess I just need to know which medications work against a wide range of protozoans that won't hurt the filter. The last thing I need is to go through another cycle!

Current stats:

Both tanks: ammonia and nitrite 0, nitrate 10 ppm, salt at 1tbls/5 gallons
20#1 male tank: pH 7.0, hardness 7dGH, temp 78*F
20#2 female tank: pH 7.4, hardness 8dGH, temp 80*F

Please help me if you can.

 

[Menagerie]

Hi neighbor to the south!

This may not be Hexamita, have you checked out Disease Diagnostic Charts and Other Helpful Sites? I really like Seachem's line of powdered meds, but I don't know how available they are around here. I used them when I lived in Canada and not only do they work well, the biological filter was fine. In terms of biology, anything purely anti-protozoan med should not affect the bacteria in your filter since they are different organisms.

 

[Devilishturtles]

Metrodinazole is the medicine of choice for internal hexamita infections. And yes, it can cause external symptoms such as weight loss, clamped fins, listlessness, etc.

Also agree with Menagerie, an anti-protozoan/parasitic medication should not affect your biological filter at all.

 

[Kilgore]

You know, I should've realized that anti-protozoal meds would not affect bacteria (I do have an organismal biology degree, after all, LOL)... but I guess I was confused by the warnings on all of these anti-parasite meds to use them in a hospital. For example, Maracide, Quick Cure, and Jungle Labs Parasite Clear all say that they may harm the filter. I guess those are aimed at a broader spectrum of protozoans and other parasites.

I have tried Praziquantel in the water and it seems to help with the majority of the fishes (flashing decreased, clamping improved), but the white poo has not gone away, and the fin clamping on a few of the males continued to worsen. I will see what I can find to put in the water...
I have ordered GelTek PX to try and treat the internal symptoms.

Is the vote that I should remove the shrimp when treating for this? I know the PrazTastic did not affect them, but I am not so sure about the ingredients in GelTek or other meds I may have to try.