Gill Fluke

[Mr.Fish]

Hi guys ,
Here is my problem,
My fish seems to be sick.they are scratshing,gasping at the surface,colors are off and they have lost their appetite. I am not sure but I think its gill fluke(since the fish were over crowded at the pet store) , (no spots) .Now to the real problem .The pet store does only carry wardlley products such as complete remedy and ick out ,I have tried both of them for treating ick (long time ago) and both of them did work.But which one should I use to deal with gill fluke?
my water para are good.

 

[Fruitbat]

Mr.Fish...

The symptoms you describe are certainly consistent with an infestation of gill flukes, Dactylogyrus sp. but there are other possibilities as well so don't box yourself in completely with your diagnosis. The only way to definitively diagnose gill flukes is to take a scraping from around the gill plate of the fish and then to examine the scraping with a microscope.

Neither of the Wardley products you mention are really designed for treating gill flukes...and according to the Hartz Mountain/Wardley web pages they don't offer any meds specifically for this kind of problem. If the only thing you have access to is the Wardley line then I'd try the Wardley Complete Remedy. Flukes of any kind are tough to kill.

One other thing you might try is the same heat/salt treatment as is recommended for Ich. Check Allivymar's article out at:

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/showquestion.php?faq=2&fldAuto=32

You don't mention what kinds of fish you have....if you decide to use heat/salt then make sure your fish can tolerate that treatment.

 

[Mr.Fish]

Thanks Fruitbat(great info).I found a product called Formalin(by Kordon) and some old product which containe copper sulfate(0.6%).Right now I have 4 Angels,8 barbs and 3 sowrdtails.What do you think?

 

[Fruitbat]

Mr.Fish...

Try the copper sulfate based medication first. Formalin (a formaldehyde derivative) is quite toxic and is best used as a dip rather than a cure for the whole tank. Be aware that fish and plants are sensitive to copper and it will kill any invertebrates (snails, shrimp, etc.) that might be in your tank. Follow the directions on the copper-based med very closely, making sure to remove any activated carbon from your filtration system.

Keep us informed!

 

[Mr.Fish]

Ok here is what am going to do,I will move the fish to my 15gal QT and let the tank fallow for 5 days (to kill all free swimming parasites) .I have some babies in my main tank.Would that be a problem?

 

[Allivymar]

I'm a little confused. Is it the main tank you intend to fallow for 5 days? If so, there can't be ANY fish in there. To fallow a tank you must remove any possible hosts.

 

[Mr.Fish]

Yes Its the main tank that I intend to fallow,but its so hard to catch those little guys.

 

[Allivymar]

Then the tank won't be fallow. I know; those lil guys are a pain but with them in the tank the flukes will continue to have a host.

 

[Mr.Fish]

Hey guys I found some copper sulfate for marine aquarium use(at the pet shop) Would it be ok to use in fresh water aquarium?
The copper sulfate that I got is very,VERY old(EXP 1998)