OK to treat for parasites with plants?

[bluerose]

I have a small tank that is currently holding plants that are going to go in to my main tank-- however one of my neons has what I suspect is parasites and I'm thinking I'll separate it to treat, however my hospital tank is currently a plant holding tank...

Can I use medicated food and treat her in the plant holding/hospital tank or would it be not so smart to put those plants back in my tank after?

 

[An t-iasg]

I see your problem - you have no other place to put the plants but you need to treat a fish. What are you holding the plants for? Snails? Are they ready to go into the main tank? I put plants in water in a foil breadbasket once to try to eliminate snails. I left them in the foil pan for a week. A week later in the tank, I saw snails.

If you have no other place to treat the neon, use the plant tank. Only give the neon medicated food like you said - I wouldn't use a parasite med in the water. Then to be on the safe side, I would continue to keep the plants out of the main tank for another two to three weeks.

 

[kribensis12]

What indications make you think it is a internal parasite? Also, what medicine do you plan on using?

 

[bluerose]

I haven't put the plants in as I'm re-scaping and haven't finished yet... I can dump them in though and straighten up later.

I'll try to get a pic to illustrate why I think she has parasites... she's extremely bloated but not looking like a pinecone (so not dropsy?) and the bloat comes and goes.

 

[kribensis12]

She is probably constipated. Try boiling a frozen pea, smushing it up and feed it to her. She take a crap, and no more bloat. Bloating isnt a sign of parasites.

 

[bluerose]

It's not standard bloat... tried that remedy already. Eventually she passed a huge amount of tan 'something' (looked very unusual), appeared un-bloated for a day or two and then ballooned up again. She also appears to have some sort of mass on her side that is much worse when she's bloated-- it's hard to explain, I'll work on pictures.

I'm honestly wondering from time to time if she'll make it at all, but the other fish don't bother her, she swims around and eats... dunno.

I'm guessing it's a she, hard to tell with neons of course.

 

[kribensis12]

I would appreciate pic's!