Treating for internal parasites

[OhNeil1969]

I have a 29 gallon tank that may be dealing with an internal parasite problem. Ever since I got this batch of fish I've noticed that their poo is stringy and white. At first I didn't worry because everyone seemed ok (no die offs and good, healthy behavior). As I've learned more about keeping fish and my commitment has grown, I'm beginning to feel that I should deal with this problem before disaster occurs.

So now I have 2 questions.

1) Can anyone recommend a good and safe treatment for the internal parasites? I'm not sure what type of parasite I'm dealing with so I'm looking for something that is broad based in what it treats. I've read a lot about the various types of meds available, but I'm looking for some info from people who have used these products in the past.

2) The other question has to deal with my other tank. Right now I have (1) 50 ft Aqueon gravel vacuum. Am I running the risk of transferring any disease/infections from 1 tank to the other using the single gravel vac for both tanks? I seem to remember reading somewhere that is recommended to use separate nets for each tank. Would you do the same thing for a gravel vac? My other 60 gallon tank is running great. It just finished a fishless cycle and the new inhabitants are doing well. The last thing I want to do is harm those fish by infecting it with a disease from my other tank.

Thanks for the help!
Neil

 

[Fishguy2727]

Feed new life spectrum theraA because it has enough garlic to kill parasites. Metronidazole is an effective med for internal parasites.

 

[jsoong]

Jungle anti-parasite food - contains Praziquental, metronidazole & levamazole. Nice spectrum of coverage.

And yes, if you have a sick tank, you want to isolate all the equipment to prevent cross infection. For expensive items like Python, you might not want to buy 2 ... instead you can sterilize the tool after each use. Lfs use potassium permaganate soaks for this ... for home user, through washing in hot water followed by complete drying is prob enough. <Most aquatic bugs cannot survive being totally dried.>

 

[OhNeil1969]

Jungle anti-parasite food - contains Praziquental, metronidazole & levamazole. Nice spectrum of coverage.

And yes, if you have a sick tank, you want to isolate all the equipment to prevent cross infection. For expensive items like Python, you might not want to buy 2 ... instead you can sterilize the tool after each use. Lfs use potassium permaganate soaks for this ... for home user, through washing in hot water followed by complete drying is prob enough. <Most aquatic bugs cannot survive being totally dried.>

Just purchased the Jungle anti-parasite food. Would you recommend I feed it to the fish in my other tank as well? I haven't seen any signs of an infestation, but as you know, I was using the same gravel vac for both tanks. I would rather nip it in the bud now before something bad happens.

This next part is aimed at the general audience:
I was also wondering, what are people's thoughts concerning feeding Jungle anti-parasite and ant-bacterial foods as a preventative measure? I was thinking of starting a quarterly treatment regimen to prevent future outbreaks. Could I end up doing more harm by creating a strain of parasite/bacteria that will become resistant to the treatment? Just wanted to hear other's opinion about the subject.

 

[Fishguy2727]

New life spectrum can provide exactly that. Everyone I have talked to who uses it exclusively has found a overall decrease in health problems. High quality food and water will prevent 98% of all health problems.

 

[jsoong]

I wound never use an anti-bacterial or anti-parasitical food routinely. Treat only if you see signs of disease, otherwise clean water & good food is the best preventative.