What is best treatment for flukes in goldfish?  3/26/08
Hello,
I was wondering what your recommendations are for treating body flukes in goldfish at least I think that's what they are. I have noticed from time to time that my goldfish will quickly rub themselves on aquarium decorations.
<This could be a variety of things, not just flukes. Whitespot/Ick often manifests itself as scratching behaviour. Rapid changes in pH will also cause this behaviour. So you need to be a bit more open minded, or at least look for other symptoms that might pin down the problem>
At one time I put in Live Bearer by Aquarium Products and that seemed to stop their behavior, but unfortunately I can't find it anymore in the local pet stores.
<Do see here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/gldfshdisease.htm
>
I mainly want something that I can use as a preventative and not have to take out the carbon in my filter, etc.
<Treating with a "preventative" is counter productive, and says more about how we sometimes view healthcare than what is actually useful. Most medications cause some degree of stress or harm to fish, and in some cases some fish simply get killed by them (loaches and copper-based medication is the classic example). So you need to use medications only when absolutely necessary. Instead focus on REAL preventative medicine, i.e., quarantining new livestock, providing a balanced diet, and ensuring good water quality. As for removing carbon, you need to replace carbon every month for it to do any good, so removing it for treatment purposes shouldn't be a chore. I don't feel that carbon serves ANY useful purpose in a freshwater tank; 50% weekly water changes will do a much better job of removing those pesky dissolved organics, and will also keep the nitrate down and prevent pH swings! Just say NO to carbon!>
Thanks
Sharon
<Cheers, Neale.>

Another livebearer question  12/30/06
Hi Tom,
<<Hello, Linda.>>
Another question if I may?  
<<Certainly.>>
What do you recommend for preventing gill flukes?  I haven't had this problem for some time but since I plan to get guppies I want to be prepared.  I had quite a problem at one time after purchasing guppies.  I have tried CopperSafe before but I wonder if there is something better to ward off a potential problem.  I understand if the fish are in good shape and remain un-stressed they can keep many parasites at bay themselves.  What about salt on a regular basis?  I don't keep snails but I may get a stray or two since I plan to have living plants in my new 55gal tank.  Is that a potential source of gill fluke infestation?
<<As you’re likely aware, Linda, maintaining top-notch water and tank conditions is the best preventative. As to water conditions, these speak to themselves in terms of regular changes, substrate/filter cleaning, etc. As for the tank conditions, be wary of over-crowding and provide hiding places particularly for the expectant females. You’re quite correct that stress-free, healthy fish are – virtually – immune to parasitic infestation. I’ve mentioned this in other posts but it bears repeating: in cases of disease, medications merely “control” the spread. The immune systems of the fish are what ultimately eradicate the problem. In short, there’s nothing better that you can do for your pets than provide the best conditions possible. The Guppies, more so than the Swordtails and Platys, will actually appreciate the addition of aquarium salt to the water. Even fish that don’t have a high tolerance for salt will do fine with a modest amount in the tank. Pests, on the other hand, have little tolerance for any. The one admonition I would have for you here is that plants may not do well with salt in the water. Typically, however, this would be at what might be described as “treatment levels” which would be several times greater than you would normally maintain in your aquarium. In your case, I would cut the common ratio of one tablespoon per five gallons in half and see how both the plants and fish fare at this level. (Sometimes some good, old experimentation is needed to find a happy compromise.) Finally, since gill flukes don’t require an intermediate host, I don’t think a stray snail or two will pose a problem. Look into treating your plants in a solution of potassium permanganate if you want to avoid introducing even a stray snail. In fact, it’s really not a bad practice to quarantine plants as well as fish before adding them to the display tank. Goes a long way in avoiding “undesireables” that may be trying to hitchhike their way into a new home.>>
Thanks,
Linda Ritchie
<<Happy again to be of service, Linda. Tom>>

Update on Pregnant Aulonocara Death & Cichlid Exchange... Monogenes   6/18/06
I think we’ve isolated the cause of death of my pregnant Aulonocara ruben Red and fry.  The 2 ½  mo. old fry were exhibiting similar symptoms, one died and I almost lost another just 1 ½ weeks ago.   When we last left off I was treating both the fry and remaining adults with Furan-2 and concerned they might have mycobacteriosis.  Not knowing for sure what I was dealing with I treated this as some sort of bacterial gill infection.  They survived the Furan-2 treatment but the fry still looked pale and their gills looked pink and irritated.  Several were thin and wasting away.
Chuck:………Cichlid Exchange contacted me after you contacted them.  They checked my date of purchase for the female Ruben Reds against their records and confirmed they were from a breeding pair of theirs sold to my LFS.
Cichlid Exchange thinks the pregnant female Aulonocara died from digenetic flukes after talking to me and viewing photos (the pinhead cysts are evident in the photos I sent you).
<Ahh! Not uncommon>
  I have a feeling she also had monogenetic flukes because her gills were swollen and red.   They recommended treating the fry and adults with a bath of a ½ dose of Clout for 5 days, then doing a partial water change and repeating the ½ dose another 5 days.  They mentioned possibly following up with Praziquantel medicated food.  I’m actually considering a Praziquantel bath over medicated food since it sounds as though Praziquantel absorbs well through the skin.  Right now I am on day 4 of the Clout treatment and the fry seem okay but are still pale with pink gills.  I am disappointed I’m not seeing any results so far.  Maybe I’m expecting too much too soon, but I was hoping to see some reduction in the gill irritation by now.  I worry that a ½ dose isn’t sufficient,
<Best to be conservative here. With fishes that are already border-line gill-damaged>
yet anything stronger might kill the young ones who are only ½” -3/4” long.  I don’t know how they tolerate Clout, my hands itch as soon as I place them in the tank until I wash them with soap.  I have an aquarist friend who thinks Clout is the worst treatment and a shotgun approach.  He’s trying to convince me to switch over to Fluke Tabs.  He said fluke tabs aren’t as hard on the fish, especially babies.  Any suggestions?
<I would finish with Clout for now... but switch to Fluke Tabs if there is a next time>
I think the fry have monogenetic flukes as several of them were flashing against objects 8-10 weeks ago (at the time I thought it was due to traces of ammonia in their brand new uncycled tank).   I kept up daily water changes until I was able to get my hands on some Bio-Spira and then I was soon able to cut back to every other day changes.  None of the fry have any evidence of external lesions or cysts.  The flashing, pale skin, irritated gills, and emaciation sound more like symptoms of monogenetic flukes, but then again, what do I know?  
<Need microscopic examination for an assured diagnosis, but trematodes are common on wild-collected fishes or ones that are mixed with same>
I know there are a number of different types of flukes and some have complex life cycles, can attack different organs, some attach externally, others internally, and others live in the blood. I’ve heard some types of flukes may be incurable.  I haven’t had sufficient time to research this more thoroughly as I just got back from 5 days in FL (I flew back the night before the storm officially was upgraded to a hurricane.  I waded through ankle deep water during a torrential downpour & 40 mile an hour winds at Cape Canaveral so I could make my flight home – but it was worth it and I got to see a several Manatees before I left!).  In case you’re wondering, I had someone tending to the fish in my absence (a needed break after the losses I’ve been dealing with here recently!).
My fluke problem may extend beyond the Aulonocaras.  I quarantined an Astatotilapia latisfaciata (Zebra Obliquidens) in the same tank the pregnant Aulonocara was in immediately after I moved her into her permanent residence.  Right after moving the Zebra Obliquidens I quarantined three Plecos (one of which I sent you a picture of that died from sunken belly), all again in the same tank.  The quarantine tank has a gravel substrate which could harbor flukes and fluke eggs. Now I feel I need to treat these fish as well and I don’t have a clue as to which fluke medications are safe
to treat Plecos with.  The substrate goes when this is all over!
Cindy
<No need to toss all, any gear that's been exposed as long as it is treated along with the fishes. Bob Fenner>

Getting On the Right Track With Black Spots - 05/31/2004
Someone else has asked about this problem and wanted to know what caused the black spots and the answer was about the quality of the water.  
<Mm....  Might help to have more background on your specific problem.  Not having the other FAQ in front of me, I don't know about the other person's scenario, but it will be difficult to aid you without details of your situation.>
I understand that probably is the cause but the question of that person as well as myself is are the black spots due to a fungus or a bacterial infection because the treatment is different.
<Really, without details, I can only give you a generalized answer, based on assumptions....  I can assume that you mean the "classic" 'black-spot' disease, which is a digenetic fluke - a parasite, passed to the fish from another animal - which appears as small, black spots, like bits of pepper on the fish, almost.  For this, there isn't really a great deal you can do to treat, but it shouldn't be terribly life-threatening.  If the fish is horribly infested, it might be worthwhile to try a Praziquantel bath, or try treating orally with Levamisole or Piperazine, but I really don't know how effective this would be.  'Course, with this assumption, I might be WAY off track - perhaps you have some other disease in mind....  Ah, I realize now, I don't even know if you're talking about a fresh or saltwater tank....  If you can, please get back to me with more information - fish affected, type & size of aquarium, other inhabitants of the tank (especially presence of snails - the first host of the fluke responsible for 'black spot'), how long the tank's been established, how long you've had the affected fish (newly acquired fish may bring along 'black spot' if they were collected in the wild or raised in a pond), water parameters.... anything else of note.>
Yes, I know to change the water and correct the problem for the future, but I wish to treat specifically with medication but don't know if I should use an antibiotic or an antifungal????  
<Again, without details of your situation, I cannot give you an answer; without details to try to diagnose with, I don't know if your fish has 'black spot' or a common cold.>
Please Help.  
<Would love to, really; please do get back to us; I'd be delighted to give you a better answer, once I have a better understanding of what's happening in the tank.>
Thank you
<Thanks for writing in - wishing you and your fish well,  -Sabrina>

MONOGENETIC Gill Flukes Infect Snails and Fish? - 05/31/2004
I am told by a moderator on an aquaria message board that my Pomacea bridgesii snails have given my guppies gill flukes.  
<Mm, no....  May have brought other things, like digenetic trematodes responsible for 'black spot', but not gill flukes.  As you note in the title of your question, gill flukes are monogenetic....  need no other host than the fish.>
I have searched the net for weeks and can find no evidence that this is possible.  The snails are captive bred/raised,
<Can still be captive bred/raised in outdoor ponds with access for visiting birds (or just visiting bird poo), which would allow for transmission of some parasites, like 'black spot', as above - I'm not at all saying this has happened, and probably does not at all relate to your situation - just another reason to quarantine *all* animals, *especially* snails.>
and as far as I know, gill flukes are monogenetic.  This would mean the fluke would have to be non-host-specific and infect both snail and fish alike.  
<Mm, no, found only in fish.  Another fun tidbit - gill flukes are usually of the genus Dactylogyrus, but skin flukes are of the genus Gyrodactylus  - I'm too easily amused....>
This seems like a big stretch, and I have no real evidence that the fish have/had gill fluke.  Some did/do appear to have some gill irritation which began with 48 hours of being introduced to a completely disinfected new setup that had cycled without fish for over a month, and to which I then added the P. bridgesii about 1 week before the fish.  
<I'd test ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate, also consider if the fish have had any major changes in pH (either from the store to home, or from QT to main tank); I would think this far likelier than flukes.>
Is it really possible that the snails gave the fish flukes or is some other cause more likely?
<I would hedge my bets on 'some other cause'.>
I would appreciate any information, documentation or verification of this possibility.
<Can give you documentation *against* it, but not for it, I'm afraid.>
Thank you,  Karin Wiechert
<Any time.  Wishing you, your fish and inverts well,  -Sabrina>

MONOGENETIC Gill Flukes Infect Snails and Fish? - II - 05/31/2004
Thank you very much, Sabrina.  
<You betcha, Karin.>
In all my research I could find no evidence that a gill fluke could live on both the gills of apple snails (quarantined for over a month, I might add) and then infect the gills of aquarium fish, but hearing it from you increases my confidence 10 fold.  Thank you so much.
<Any time.  That's what we're here for.>
I kept notes of all the parameters of the new tank, including even O2 and CO2 levels, but I neglected to keep track of the parameters in the quarantine tanks since I was replacing the water with fresh tap water every couple of days.  There almost certainly would have been a pH change of as much as 1 degree,
<Zowie.  That in and of itself might be/might have been the issue.>
and certainly more dissolved solids.  In addition, I had an entire mail order of plants die and foul the new tank,
<So a bundle of decaying organic material, too, then - do check that this hasn't given you a bit of a pH swing, as well.>
so I used an enzyme cleaner
<I, personally, feel that such potions are bunk.  If you can't reach it to siphon it out, you might want to look into a longer siphon tube, perhaps?  A little elbow grease will go a lot farther than a magic cure-all-in-a-bottle.>
to help break it down what I couldn't reach with the siphon so it could be removed by the bio- and mechanical filters.  
<If there's not a whole lot of debris, it can be confidently left without worry.  If there is a whole lot of debris, again, maybe a longer siphon tube....>
It seems possible that some of that enzyme may have also remained in the tank, possibly causing some irritation.  
<I don't doubt that it's possible that this concoction may have caused some discomfort in your critters; I really don't put much stock in them.>
I'm so glad to be reasonably assured that gill flukes are not the problem, and will be more careful to acclimate new fish in the future.  
<If you're feeling daring, and have a microscope (or high school/college laboratory to make use of), you might take a skin scrape just behind the operculum to look at; this would be sufficient to reassure you, one way or the other.  Dactylogyrus, after hatching, make their way along the body of the fish to the gills, so you need not take a scrape of the gills to see if they're present.>
Maybe I'll start by replacing the quarantine water slowly with water from the main tank so that they become accustomed to the dissolved solids, pH, and other things before introduction.
<A perfect plan, indeed!>
If you have some documentation AGAINST the fluke hypothesis, I would be interested in reading it (one can never learn TOO much).
<Oh, my....  crackin' out the books....  We'll start with "Tropical Fishlopaedia", by Bailey and Burgess, p. 274 & 275, "Gill Flukes - Strictly, any fluke that parasitizes the gills, but in aquarium usage applied to the monogenetic flukes of the genus Dactylogyrus.  Some 50 species are known, with a size range of 0.15 to 2mm in length.  All are gill parasites, found only in fish, and occasionally also occurring on other parts of the body."  Next, "Handbook of Fish Diseases", by Untergasser, page 100: "Dactylogyridea - Monogenetic flukes or trematodes of the order Dactylogyridea live mainly on gills."  Next, "Aquariology: The Science of Fish Health Management, Master Volume" by Gratzek et. al., page 241, under "Monogenetic trematodes": "Dactylogyrids are usually associated with the gills, and for that reason are called gill flukes."  Lastly (and not leastly), "Fish Diseases: Diagnosis and Treatment" by Noga, p. 88-93, aside from having Dactylogyrus listed as Monogeneans, even has a diagram (page 90) of the life cycle, with the fish as the only host (er, since they are, after all, monogenetic).  And from page 89, "The oviparous Dactylogyrids are primarily gill parasites of freshwater fish (Yamaguti, 1968)."  There is far, far too much information in these books to even begin to type it all out for ya, but I hope these excerpts have settled your mind a bit; as it is, "You don't have to take my word for it".  Also, now you have a list of books to go diggin' for, should you choose to see the info firsthand :) >
Thank you again.  Your helps is greatly appreciated.
<Any time.  I live to research.  Wishing you and your fish well,  -Sabrina>
Sincerely,  Karin Wiechert

MONOGENETIC Gill Flukes Infect Snails and Fish? - III - 05/31/2004
Thank you again, Sabrina!
<Sure thing.>
Now, I not only have reassurance that the fish aren't infected with gill flukes, but I have a way to check without trying to scrape gill filament from tiny little GUPPIES!  Eeek!  
<And even still, I think the likelihood of gill flukes in your case does not even warrant checking; just if you feel so inclined, less trauma for you (and the fish).>
I also have learned a lesson -- no enzyme cleaners (although I'd have had to dismantle and drain my heavily planted and decorated tank to get rid of the muck --
<...?...  Uhm, do you really have portions of the tank that are *that* inaccessible?  Zowie.>
looked okay until I stuck my hand in and everything disintegrated into goo).  Maybe should have siphoned out all the water and
replaced it a couple of times.  
<Aaaaah.  I see.  Just, *poof*, eh?  Yeah, water changes will give you much better results than a fix in a bottle.>
Thanks also for the titles/authors.  I need some good reference books, and you've given me a place to start with my next visit to Borders or Barnes and Noble.
<Well, to point you in the right direction, then, I'd strongly recommend "Tropical Fishlopaedia" by Bailey and Burgess.  This is a very useful little book, though I wouldn't recommend it to a first beginner or a youngster, in most cases.  For someone a little more advanced, it's a great all-in-one, and has very easy-to-understand information on disease and medication.  It's a little more up-to-date than Untergasser (which is still a favorite of mine, and probably my second recommendation), and much simpler than Gratzek and Noga (cheaper, too!).  Though, be sure to bookmark pages 189, 213 and 317, or you'll have a heck of a time with it.... much as I like this book, it has a major shortcoming of having no complete index.>
Thank you so much for your help.
<Any time.  -Sabrina>
Sincerely, Karin Wiechert