GTR73 Posted January 30, 2005 Share Posted January 30, 2005 I have a 4ft African tank with 8 fish ranging from 4" to 8". Not all, but some of the fish have inverted stomachs. I'm not really sure how long they may have had it, but first noticed about two weeks ago. All fish appear energetic and eating normally. I do a fortnightly 25% water change, and add sea salt with this. A local LFS told me they likely have tapeworm and sold me some dissolving tablets that will apparently fix the problem (the brand escapes me). Has anyone had fish with tapeworm? Is it hard to get rid of and are there any other remedies that will fix it. What are the long term effects to the fish? Any help is very much appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ant Posted January 30, 2005 Share Posted January 30, 2005 I have experienced tape worms before and what you say does sound like worms to me. To treat worms you can't just disolve the tablets in the water, you need to get it right into their stomachs. Here is a link to the method i have used in the past several times succesfully: http://ace.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=11343&hl=worms . The treatment is called, aqua master fluke and tapeworm tablets (praziquantel). It is one tablet for 20 lrs. Do a 40% water change a few days after and repeat the process if unsuccesfull. Anthony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GTR73 Posted January 30, 2005 Author Share Posted January 30, 2005 The treatment is called, aqua master fluke and tapeworm tablets (praziquantel). Hey that's the exact stuff I used Anthony! I put two and two together and decided the dissolved tablets would need to be ingested somehow, so when I threw it in I fed them some food flakes also. I hope the Aqua Master stuff works like you say. I will be doing a water change this arvo and cleaning my canister filters, but am wondering if I should vacuum the gravel also. Where the effects immediate and did you follow it up with a repeat dose 7 days later regardless? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ant Posted January 31, 2005 Share Posted January 31, 2005 If you did everything correctly then you shouldn't need a repeat dose, but if you want to be sure it wouldn't be a huge problem if you decided to do a repeat. Sometimes a repeat dose can stop any reoccuring infections also. The effects aren't instant but if they had worms you will see the dead worms in there poo . Sorry i forgot to mention to take out any bottom feeders as they can easily over dose when the treatment falls to the bottom. I would sython the gravel to remove any of the medication from the substrate (particularly if you had bottom feeders in there). Anthony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GTR73 Posted January 31, 2005 Author Share Posted January 31, 2005 Cool. Thanks for your guidance Anthony. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bit Racer Posted February 2, 2005 Share Posted February 2, 2005 Cool. Thanks for your guidance Anthony. They wouldn't be pooing long strands of white/clear poo would they ? And show no interest in any food or spit food out of their mouths ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phatoscarlover Posted February 2, 2005 Share Posted February 2, 2005 Bitracer you sound like youve got another problem, prob better to start a new post but stringy white/clear poo from my expeariance is usually a sign of bloat. Are the fish looking fairly fat??? Best to start a new thread if ya really want to talk about it. Cheers Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ant Posted February 2, 2005 Share Posted February 2, 2005 White poo is often a sign of internal flagellates as well as the other symtoms. A disease common to discus and other americans but i believe that africans can also get it. The disease is an internal parasite like the tape worm. The treatment used is called metronidazole but this medication has to be purchesed via prescription from a vet or doctor. If it is bloat the signs would be quite obvious. I dont know the dosage rate sorry, hopefully someone else knows and can provide us with info. Ill do a bit of reasearch in the mean time but thats what i beleave your problem is bitracer, it is more common than people think. Anthony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GTR73 Posted February 2, 2005 Author Share Posted February 2, 2005 No change whatsoever yet - they still look as emancipated as they did before the treatment. No white poo, and they hook into their food a ravenously as always. I tried to get them to ingest the diluted tablet particles by feeding them simutaneously, but in retrospect I think they spat out any of the medication they picked up. As per the instructions on the bottle, I need to do a follow up dosage 7 days later. So this Saturday I'll try again and see what happens. With the cleaning of filter media, vacuuming of substrate, removal of any bottomfeeder fish and doing a 25% water change after dosage - there's a fair bit of mucking around! So anyone know of a liquid treatment that is effective???? I've heard it's available but never seen it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bit Racer Posted February 3, 2005 Share Posted February 3, 2005 No change whatsoever yet - they still look as emancipated as they did before the treatment. No white poo, and they hook into their food a ravenously as always. I tried to get them to ingest the diluted tablet particles by feeding them simutaneously, but in retrospect I think they spat out any of the medication they picked up. As per the instructions on the bottle, I need to do a follow up dosage 7 days later. So this Saturday I'll try again and see what happens. With the cleaning of filter media, vacuuming of substrate, removal of any bottomfeeder fish and doing a 25% water change after dosage - there's a fair bit of mucking around! So anyone know of a liquid treatment that is effective???? I've heard it's available but never seen it. Guys, I don't have any problems with my fish, I was just trying to dig deeper into GTR73's problems by asking a few more questions. GTR, if they're still taking in food, yet there bellies are still sunken, you could have the dreaded "wasting away" disease which can be difficult to cure. I've seen a friends tank of africans slowly deteriorate and come to death one by one over a period of 3 months. There is some aquaruim medication that will cure it, but unfortunately it's no longer available in Australia. The name of it slips my mind at the moment... but I think it is based on metronidazole or flagyl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ant Posted February 3, 2005 Share Posted February 3, 2005 Sorry Bitracer....lol..but the info should still provide some insight for others. GTR, by using worm feeders and live worms the medication won't fall straight to the bottom, the tablets will mix with the live worms and coat them with the medication, there fore when they scoff it they should ingest enough to rid them of the paracites. This seems to be the most efficient way of worming fish. From what i understand 'wasting away' disease is usually tape worm or internal flagellates that is just generically termed 'wasting away'. Or is 'wasting away' a totally seperate disease? Anthony PS: Worming your fish takes a few shots to master the technique. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GTR73 Posted February 3, 2005 Author Share Posted February 3, 2005 I'll try your method with the feeders Anthony. Thanks everyone again. I will keep you updated on what happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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