Prazi and Metro ata the same time

[Big Daddy1]

Many people have said using Prazi and Metro at the same time is just fine and won't do any harm to fish or bio filter.

I have treated with both at the same time and ended up with what appears to be ich in two different tanks!

Where did I go wrong? What to do now?

Thanks
Mark

[Big Daddy1]

ILLUSN,

You replied to an emergancy room post called possible ich?

Please tell me how you can tell the difference. I thought that would be very early stages of ICH as this is what I'm have in two of my tanks on my discus, and on my tetras. I treated for ICH and all was cleared up within one day in one tank. This started after treating with prazi and metro.

Mark

[Big Daddy1]

So... My big tank is perfectly clean now!

My q-tank discus still has a couple little white dots on them and one of them has a little piece of string or "thread" with it. So... I did a 25-30% wc and started prazipro again. I'm starting to think that the little white dots that appeared shortly after my first prazi dose was parasites dieing within the fish skin/muscle and coming out.

What do you think of my diagnosis?

[flgirl1977]

Funny, I just had the same thing happen! I treated with PraziPro and had an outbreak of Ich! Any clue as to why this is happening? It just seems too coindicidental...

[Big Daddy1]

Well, I'm thinking that it isn't ich at all but parasites dieing. Similar to intestinal worms passing. I've never had a parasite problem before so I'm not sure what to think.

[Merrilyn]

Prazipro is something we can't get in Australia, so I can't comment on that particular medication. Metro has to be prescribed by a vet here, and can't be sold over the counter.

I really have doubts about the merits of combining two fairly strong ingredients in one dose, but I guess if that's the way it's sold, then they must have done the proper research, but that's one heck of a coincidence that both of you have experienced similar things happen after treatment.

I doubt that it could be Ich. That's something we rarely see in discus tanks, because of the high temperatures we run, so perhaps it is as you say, Big Daddy, some kind of skin parasite.

I think I'll be sticking to using one medication, followed a week later by the second medication, with big water changes in between.

[Big Daddy1]

That is precisely what I will do from now on. Fish in general are a bit to fragile for multiple meds at a time. But there are quite a few people who use them both at the same time. Not something I'll do again.

Otherwise, my two q-tank discus are looking good. The white dots and certainly the one dot with a string is now all gone!

That being said, what is the rate at which I can lower ph from 7.2 to about 6.7? Plus, is it really wise to use chemicals to lower ph? Seems artificial and maybe that is what my Flora Base substrate is doing, not sure.

[Merrilyn]

If your tap water is a constant 7.2 I really wouldn't try to alter it.

Unless you're breeding, a stable pH is much more important to your fish than a slightly lower pH.

If you want to do it naturally, you can try peat moss in your canister filter, or even extra driftwood in the tank will slowly lower the pH.

Doing a water change with a pH slightly higher than the tank won't be a problem at all. You'll only be changing around 30% at a time, which will only raise your tank by one or two points to maybe 6.9. Nothing to worry about :P

[Big Daddy1]

Okay, the tank is planted with Flora Base. I have been considering a substrate change to keep from buffering the ph. Are you helping me to push over the edge?

I don't want sand so I'm thinking of something like this:

http://www.caribsea.com/pages/products/super_nat.html

Torpedo Beach or Peace River

Lastly, I'm considering of leaving some of the Flora Base in there, right around my plants. This will equate to removing 75% give or take.

[Daniella]

Same thing here. I am on second day with prazipro and noticed today a small white dot on a fin that really look like ich (ick). only one spot and on only one fish but still wierd.

also prazipro do make them spit out food a lot. One has stopped eating after the second day on prazi. was eating a bit yesterday but still spitting a lot of food. He was not doing this before the treatment as he was not the fish that I was treating the tank for. I treated for fast breathing one of my other fish.