Does PRAZI kill PLANTS? QUICK reply PLEASE !

[fishes zd]

I've got to treat my juvie discus with prazi. so I'll treat em all while I'm at it.

1. I have just filled the tank with plants - will prazi kill them??
It's a 4ft tank, so I am going to syphon half of the water ..

2. I have also been told to take out my bristlenose cats.... better to be safe than sorry.

Please response if you have experience with this so I can GET STARTED.

If it kills plants, I've a very small hospital tank to do the trick. I just thought it better to treat the whole tank, ie. gravel , filter, etc. etc

Thanks guys,,

Kerry

[fishes zd]

ok I am going to go ahead and take my chances, worst cases scenario, I get to buy more plants, lol!

I shall post my results.

[Merrilyn]

Sorry for the late reple Kerry, been a bit under the weather myself, but the answer to your question is NO. Prazi does not hurt your plants.

Do be sure to clean out the filter as suggested on the prazi packet. It's important to remove any floating eggs that the filter will have picked up.

[fishes zd]

Thanks Merrilyn, I hope you are feeling much better.

I finished the prazi treatment and my juvie, known as Hendrix, a red turq. is still not looking the best. It's been 48hrs since initial treatment, I cleaned filter and will re dose in 7 days.

I rang a vet, as had been posted, Canley Vale (sydney) but they want to see him, it's about 3/4 hr drive away, so I am looking for a somewhere closer & who might prescribe metro with a pic of him.

My worry is how skinny he is getting. I fed him his fav food, live black worms & he would eat one and poor thing, spit it out again.

You can see from these pics how thin he's getting, dorsal line very obvious. I've also posted a pic of when I first got him so you can see his original colour. He hasn't grown at all (maybe shrunk?)

Sorry 2 pics are blurry.

In my short experience of discus, larger discus are much stronger. They have survived all sorts of stresses. I now understand why people say 'buy the biggest you can afford'. They are beautiful fish, it just breaks me up when they get sick.

Kerry.

PS. My plants are just fine, lol!

[Merrilyn]

That is one sick little fish, and in my opinion needs to be treated with a strong dose of metro for probably the full 10 days. At this late stage, he may not pull through I'm afraid. He is very thin.

Is he eating at all? If he is still eating, then see if you can mix some of the Metro (Flagyl) with water and some dry food. If he eats, the medication will go straight into his gut where it will do the most good.

It is believed that the pathogen responsible for Hole in the Head (also known by a variety of other names such as Hex, head and lateral line erosion and wasting disease) is Spironucleus Vortens.

An infected fish may show one or several of the following symptoms:-

Skin lesions around the head area.
Turning dark.
Refusing to eat.
White jelly like droppings.
Muscle wasting and pinched appearance above the eyes.

The best drug to use is Metronidazole (Flagyl) which you will need to get from your local vet. Ring first to see if he will prescribe it after seeing a photo of the fish, or if he insists on seeing the fish himself.

1. Do a 30% water change.
2. Set the temperature to 30 degrees, no higher.
3. Add 250 mg Metro per 40 Litres of water. Crush tablets to fine powder and mix with water to form a paste before adding to the tank.
4. After 12 hours, do another 30% water change and repeat the dose. This should be done for a total of 3 days.
5. During treatment the tank lights should be left off. Metro is affected by light.
6. A variety of good quality, high protein food with added vitamins and minerals should be fed several times daily. Include prepared dry food, beef heart, brine shrimp, green vegetable matter and blood worms in the diet. Remove any uneaten food and keep the water very clean.

This treatment is effective for early cases of Hex. If however, your fish has been showing symptoms for a long time, or is refusing food altogether, then the treatment needs to be more aggressive.

In that case, the dose rate would be 400mg per 40 litres of tank water, with a 30% water change between treatment. Repeat every 8 hours for a maximum of 10 days if necessary. Usually 5 to 7 days will be sufficient for symptoms to disappear.

Further reading can be found in the excellent article from Discus Page Holland

http://article.dphnet.com/cat-02/spironucleus.shtml#1.%20%20Introduction%20–%20Comm on%20Symptoms

Hope that helps. Keep us posted on your progress.

Follow the instructions as outlined below. The sooner you can get some Flagyl, the better the chances of him surviving.

[fishes zd]

Thank you Merrilyn for your help and detailed instructions. I will keep my progress posted in hope it will help someone else before its too late.

Kerry

[marg]

Hi Kerry,

Just reading your Post, and have a suggestion.

Why don't you pop down to your local Clints store and buy one of their small fishtanks to use as a hospital tank?

They are pretty cheap and it will make medicating your Fish a whole lot cheaper.

If you aren't near a Clints store, try Big W.

Hope this helps, and good luck with your patient.,

Regards,

Marg.

[fishes zd]

Hendrix has died.

I will be keeping a close eye on my other fish to make sure they show no symptoms & don't suffer like this poor lil guy did due to my lack of knowledge.

Kerry

& Marg, thanks re the hosp. tank. - i had him in a little one.