Gill Flukes?

[tbcha1]

Hi guys
i have a rainbow fish that was scratching itself and swimming funny so i had a closer look at the discus. I saw one also flashing against the airstone. The discus in question is only using one gill to breath aswell. Are these classic signs of gill flukes? ive only done a bit of research here and read inflamed gills which i havent seen yet. Would do a more thorough research but ive got work very soon! hopefully i can get some answers from you great people by the time i finish work so i can act as quick as possible!
thanks in advance!
TC

ps also what is the best medication and where to get some in the SE suburbs of melbourne?

[tbcha1]

I pretty much worked out after a bit more research here that its definately gill flukes, well highly likely!
I have to go to work now! so could someone please please post me a place i could get my hands on some master fluke and tapeworm 100mg tablets or some other type of gill fluke medication in the Mulgrave or Bayswater area so i can treat them asap?
thanks in advance!
TC

[Bill T.]

Not sure about the Bayswater area. Medication that has praziquantel should do the trick. Also letting your pH drift down to about 6.5.
I had a lot of trouble with flukes for a while. A prolonged period with low pH plus the prazi seemed to fix things up.
Good Luck!

[tbcha1]

ok ill try get some after work. My ph is already at 6.6 ill see if i can get it any lower.
thanks for the reply

[G-1000]

yep

You need to get aquamaster gill flukes and tapeworm tablets (each tablet has 100mg praziquantel). Increase your temp to 32 degrees and add one tablespoon of rock salt per 40L water to the tank.

G

[mistakes r crucial]

Hi,

If you call Aristopet (number in the phone book) you can buy Prazi in its pure form and in my experience it works far better than the tabs. You need to measure it out exactly as it is pretty potent but it does the job very well indeed.

Very experienced breeders such as Rod (Sunshine Discus) has mentioned before that Prazi, these days, is next door to useless, and I totally agree, but I have found that the pure powder works well and is a far better alternative to Trichlorophon. Trichlorophon works very well but it knocks the hell out of your fish in my experience.

To use the powder you will need scales as the recommended dose is .5 of a milligram to 1 litre of water.
Cheers
MAC

[tbcha1]

thanks for all the replies guys. I already got the tabs Mac if it doesnt help ill try the powders ur mentioned.
Currently ive done a 50% water change, raised temp to 32c, add the the gill flukes and some primafix. I guess ill wait and see how they are in 3 days times hopefully they will be ok still! they still eating which is a good sign.
If most fish carry gill flukes (from what i read somewhere) does this mean the fish are under some kinda stress for them to get affected so much? or do u think i may have stuffed up big time by feeding them live blood worms which may have carried diseases?
I do 2 water changes a week and the waters at 6.6ph. Its been up and running for over a yr before i got the discus.

[mistakes r crucial]

Hi tb,

I don't think you've "stuffed up big time" by feeding live worms, it's a personal choice but if you're going to do that you do need to be vigilant and aware that they can bring with them occasional hassles such as gill fluke. Personally, I don't, I prefer to grow out brine shrimp or gather mosquito larvae if I want to feed live food.

Most fish carry gill fluke but healthy fish handle them because their immune system is able to keep them in check. I've had outbreaks in the past and have been left scratching my head as to what I've done wrong and the answer on many occasions is nothing. Something may have stressed them out just enough to allow the flukes to multiply and all of a sudden, over night in my experience sometimes, you have a problem.
Cheers
MAC

[Bill T.]

Don't know what other people think, but I would go easy on the Pimafix.
The guy at OAFI was adamant with me that a low pH is crucial with discus. His theory is that with a high pH (above 7.0, say) the discus gills get a build up of mucus, and this mucus tends to protect the flukes from the medication. Lowerring the pH aparently reduces the mucus load on their gills and gives both fish and medication a better chance of dealing with the flukes.
Also, a high mucus load can look like gill flukes as it irritates the gills and the fish will scratch & flick in response.
Having said all that, my tank now sits at about 7.05 pH with no problems.