Prasites on WC Flowers

Hello,
About 2 and half weeks ago I got a pair of WC flower rays directly from Columbia. They were doing great in the acclimation - started eating live worms in the first days and were very active.
About 3 days ago I have noticed they became much shayier - burried themselves most of the time. Than yesterday I have noticed that their poo is white and long (today reached a foot long). I took a sample and looked in the microscope and saw parasites.
I am now treating with metronidazole and paraziquantel + high temp.

My questions are as follow:
1) what have caused that? Is the source coming from the fishes (i.e. source in Columbia)?
Can it be that it is coming from the live food I was using
Live blood worms - from LFS
Live black worms - a guy raising them at home and selling them
Live earth worms - from the garden ????

If I would know I would try to avoid it in the future.

2) What is the better likelihood - is that Hexmita (Flagellates) or Cestodes ?

Also: The tank was used earlier for my Motoro pups - and no issue with them. And, alll of my rays were fed with the same food in the other tank.

Thank you in advance,
Avishay

Wow, that's very encouraging.
I had luck they felt very good after acclimation so they started eating and even started having a little belly... I hope they have reserves.
My temp is around 85 - was suggested even to get higher. Use full dose of metro daily with 25% water change. A discuss expert told me he is even more aggressive - i.e. full dose every 8 hours. He is claiming the T/2 of the metro is 8 hours. Also suggested having live food which was in a metro concentrated environment.

Any experience with more aggresive treatenment on rays?

Thank you very much for the reply.

Avishay

West1;3959603; said:

BUMP, Any updates on the Ray?

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4'th teatment with metro full doze so far (daily) - no improvement.
I took a sample of the fecel today and looked again with the microscope - still see living organs. The fecel continues to have white-yellowish color and is very long.

I have expected to have some results by now... quite depressing. The pair looks both suffering - burried all the time. On earlier days I could see some twists which looked to me as pains from the intestine.

Should I go for a more aggresive treat? The rays don't drink much (as far as I know), thus the quantities of medics that the observe are small, isn't it?

Any idea? When did your rays stopped pooing white fecel?

Thanks,
Avishay

6'th day update: continue with the daily treatment with metro and about 40% water change. I analyzed some fecel I saw floating in near the filter with my childern's microscope. It took me a while, but I could still see the living organism (maybe less than last time? - hard to tell). The fishes are still burried in the sand most of the time.

What do I do wrong?
How long until this poo will end?

Zoodiver;3967670; said:

Stop doing water changes unless you HAVE to. The meds need time to work. Also, treating the water won't do much for internal parasites. I'd switch to an internal med like panacur to help wipe out your bug.

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Zoodiver, thank you for your thoughts (BTW, I have seen some pics of you doing force feed, amazing). I will stop water change, but I can't see how I make them eat (without force feed, where I am afraid I could harm ruther than help).
Can panacur be used in water? Does it affect more than hexamita?

Thank you.
Avishay