Hello, I'd like to share my experience in dealing with freshwater parasites.
I've been keeping fish for some years now, without any significant problems concerning parasitic disease and such. About 4-5 months ago I was keeping a mixed breeding colony of endlers and baloon red platy, in a heavily planted 80 liter (aprox. 2 gal.) aquarium, with Melanoides substrate snails and 50-60 well breeding healthy red cherry shrimp. All was fine until I decided to buy 2 pairs of endlers (trying to avoid heavy inbreeding) from the local fish market, and I added them to the tank (just a few days of quarantine, obviously not enough). In just a few more days they started acting shy, refusing food, had stringy white poop and started becoming very emaciated. Slowly, most of my fish started getting these symptoms and some started to die. I treated with Metro in the food and in the water, but this proved to only alleviate the problem. At this time I received, as a gift, a few blue gene Jack Dempsey fry. I decided to keep the fry as an experiment, and so I disposed of all my other fish, except two healthy looking baloon platy males, by moving them to a second tank, and treated again with Metro in the first tank. In the second tank I also moved all my shrimp. Metro proved insufficient, and the platies soon started showing signs of disease, so I decided to dispose of all my sick fish, from both tanks, endlers and platy, BUT NOT THE SHRIMP, and treat with Metro+Praziquanthel in the food. For some time all was fine, so I moved 4 BGJD fry into the second tank, with the shrimp.After two weeks I noticed that my shrimp were dieing at a rate of 2-4 per day, and one of the fish in the second tank started to become shy and show stringy white poop. All was fine in the first tank.
At this time I noticiced that THE SHRIMP HAD STRINGY WHITE POOP. Currently I am treating my second tank with Metro+Prazi, and the remaining fish (I disposed of the sick one and of all the shrimp) seem fine.
My theory is that the red cherry shrimp acted as a reservoir for the parasites, slowly killing them and eventually re-infecting the fish. The first time I treated my fish I remember only feeding enough that the fish would eat, as the shrimp had algae to feed on.
Has anyone else had this problem with shrimp transmitting freshwater fish parasites, even with treatment?
I've been keeping fish for some years now, without any significant problems concerning parasitic disease and such. About 4-5 months ago I was keeping a mixed breeding colony of endlers and baloon red platy, in a heavily planted 80 liter (aprox. 2 gal.) aquarium, with Melanoides substrate snails and 50-60 well breeding healthy red cherry shrimp. All was fine until I decided to buy 2 pairs of endlers (trying to avoid heavy inbreeding) from the local fish market, and I added them to the tank (just a few days of quarantine, obviously not enough). In just a few more days they started acting shy, refusing food, had stringy white poop and started becoming very emaciated. Slowly, most of my fish started getting these symptoms and some started to die. I treated with Metro in the food and in the water, but this proved to only alleviate the problem. At this time I received, as a gift, a few blue gene Jack Dempsey fry. I decided to keep the fry as an experiment, and so I disposed of all my other fish, except two healthy looking baloon platy males, by moving them to a second tank, and treated again with Metro in the first tank. In the second tank I also moved all my shrimp. Metro proved insufficient, and the platies soon started showing signs of disease, so I decided to dispose of all my sick fish, from both tanks, endlers and platy, BUT NOT THE SHRIMP, and treat with Metro+Praziquanthel in the food. For some time all was fine, so I moved 4 BGJD fry into the second tank, with the shrimp.After two weeks I noticed that my shrimp were dieing at a rate of 2-4 per day, and one of the fish in the second tank started to become shy and show stringy white poop. All was fine in the first tank.
At this time I noticiced that THE SHRIMP HAD STRINGY WHITE POOP. Currently I am treating my second tank with Metro+Prazi, and the remaining fish (I disposed of the sick one and of all the shrimp) seem fine.
My theory is that the red cherry shrimp acted as a reservoir for the parasites, slowly killing them and eventually re-infecting the fish. The first time I treated my fish I remember only feeding enough that the fish would eat, as the shrimp had algae to feed on.
Has anyone else had this problem with shrimp transmitting freshwater fish parasites, even with treatment?
