Peacock cichlid not eating. Internal parasites?

[Seedy J]

tl;dr - What's a good medication for internal parasites in Lake Malawi cichlids?

I've been dealing with internal parasites in my all male Lake Malawi cichlid tank since I set it up (never buying from that LFS again!). All of the fish were acting pretty normal up until a day or two ago when my Mdoka flametail stopped eating. He's acting normal otherwise and doesn't seem to be getting picked on too badly. I've also been seeing a lot more long white poop in the tank but can never see which fish it's coming from, and some of the fish have been flashing on the sand.

I've tried feeding NLS Hex Shield a couple of times. Things seem to clear up after treatment (no more white poo or flashing) for 2-3 weeks, then the symptoms return. I've also added a Sunsun UV sterilizer from Amazon which doesn't really seem to be doing anything.

I've read in some old threads that Jungle Parasite Clear could be good for this problem, but it (and the Tetra product that replaced it) seem to be discontinued. What else can I try? Preferably something that can treat the whole tank rather than medicated food.

Here are details on the tank:
55 gallons
Hard water, pH 8.2, no ammonia, nitrites, or nitrates, 79-80 degrees F
40-50% water change every 1-2 weeks
Started fishless cycle in May, added first fish in June
7 Lake Malawi cichlids (6 peacocks and 1 hap, can provide more details if needed. The fish in question is an Aulonocara Stuartgranti Mdoka Flametail)
Marineland Penguin 350 and Magnum 350, Sunsun JP-23 UV sterilizer

Thanks in advance!

 

[kno4te]

Would dose metronidazole to the tank and Epsom salt at 1 tbsp per 5g.

Feed the hex shield with Epsom salt solution, 1/2 cup distilled water and 3/4 tsp of epsom salt. Can use seachem focus to bind into a gel or paste.

 

[Seedy J]

Thanks, I'll give that a try. Could I substitute API aquarium salt for Epsom salt? I have aquarium salt but I'm not sure if I have any unscented aquarium-safe Epsom salt on hand.

 

[kno4te]

Thanks, I'll give that a try. Could I substitute API aquarium salt for Epsom salt? I have aquarium salt but I'm not sure if I have any unscented aquarium-safe Epsom salt on hand.

No can’t substitute. Salt won’t have the same laxative like effect of epsom salt.

 

[Seedy J]

It looks like we're making some progress! I started dosing the tank with metronidazole (Seachem Metroplex) on Monday. The Mdoka Flametail started pecking at food again on Wednesday. Instead of epsom salt, I fed them some peas as a laxative this morning (which the Mdoka happily ate) and will probably do the same for their evening meal. Still seeing some stringy white poo in the tank but I guess it's still pretty early in the treatment. I'll try feeding them NLS Hex Shield next week.

 

[duanes]

If you are in the US, you should be able to find epsom salt at any corner pharmacy, or even grocery store.
I agree, aquarium salt will not do the trick,
Aquarium salt is NaCl (plain salt, same as rock salt, table salt, water softener salt), maybe a few minor additions to attempt to make it justify the exorbitant price).
Epsom salt is MgSO4 Magnesium sulfate), a totally different species, although it may look the same in its dried form.
MgSO4 is a common component of the water in the rift lakes.