Another "What Kind of Gar?"

[E_americanus]

does the parasite look very translucent and flat like this:

this is Argulus, a fish louse; treat with continued jungle parasite clear OR take the fish out and remove with forceps and give it a saltwater dip for a minute or two.

or does it look like small worm like this:

this is Caligus, an anchor worm. treat this with continued jungle parasite clear until the parasite is gone (7 days+). the larvae of these spread quickly, so it will be necessary to treat the whole tank.

both are the more common macro-parasites you'll run into with gars. either way i would add some salt to the tank and try to get a photo for confirmation. also note with the anchor worm you'll only be able to see the "two tails" sticking out, whereas the base is usually embedded in the fish--
--solomon

 

[kntrygrl4lyfe]

did he catch it or buy it?

He bought it as an Alligator gar from a LFS

 

[rednhot]

the fish louse is what my fish had on its eye...good one solomon.

the jungle parasite clear...what is the active ingredient. all i know is malachite green for ich and copper treatment for other ext parasites, limited...i know...lol

---Art

 

[demjor19]

the fish louse is what my fish had on its eye...good one solomon.

the jungle parasite clear...what is the active ingredient. all i know is malachite green for ich and copper treatment for other ext parasites, limited...i know...lol

---Art

gar dont seem to take the chemical treatments very well. i would strongly advize against using malachite green for ich. i normlly use a salt treatment combined with raised temps when dealing with ich. i have no recommendations on how to treat parasites as i have never dealt with any yet.

 

[E_americanus]

the fish louse is what my fish had on its eye...good one solomon.

the jungle parasite clear...what is the active ingredient. all i know is malachite green for ich and copper treatment for other ext parasites, limited...i know...lol

---Art

to respond to both yours and jordans comments:

the active ingredient in jungle parasite clear is praziquantel, which is commonly used to treat larger ectoparasites. malachite green and formalin (which are the main ingredients in ich treatments like 'quick cure') generally aren't strong enough to kill off the larger parasites like fish lice or often even anchor worm.

i've treated gars, bichirs, African arows using jungle parasite clear with no problems, although i'll often go with half the recommended dose just to be safe (i've done regular dosing before and haven't seen any problems). it is pretty cheap as far as meds go, but with those larger parasites you really have to treat the whole tank as they spread very quickly (unless you spot it on your fish before it enters into your own tank).--
--solomon

 

[rednhot]

the only parasite i ever had with my predatory fish is the fish louse my long nose had on his eye when i bought him. i'll be sure to use your advice if i ever encounter a parasite in the future, but do you really think the copper treatment is dangerous for such a hardy fish and why?

 

[escolito]

Spotted gar it is.

 

[rednhot]

i keep saying long nose...but yes its a spotted, sorry ;(

 

[ESJBond007]

nice loking gar u have..

 

[kunaonetanaona]

its a florida gar.