argulus problem

[bob351]

my female motoro that a just got has 3 of these little bastards on the underside of her disk above there little feet things, i have another ray in the tank and a rtg aro and i was wondering if they are contagious, and how fast they can get onto the other fish. this fish was quarantined but i just never saw these things, i am wondering what my options are. i can take it out of the tank and pluck them off but i don't want to stress my fish, is there any other way of getting rid of these things with little to no stress

 

[kev82]

I think with stingrays you pretty much just have to pluck them off with a tweezer. Stingrays are too sensitive to any medication that gets rid of argulus.

The lice can get pretty fast from one fish to another, esp with stingrays which are in so much contact with each other, always on top of the other one and such, so plucking off would have to happen as soon as possible.

 

[FireMedic]

I am attempting Prazipro and Met right now. I am having the same trouble on my female Motoro. Keep me posted. I do not think "plucking" will work witout me sedating her or something on that order....too risky.

 

[bob351]

alright, i decided it was to much of a risk not to pluck them with my prize fish in the tank so i got her out and since there were only 3 i plucked one of of her (they are fast as hell) and the other two fell of in the procedure. it was extremely stressful to the fish lots o flopping and struggling and attempting to sting me i felt so bad but i guess it was or the best, she is free of them now i jsut hope se can recover from the stress

 

[bob351]

thanks for the quick replies guys

 

[vamptrev]

ive used jungle parasite guard on my rays b4 with great results. just keep the 0/2 crankin. (i did a 3/4 dose)

if the lice went unseen for a while its likely they laid eggs somewhere.

getting them out of the tank ASAP, is the best thing to do.

 

[aznfish919]

dimlin, jungle's anchors away is said to work and relatively ray safe.
fluke tabs also work but is a more harsh chemical that can be tricky to use with sensitive fish.

 

[bob351]

the ray was only in the tank for about 24 hours would that be eough for them to lay eggs, btw its a bare bottom

 

[Florencebigfish]

i had that problem once and i called Newport aquarium and they told me to take all the structures out and raise the salt salinty a little at a time and the salt itself will dry them out. You also need to vaccum the gravel (if you have it) really good. It worked for me. Good luck
Dan

 

[Zoodiver]

Argulus is PAIN to treat well. Just when you think you got it, you don't.
Keep a close eye on all your fish. Those little suckers jump fish to fish quickly.