My GT has an internal parasite I believe and I tried to treating it with a Hex Shield but he wouldn’t eat it? how can I entice my gt to eat the hex shield. He hasn’t eaten in over a week
GT Not eating Hex Shield
- Thread starter EccelaEkaj
- Start date
You should first look at his feces with a microscope to confirm that the parasite your green terror has is spironucleus, because if he has another type of parasite like nematodes or tapeworms, then feeding him Hex-Shield or any other type of metronidazole will be completely useless.
Is he still eating other types of food, like frozen bloodworms? If so, you can mix Seachem Metroplex (same active ingredient as Hex-Shield) with bloodworms and Seachem Focus (to bind the medicine to the bloodworms). Or you can make gel food using unflavored Knox gelatin.
If he isn't eating at all, then you can attempt to treat the water with Seachem Metroplex (or any other brand of Metronidazole). Treatment in the water will not be sufficient to cure him completely, but it might reduce the parasite load just enough to get him to eat again so you can feed him Hex-Shield.
If treating the water doesn't work, then you will have to force-feed him.
Is he still eating other types of food, like frozen bloodworms? If so, you can mix Seachem Metroplex (same active ingredient as Hex-Shield) with bloodworms and Seachem Focus (to bind the medicine to the bloodworms). Or you can make gel food using unflavored Knox gelatin.
If he isn't eating at all, then you can attempt to treat the water with Seachem Metroplex (or any other brand of Metronidazole). Treatment in the water will not be sufficient to cure him completely, but it might reduce the parasite load just enough to get him to eat again so you can feed him Hex-Shield.
If treating the water doesn't work, then you will have to force-feed him.
How can i force feed him the hex shield, don’t have much money left to go out buying more medicine
Force-feeding is a very stressful procedure, with some risk of injury, so you should only do it as a last resort. First, weigh your fish. You should feed him 1% of his body weight per day. Crush the pellets into a powder and mix it with water (without chlorine or chloramine). Attach soft silicone airline tubing to the tip of a 5 cc syringe (without needle). Aspirate the liquid medicated food you just made and make sure there is no air trapped in the tubing (you don't want to send air into his stomach). Place the fish on a soft towel wet with aquarium water and very gently insert the tubing through his mouth into his stomach (just past the gill plates). If you just put the tubing into his mouth, he will spit out the food, so it needs to be inside the stomach. Make sure you don't force more food into his stomach than the amount he usually eats. To be safe, you could feed him two small meals per day instead of a big one all at once. Then put the fish back in the aquarium and observe him in case he regurgitates.
Here are some videos showing how it's done:
But as I mentioned, Hex-Shield will only work if the parasite infecting your fish is spironucleus. If you don't see improvement at the end of the 3-day treatment, you should attempt treatment for another type of parasite.
Here are some videos showing how it's done:
But as I mentioned, Hex-Shield will only work if the parasite infecting your fish is spironucleus. If you don't see improvement at the end of the 3-day treatment, you should attempt treatment for another type of parasite.
