Yes. Gill flukes can cause these symptoms, but it doesn't necessarily mean they are present.
Sent from Motorola ATRIX 2 on MonsterAquaria
help with losing scales
- Thread starter h1n1
- Start date
Yes. Gill flukes can cause these symptoms, but it doesn't necessarily mean they are present.
Sent from Motorola ATRIX 2 on MonsterAquaria
Try salt and water changes first. If that doesn't work try Prazipro, as I believe was previously stated. Medications should only be used after eliminating alternatives.
Sent from Motorola ATRIX 2 on MonsterAquaria
Salt does very little to Gill Flukes. The symptoms are there. His parameters are fine.
@OP: I suspected it was Gill Flukes from your very first post. Treat as soon as you can with PraziPro. Be careful and try not to overdose.
My comment to use salt was not directed towards treating the gill flukes, it was meant as a general tonic to reduce stress and eliminate other possibilities other than gill flukes. If you read my posts you'll see I'm supporting the use of Prazipro as needed if indeed the issue is gill flukes. I find many members on MFK jump right to suggesting medications without understanding the whole situation. When was the water tested last. Immediately after a water change? One water test every 3 months with test strips may not tell the whole story. What water conditioners are being used, if any? Is the heater working properly and is the thermometer working properly? How bad are the temperature changes in a 40 gal if the heater is underpowered? We don't know these things, and all of them could cause similar symptoms and stress a fish. By being methodical and starting with a baseline water test, doing water changes daily with a quality water conditioner, adding salt (which is good even if nothing is wrong) and monitoring the fish and water parameters, one could start to eliminate all of the outside issues and narrow down the source of the problem. At that point, if everything still points to gill flukes, then treat with prazipro. Again it's a methodical approach to an unknown problem. If the water changes and salt fix the issue, you've decreased fish stress, improved water quality, and lost nothing. If the water changes and salt don't work, you've at least decreased fish stress and improved water quality. Why not do it?
H1 has been in this hobby for a while. I'm pretty sure he knows what hes talking about when he says the water params and all the other stuff are fine. Honestly, a broken heater or wrong water conditioners or a bad thermometer cause a fish to linger at the surface and breathe heavily? LOL. The OP can choose who's advice to follow. Have you ever experienced cases of Gill Flukes before? They aren't the easiest things to treat, and if left alone, can make it virtually impossible to cure. But whatever, its the OP's call.
In my experience gill flukes don't cause scale loss. I'm not disagreeing about the gill flukes, but I believe there is more going on than what was simply stated. Agree or disagree... that's my opinion. Hope all is well in the end OP because THAT'S what really matters.
Scale loss is a symptom of Gill Flukes as well. The parasites clinging on the gill plates/embedding themselves in the gill membranes would cause on hell of an irritant. The fish may become so irritated that it scratches itself heavily in desperation in hopes of dislodging the parasites.
