What are your quarantine methodologies?

[Yaponchik]

Hello all,

I am a pretty new bichir keeper (although I do have experience from 1996, through childhood friends & family1.)

The first WC specimen I got from Africa, has introduced MGD into my tank some time back. Back then we had an endli, delhezi, and an albino senegalus. These 3 CB fishes have been in the tank for at least a year - and upon introduction of the WC ornatipinnis, the senegal had a very bad MGD infection after 2 weeks.

None of the other fish exhibited symptoms except for the endli.

We tried a plethora of treatments on the senegal, but the only thing that worked was a treatment regime of praziquantel.

After this episode, we started quarantining all WC fish we got, with praziquantel.


Now the kicker - I recently got a WC Buettikoferi from Africa, and she has been in quarantine for 4 days now with Praziquantel. There is a white portion developing on one of the dorsal fins, a tell-tale sign of a fungal infection; but the PraziQuantel treatment regime isn't really over - and my question to you all is;

How do you quarantine your bichirs?

I would like to fix her up with melafix + pimafix in combination after doing a 50% WC - but I am not sure if this is good. This also means that the antiparasitic treatment regime would stop (It should be dosed on the 1st, 3rd, and 6th day, and for full strength a WC and another dosage on the 10th to be in the clear) - unless I can actually dose all 3 in combination.

I would like to ask for your experience & opinions on this.

Thank you!

 

[kno4te]

If wild caught I treat with prazipro. While in qt I decide later to add levinisole.

If cb then I just qt and watch. Don’t treat at all.

I don’t use melafix or pimafix. As they are useless.

 

[duanes]

I quarantine all fish the same, whatever type, and because I "just" set up a tank with all wild fish, the entire tank is in quarantine.
I quarantine minimum 2 months. (a friend who runs a public zoo aquatic exhibit does a minimum of 6 months)
The fish are put in quarantine, no meds added yet, only if something is noticed.
While in the quarantine tank, water is added from the display tank every day (could be a pint, could be a quart, depends on tank size), so after two months the entire Q tank volume should be water from the display tank. This is done so any diseases the display fish have immunity to, is gradually added to allow it to either build immunity in the new fish, or get they sick requiring treatment. (Q is not only about keeping diseases out, some fish can be asymptomatic carriers)
In my newest tank, the wild fish did arrive with a few ick cysts, so when noticed the entire tank was treated with 3.5 ppt salinity, and now appears to be ick free, although I will hold that 3-3.5 ppt for at least a month longer.
One fish also appears to have Lymphocystis, which because it is viral, no effective med is available, so either its immune system fights it off, after a time, or it will be euthanized, no other fish have shown symptoms.

 

[jaws7777]

I always treat new fish with a parasite med like parasite guard or general cure to me it doesnt matter if its cb or wc. Then watch it for a couple of weeks. If its eating and showing no signs of other pathogens it joins the community. Its not fool proof but has worked for me. Theres a whole host of diseases that could take longer to manifest themselves though so far ive been lucky.

Id actually like to add a dewormer to the mix.

Can you post pics if the Buettikoferi ? It might not be fungus

 

[jaws7777]

I quarantine all fish the same, whatever type, and because I "just" set up a tank with all wild fish, the entire tank is in quarantine.
I quarantine minimum 2 months. (a friend who runs a public zoo aquatic exhibit does a minimum of 6 months)
The fish are put in quarantine, no meds added yet, only if something is noticed.
While in the quarantine tank, water is added from the display tank every day (could be a pint, could be a quart, depends on tank size), so after two months the entire Q tank volume should be water from the display tank. This is done so any diseases the display fish have immunity to, is gradually added to allow it to either build immunity in the new fish, or get they sick requiring treatment. (Q is not only about keeping diseases out, some fish can be asymptomatic carriers)
In my newest tank, the wild fish did arrive with a few ick cysts, so when noticed the entire tank was treated with 3.5 ppt salinity, and now appears to be ick free, although I will hold that 3-3.5 ppt for at least a month longer.
One fish also appears to have Lymphocystis, which because it is viral, no effective med is available, so either its immune system fights it off, after a time, or it will be euthanized, no other fish have shown symptoms.

Is Lymphocystis highly contagious? Man that sucks i know you went to hell amd back to get this tank set up.

 

[kno4te]

Is Lymphocystis highly contagious? Man that sucks i know you went to hell amd back to get this tank set up.

It is. Kind of like the common cold.

 

[duanes]

Is Lymphocystis highly contagious? Man that sucks i know you went to hell amd back to get this tank set up.

Lymph is very contagious, but like Kno4te mentioned, it is very much like the common cold (its everywhere, in all fish, and their water, all the time), if a fishes immune system is strong, it shouldn't really get a foot hold, except maybe only temporarily.
A simple overnight trip in the mail can bring it on, but low stress, like the proper water parameters for the species, low nitrate, non-aggressive tank mates, and it fades away.
One of the fish had a bacterial infection of the eye, my first thought was to euthanize when I saw it, it either jumped out or was forced out over night saving me the trouble.

I don't pretreat, until I absolutely have to, because nearly all medications are some form of toxin, and in a stressed and consequently immune suppressed fish, even small doses can create problems.

 

[Yaponchik]

If wild caught I treat with prazipro. While in qt I decide later to add levinisole.

If cb then I just qt and watch. Don’t treat at all.

I don’t use melafix or pimafix. As they are useless.

Hi kno4te,

What is levinisole? Do you mean, levamisole? My dad uses praziquantel + levamisole to treat his chickens praziquantel as a whole for fish isn't that easy to come by here.

I had some success in regrowing fins with melafix before, that's why I want to give melafix+pimafix a shot. My choice would of course be Kanaplex, but pimafix is more readily available, probably because it is cheaper (US$4 for 8 oz).

What is your experience with them?

I quarantine all fish the same, whatever type, and because I "just" set up a tank with all wild fish, the entire tank is in quarantine.
I quarantine minimum 2 months. (a friend who runs a public zoo aquatic exhibit does a minimum of 6 months)
The fish are put in quarantine, no meds added yet, only if something is noticed.
While in the quarantine tank, water is added from the display tank every day (could be a pint, could be a quart, depends on tank size), so after two months the entire Q tank volume should be water from the display tank. This is done so any diseases the display fish have immunity to, is gradually added to allow it to either build immunity in the new fish, or get they sick requiring treatment. (Q is not only about keeping diseases out, some fish can be asymptomatic carriers)
In my newest tank, the wild fish did arrive with a few ick cysts, so when noticed the entire tank was treated with 3.5 ppt salinity, and now appears to be ick free, although I will hold that 3-3.5 ppt for at least a month longer.
One fish also appears to have Lymphocystis, which because it is viral, no effective med is available, so either its immune system fights it off, after a time, or it will be euthanized, no other fish have shown symptoms.

Hi duanes,

Thanks for the detailed response. I would like to adopt your practice. This means I must set up a bigger tank for quarantine, as based on the nature of shipment here, you have 2 weeks after a shipment lands to get your hands on the fish you want. It is problematic when purchasing more than 3 at a time as they definitely wouldn't fit in the setup I have now for QT (15 gal). But 2 months in a QT is a bit too much for me, although I do understand how that is important. Probably will really need to remove all junk from the fish room to be able to get in at least a new 75 gal.

I always treat new fish with a parasite med like parasite guard or general cure to me it doesnt matter if its cb or wc. Then watch it for a couple of weeks. If its eating and showing no signs of other pathogens it joins the community. Its not fool proof but has worked for me. Theres a whole host of diseases that could take longer to manifest themselves though so far ive been lucky.

Id actually like to add a dewormer to the mix.

Can you post pics if the Buettikoferi ? It might not be fungus

Hi Jaws7777,

Thanks for this response. I am of the same mindset, as there was no apparent MGD symptoms on the WC specimen I got, but a tankmate got infected. As for this one, the first day had 0 signs of sickness, and I dosed praziquantel as a preventative, but a day or two after we noticed a fluffy, slime-like white thing on it's 7th dorsal; bubbles were clinging to it, but it is not slime. As of today, it is also in the area of the right side of the fish. I have attached photos for your reference.

I dosed melafix + pimafix last night, after doing an 80% water change to get rid of the praziquantel. Most of the fluffyness from her body is gone, and it's now a white growth between scales.

I used aquarium water from the display tank it's going to, it's the same receiving water it had, as well as transportation water.





I hope the pictures are clear enough.

 

[kno4te]

Yes. Was meaning levamisole. This is what I do for polypterus.

 

[jaws7777]

Hi kno4te,

What is levinisole? Do you mean, levamisole? My dad uses praziquantel + levamisole to treat his chickens praziquantel as a whole for fish isn't that easy to come by here.

I had some success in regrowing fins with melafix before, that's why I want to give melafix+pimafix a shot. My choice would of course be Kanaplex, but pimafix is more readily available, probably because it is cheaper (US$4 for 8 oz).

What is your experience with them?



Hi duanes,

Thanks for the detailed response. I would like to adopt your practice. This means I must set up a bigger tank for quarantine, as based on the nature of shipment here, you have 2 weeks after a shipment lands to get your hands on the fish you want. It is problematic when purchasing more than 3 at a time as they definitely wouldn't fit in the setup I have now for QT (15 gal). But 2 months in a QT is a bit too much for me, although I do understand how that is important. Probably will really need to remove all junk from the fish room to be able to get in at least a new 75 gal.



Hi Jaws7777,

Thanks for this response. I am of the same mindset, as there was no apparent MGD symptoms on the WC specimen I got, but a tankmate got infected. As for this one, the first day had 0 signs of sickness, and I dosed praziquantel as a preventative, but a day or two after we noticed a fluffy, slime-like white thing on it's 7th dorsal; bubbles were clinging to it, but it is not slime. As of today, it is also in the area of the right side of the fish. I have attached photos for your reference.

I dosed melafix + pimafix last night, after doing an 80% water change to get rid of the praziquantel. Most of the fluffyness from her body is gone, and it's now a white growth between scales.

I used aquarium water from the display tank it's going to, it's the same receiving water it had, as well as transportation water.

View attachment 1362627

View attachment 1362628

I hope the pictures are clear enough.

Im no pro at diagnosing these things so take my word with a grain of salt but i dont think that looks like fungus hopefully other chime in. If you can get a real good close up i bet that would help them tell you more