Possible Internal Parasite

[DesignsOnYou]

Ok, long story short: (haha, I'll try), my German Blue Ram has a concave/sunken belly. My water parameters are usually ammonia:0 nitrite: 0 nitrate: 20ish when I test them, established 55 gallon. He's the only fish in the tank that seems affected, (see sig for others), and his behavior is still pretty normal and he usually eats at least something at feeding time, when I watch, and when he can get to it, the danios and loaches are pretty active eaters. But lately I've been trying to make sure to feed enough to give him a chance without over feeding. So, I went to the fish store today, they're local and I trust them about most things, but still double check info, and they suggested both Garlic Guard to maybe help get rid of the parasite, and a new food called UltraColor that's supposed to have a higher protein and lower carb count than other foods. I'm hesitant to just start dosing medicines, etc., especially with the loaches, but has anyone heard of either of those products or have any other suggestions?

 

[Chris_A]

Some people swear by Garlic... others swear at it lol . I would be in the former catagory. I will admit it probably has *some* benefit but the degree is what I'm not sure on. And yes I have tried it in the past so I'm not just speaking academically .

If you are a little leary about meds then Garlic Guard would be a good place to start. If it does something... GREAT! If not though I'd look at Metronidazole. There are other more effective meds for internal parasites but they are VERY hard on the system as a whole.

Now if you do go with the Metronidazole there's a few things you should know about it. Most importantly is it's solubility in water is disgustingly low so dosing the tank is *not* the most effective way to use it. When I've used it (to deworm Wild Caught fish) it's always been mixed in with frozen food. I use the Seachem Met. and use one of their supplied scoops (heaping) in approx 1 TBSP of frozen mysis that's not thawed in water. Just allow the shrimp to thaw in a shot glass (or equivalent) and mix in the met allowing it to sit for about 10-15 min. If that's more than you need to feed just saran wrap it and store for up to 2 days in the fridge.

Now another important thing. If you have kids it's probably best not to store it where they could get access to it. Met is used for humans but it does a SERIOUS number on your system. I know one guy that had to take it and he said it felt worse than whatever they were treating him for (sorry I don't remember what it was)or anything else he's ever taken, and this guy went through Chemo therapy so that's saying a lot...

So far as your loaches, Met should be fine for them and it also *shouldn't* have a big affect on your biological (if any).

Chris

 

[jo3olous]

I'm not sure if it's possible for your ram, but maybe he has skinny disease? It's how my clown loach died I'm not sure if rams can get it though. And I think you know already but be careful when using meds, your clowns and any other scaleless fish will be very sensitive to them

 

[Chris_A]

What is "Skinny Disease"? The only thing (other than not eating anyway) that makes CL's skinny is internal parasites because they are ALL wild caught. Also, the majority of meds that are hard on scaleless fish are the "metal" based ones, such as (but not limited to) copper .

 

[DesignsOnYou]

Thanks to both of you. I think I may try the garlic and that food, seems like a pretty safe place to start. If it doesn't seem to do the trick I'll try the medicine that you suggested Chris. So, if I were to feed it with frozen brine shrimp, I would essentially just let the frozen cube thaw and then mix in the Met? Then just feed as usual with my syringe? Just trying to make sure I understand. Thanks.

 

[Chris_A]

probably a good call . I'm not a fan of medicating if at all possible and like I said, the GG may do something.

So far as the Met, yup you got it .

Good luck!
Chris

 

[Emmanuel]

Internal Parasites: Prevention and Treatment
Author: Amy J, AKA Myaj

Internal parasites are something we usually don’t think much about, but thinking about them can save your fish, increase their growth rate and improve their overall health.

Generally, most fish carry a small load of parasites. However, when the fish is ill or under stress, the parasites can and will reproduce to levels that actually harm their host, causing the fish to lose weight, become more susceptible to illness and eventually stop eating and die.

Where Do Fish Pick Up Internal Parasites?

Many fish in the hobby, especially marine fish and the various puffer species, are wild-caught. In the wild, they are exposed to many parasites, yet seem to survive just fine. Once they are captured, however, things take a turn for the worse. The stress of the capture, being bagged and shipped, probably sorted and shipped again, then unpackaged and dropped into display tanks at stores is more than enough to lower the immune system of even the strongest fish, making them more susceptible to the ravages of parasites. And of course, most fish stores have their tanks on a centralized filtration system, which passes along every germ - bacterial and parasitic - to every fish in their tanks. This means that even if the fish was never exposed to any parasite before their arrival at the store, once they are in the tank and on display, they will have been exposed to quite a few nasties.

When you bring home a newly purchased fish, you should always quarantine it, or you risk exposing your current livestock to all those nasty parasites and diseases the fish picked up at the store. For those new to quarantine, this article provides a useful overview. Treating a few fish in a quarantine tank is much easier, safer and more cost effective than trying to treat your entire display. So, quarantine time is the perfect time to treat for internal parasites, to prevent infecting your entire display.
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