Flashing and White Stringy Poop after Paracleanse Treatment

[B1gJ4k3]

I've got a pretty heavily planted 125 community tank with an assortment of about 80 fish. For awhile, I had been seeing flashing and tried not to panic/play doctor. It eventually became clear that something was wrong though as more and more fish started flashing and having white, stringy poop. So, about a month ago, I treated the whole tank with a full round of General Cure (because that's what I had at the time). I even left it in after for a couple days before doing the initial water change and returned to my normal bi-weekly 50% water change schedule. Things seemed to improve, at least for a little bit.

However, I recently started seeing the same symptoms again--flashing and white, stringy poop. This time, I went for Paracleanse. As near as I can tell, it's the same as General Cure, but I thought I'd have better luck. I'm on day 6 of treatment (no water change yet) and I'm still seeing white poop and some flashing.

What should my next course of action be? I thought about trying to only catch fish that I see flashing or with white poop, but it's hard to differentiate between fish and there's at least 5 or 6 with white poop and catching all of them would be next to impossible in such a heavily-planted tank.

Anybody got any bright ideas?

Parameters:

• pH - 7.6
• Ammonia - 0ppm
• Nitrite - 0ppm
• Nitrate - Who knows? API test kit reads at least 40. Tetra strips read around 20. ACO strips read barely 10.
• Hardness - 150ppm
• KH/Buffer - 40ppm
• Water Temperature - 78

 

[Colu]

You need to do three courses of treatment 2 weeks apart with paracleanse or general cure you left it to long in-between treatments that's why your still seeing symptoms

Edited March 16, 2022 by Colu

[HH Morant]

You are right, Paracleanse and General Cure are the same thing. They both contain metronidazole and praziquanel, and in the same amounts..

I assume that you are putting the medication in the water column. If the fish have not stopped eating, medication in the food will work better. Some people (including me) believe that medication for internal parasites is effective only in the food, and has no effect if it is super-diluted in the water column. See AquariumScience.org article entitled "Fish Don't Drink." 12.5. Fish Don’t Drink (aquariumscience.org)

There are multiple methods of making medicated food. See 12.7. Making Medicated Food (aquariumscience.org)

[Colu]

He's a food recipe for paracleanse 

[B1gJ4k3]

Thanks for the advice, @Colu. I had no idea that multiple treatments should be done. If I decide to go the medicated food route, is that in addition to dosing the water column or in place of it?

[Colu]

On 3/16/2022 at 4:53 PM, B1gJ4k3 said:

Thanks for the advice, @Colu. I had no idea that multiple treatments should be done. If I decide to go the medicated food route, is that in addition to dosing the water column or in place of it?

You just need to treat their food not the water column