Need Guidance Treating Flukes

[AndiJade]

Hello,

Ammonia .25ppm

0 Nitrite & Nitrite

pH 8

Temp 72, 40 gallon tank, No plants, One goldfish

I am just finishing up a high dose salt treatment for an large red patch on my fish's tail. I posted on here about a week ago titled "Mistakes Were Made" and followed the salt treatment @Cory recommended. My fish did make a complete recovery within a few days. Yay!

However what led my fish and I down this path was gill/skin flukes that I can't seem to beat and I was hoping someone could offer some guidance on how to get rid of them? I don't know how to link my previous post that reviews everything I have already tried, but I have purchased the quarantine trio also and was wondering if I should give those a try next?  I just don't know how to proceed anymore and am hoping someone here has had experience with this issue and success in treating them? I have literally been fighting these flukes the entire year, and while I think I have had some success in beating them back, I can't get rid of them. I'm not sure how much more time my fish has before the gill damage becomes too extensive. Help!

 

[Wesley]

Do you have an accurate PH measurement? In another post you mentioned the temperature was at 77. You say you've been having this tank for at least since the start of the year, has it been cycled before and how have previous water test reading been?

Just a thought... Are you sure you are not having ammonia poisoning? .25 seems way to high and the fact you measure no nitrite and no nitrate rings a bell for me indicating that your filter may not have been cycled causing toxic levels of ammonia & bad water which results in these symptoms. Note that ammonia toxicity isn't just tied to the PPM but also to the water temperature and PH.

I usually use this calculator

Free Ammonia Calculator

WWW.HAMZASREEF.COM

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Aquarium calculator; Estimate the free (un-ionized) ammonia (NH3) concentration, given the total ammonia concentration.

 

Edited October 18, 2020 by Wesley

[AndiJade]

Hi Wesley,

Thanks for replying. My tank is set at 72, if it said 77 in my other post then it was a typo. My temperature never fluctuates with the new 40 gallon. I do have a heater in it that keeps it constant and luckily, here in Arizona, our temperatures are dropping nicely at night and that definitely helps.

Long story short, I destroyed my cycle treating my poor fish for flukes. I've tried Rid Ich, praziquantel, Fluke-M, and MinnFinn in that order, rested a week between all these meds or switching. I had a 20 gallon, but my fish outgrew it and the move to a 40 gallon was another tactic I tried to rid her of the flukes aside from tearing down the 20 gallon and with a good cleaning and drying. So, ya....no cycle to speak of in the 40 gallon, especially since I just finished up a high dose salt treatment. I really sincerely doubt my fish will survive a two month fish in cycle with the flukes at this point. So I cannot sit back and NOT treat. I know how important a good cycle is and the role it plays in disease treatment. But here we are.

I use API liquid test kits measure my parameters and my pH is 8.2 out of the tap and settles at 8 in my tank, which is fine. I refuse to chase pH around and rather it be stable even if a bit high. My fish seems pretty happy when not being bitten by flukes lol.

My question was what should I try next? I have to do something....the symptoms are all there and it's a very active infestation now. I'm leaning towards trying the IchX by itself and treating as the bottle instructs, but idk if I should just go ahead and add in any of the other meds? When we tried Rid Ich, which is more or less the same ingredients, my fish developed fin rot within a few days.....so, I feel like that is something I'll need to head off. Not sure if I should add in the erythromycin also or which direction to take on that.

So in a long, super long nutshell....this is what I need help with and I would so appreciate any direction or advice anyone has to offer. I'm getting ready to do a large water change and then begin meds again.. whatever ones. I'm tired of fighting these things 😞

Thank you,

Andi