Paracleanse Method

[Evan]

I’ve completed my first round of Paracleanse according to the directions on the box. Yesterday was day five and I did the 25% water change. 
 

Corey says to wait two weeks before starting the next round but since one of my fish still has long stringy poop I’m wondering if it would be safe to start the next round after one week. 
 

Thanks. 

[Colu]

The reason you leave it2weeks is for the parasites eggs to hatch the  meds won't kill the egg so treating early will not have much effect

[Evan]

I get that but I think the Paracleanse did not kill all the live worms in my fish's gut. Is that typical? Does it take a couple days after the treatment before the stringy poop stops?
 

Thanks again.

[Colu]

It often take between two and three courses to clear up internal parasites you won't to rest and feed up fish between Couse it a big drain on them getting rid of internal parasites

Edited January 10, 2021 by Colu

[Evan]

Got it.  Thanks!

[Doug Knipp]

I finished my first round of paracleanse as a preventative measure. I remembered to turn off UV but forgot to take out carbon. Did I just waste my time and paracleanse?

[Mr_Manifesto]

12 minutes ago, Doug Knipp said:

I finished my first round of paracleanse as a preventative measure. I remembered to turn off UV but forgot to take out carbon. Did I just waste my time and paracleanse?

depends on how old that carbon is really.  If its been in the tank awhile it's probably already 'full' of stuff it can bond with.  If its pretty new/fresh, It probably absorbed a lot of those meds.  Either way, you'll always be left with the doubt in your mind,  I would probably change water/ remove the carbon, and in a few days, re-dose the tank.

[Lucky]

10 hours ago, Colu said:

The reason you leave it2weeks is for the parasites eggs to hatch the  meds won't kill the egg so treating early will not have much effect

I was wondering a few things about this. Once the parasite's eggs are laid, how long does it take for them to hatch and after hatching, how long does it take before a larva is mature enough to lay its own legs? I felt that based on the growth rates of other small worms, 2 weeks might be long enough for a new set of eggs to be laid but I have no information to confirm that for internal parasites. 

[Brandy]

This is a highly arbitrary time, that takes the average of the amount of time for parasite life cycles. We have no idea what parasite we are fighting most of the time, and so we repeat every 2 weeks. 

My first shrimp had a parasite called scutariella. It was easy to identify, and easy to see respond, and it has an odd life cycle tied to the shrimp molt cycle. I did weekly single treatments for a month and beat it. In this case I KNEW what I had to deal with.

When we don't know, we have to guess and then we take the average lifespan. Just like the first time you try a recipe it is probably better to follow the directions first before you start guessing and improvising.

Edited January 11, 2021 by Brandy