Aussie Tusk Advice

[frydaddy]

I got an Aussie Tusk almost 2 months ago. I put him in an observation tank for the first 30 days. He had no visual symptoms of any kind and ate multiple times a day like a pig. After the 30 days with no issue I added him to my display tank. For 3 weeks he was super active and ate like a pig, including snacking on an emerald crab I hadn't seen in over a year. Then the following happened.

First day of symptoms - when I checked the tank in the morning for the first feeding he was in the upper back corner about 1/2" under the water line right below a return nozzle. Did not come eat when I fed the tank and I even dropped a small piece right in front of his face and no reaction. He stayed in that spot all day and no interest in food for the evening feed either. No visible symptoms of any kind. Breathing normal.

Day 2 - he was in the same spot, not eating, and no visible symptoms. I scooped him out and put him back in the observation tank where he swam to the back bottom corner and has stayed since. No interest in food. Breathing normal.

Day 3 - still in back bottom corner, no visible symptoms, breathing normal, not eating. At this point figured a fresh water dip wouldn't hurt. Did a 5 minute dip and one visible fluke dislodged. So assuming flukes at this point. Did a 50% water change.

Day 4 - Treated with prazi pro and added an air stone. Still in back bottom corner, no visible symptoms, breathing normal, not eating.

Day 5 - So far, no changes. Still in back bottom corner, no visible symptoms, breathing normal, not eating.

Curious what people think the problem could be? Something internal? Should I try another fresh water dip? or leave him be?

All other fish, inverts, anemones, corals, etc in my display and nano tanks are all fine. Use the same rodi system to make the top off water and saltwater. Display and nano get water changes at the same time. All parameters are fine. I've slowly dropped the salinity in the QT tank from 1.026 (matching my other tanks) to 1.020. Ammonia and nitrite in QT are 0 and nitrate is 5.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I got an Aussie Tusk almost 2 months ago. I put him in an observation tank for the first 30 days. He had no visual symptoms of any kind and ate multiple times a day like a pig. After the 30 days with no issue I added him to my display tank. For 3 weeks he was super active and ate like a pig, including snacking on an emerald crab I hadn't seen in over a year. Then the following happened.

First day of symptoms - when I checked the tank in the morning for the first feeding he was in the upper back corner about 1/2" under the water line right below a return nozzle. Did not come eat when I fed the tank and I even dropped a small piece right in front of his face and no reaction. He stayed in that spot all day and no interest in food for the evening feed either. No visible symptoms of any kind. Breathing normal.

Day 2 - he was in the same spot, not eating, and no visible symptoms. I scooped him out and put him back in the observation tank where he swam to the back bottom corner and has stayed since. No interest in food. Breathing normal.

Day 3 - still in back bottom corner, no visible symptoms, breathing normal, not eating. At this point figured a fresh water dip wouldn't hurt. Did a 5 minute dip and one visible fluke dislodged. So assuming flukes at this point. Did a 50% water change.

Day 4 - Treated with prazi pro and added an air stone. Still in back bottom corner, no visible symptoms, breathing normal, not eating.

Day 5 - So far, no changes. Still in back bottom corner, no visible symptoms, breathing normal, not eating.

Curious what people think the problem could be? Something internal? Should I try another fresh water dip? or leave him be?

All other fish, inverts, anemones, corals, etc in my display and nano tanks are all fine. Use the same rodi system to make the top off water and saltwater. Display and nano get water changes at the same time. All parameters are fine. I've slowly dropped the salinity in the QT tank from 1.026 (matching my other tanks) to 1.020. Ammonia and nitrite in QT are 0 and nitrate is 5.

If flukes, prazi will takes at least 3 days to take effect
With praziquantel, it will reduce both appetite and oxygen
Pics under white lighting will be helpful with assessment

 

[kenchilada]

Prazi won’t kill flukes, it makes them drop off the fish. You need to treat at least twice around a week apart depending on temp/salinity. Prazi can also suppress appetite but you already had that going on.

Did you try live black worms or even live brine shrimp to get him to eat something?

 

[frydaddy]

Today would be day 6. No change. Did another fresh water dip and no visible flukes this time. Wondering if it's something internal as it looks like his stomach might be bloated. Here's the best pic I could get of him.

 

[frydaddy]

On the 8th day after the first prazi pro dose, I did a 50% water change and dosed GC so he got both metro and prazi. On the 4th day after that I did another 50% water change and put in some carbon. As far as I can tell, he hasn't eaten for 12-13 days now. If he didn't eat the food after 30 mins I would siphon it out. Have tried flake, pellet, several varieties of frozen, even threw in a couple of snails and crabs as I saw him pick on those in the DT. He spends the day hiding in a section of PVC and when it's almost completely dark in the room, I can see his shadow swimming around. Tried throwing some food in after all lights out and still doesn't touch it. Not sure how much longer he can go without eating, but can't be more than a day or two. As of now, the only symptoms are hiding out, slightly labored breathing (not rapid), and not eating.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Prazi won’t kill flukes, it makes them drop off the fish. You need to treat at least twice around a week apart depending on temp/salinity. Prazi can also suppress appetite but you already had that going on.

Did you try live black worms or even live brine shrimp to get him to eat something?

Often being monogenean parasites, formalin and Prazipro are found to be very effective in the treatment and eradication of flukes in marine fish, and formalin can be toxic while Prazi cannot be overdosed. Prazi is a more gentle treatment with little to no impact on corals and inverts, with the exception of some wrasses and cardinalfish.
It does suppress appetite and oxygen but at low degree and treatments can be repeated making it easy to use.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Today would be day 6. No change. Did another fresh water dip and no visible flukes this time. Wondering if it's something internal as it looks like his stomach might be bloated. Here's the best pic I could get of him.

Stomach very similar to that of my tusk however can be gill flukes. Is poop normal or white and stringy ?
Is breathing normal or labored ?
If flukes, gills will be red or swollen with rapid breathing, fish acting lethargic or swimming near the water surface, hiding in the corner of tank or behind rocks, loss of appetite, shaking its head, flashing/darting, develop clamped fins, or scratching against objects. They may also exhibit what looks like yawning from gill irritation develop, cloudy eyes and loss of color .

 

[frydaddy]

Like i mentioned in the first post, he was exhibiting symptoms of swimming near the surface, loss of appetite, shaking his head, flashing/darting, and the occasional yawning behavior. A visible fluke did drop off during the first freshwater dip, nothing visible on the second dip. No redness to the gills, but can't tell if they are swollen. All of that stopped a few days after the first dose of prazi with the exception of the hiding, slightly labored breathing, and not eating. I can dose GC or prazi pro again, but if it is suppressing his appetite, not sure how many more days he can go without eating.

 

[kenchilada]

Often being monogenean parasites, formalin and Prazipro are found to be very effective in the treatment and eradication of flukes in marine fish, and formalin can be toxic while Prazi cannot be overdosed. Prazi is a more gentle treatment with little to no impact on corals and inverts, with the exception of some wrasses and cardinalfish.
It does suppress appetite and oxygen but at low degree and treatments can be repeated making it easy to use.

Uhh ok, I don’t know what this has to do with what I posted.

Like i mentioned in the first post, he was exhibiting symptoms of swimming near the surface, loss of appetite, shaking his head, flashing/darting, and the occasional yawning behavior. A visible fluke did drop off during the first freshwater dip, nothing visible on the second dip. No redness to the gills, but can't tell if they are swollen. All of that stopped a few days after the first dose of prazi with the exception of the hiding, slightly labored breathing, and not eating. I can dose GC or prazi pro again, but if it is suppressing his appetite, not sure how many more days he can go without eating.

The reason for treating multiple times is to kill off new flukes that hatched after any prior treatments. You can use this calculator to determine when to treat:

Marine Parasites

Marine Parasites is a resource for the study of parasites in south Australian fishes.

www.marineparasites.com

For future reference, you can also do prazi treatments as a bath followed by transfer to a new QT tank. I’ve had good luck with this for fish that weren’t eating well, though I’ve only done it this way twice (fairy wrasse and a copperband).