Can I treat with both metroplex and GC

mikedees · Jul 19, 2024

Hello everyone. I am new here,This is my first post. I’ve used this website many times before for information. I thank you all for your input and good advice. So this is my problem I have a Fluval reef 13.5 gallon tank. in this tank, I had a pair of orange storm clownfish and a yellow watchman goby. One morning I noticed the male clown wasn’t eating later that evening, he was acting strange hanging to one corner and not eating. a little later I fed again and he ate very little, but tried he was still hanging in the corner and then I noticed a white string poop hanging from him. He was also breathing rapidly. I did a lot of research that night and tried to think of what could be wrong so that I can treat him the next day. unfortunately when I woke up, the next morning was dead. I’ve also noticed the female once in a while, scratching or flashing. I’ve realized my mistake and I should’ve had a QT tank. since then I set up a 10 gallon QT tank that I will now and forever use. I’ve taken the female clown and the watchman goby out and put them in the QT tank. I’m currently treating with Metroplex but I am unsure that I’m using the right medication. I wanted to ask if I also could use Gc with metroplex to cover flukes too. my water to what I believe is in really good parameters which I’ll list below. I am so happy to be here and looking forward to reading some responses on thoughts. Thank you to all.

Display tank
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 7.5
PH 8.2
Alkalinity 9.5

vetteguy53081 · Jul 19, 2024

mikedees said:
Hello everyone. I am new here,This is my first post. I’ve used this website many times before for information. I thank you all for your input and good advice. So this is my problem I have a Fluval reef 13.5 gallon tank. in this tank, I had a pair of orange storm clownfish and a yellow watchman goby. One morning I noticed the male clown wasn’t eating later that evening, he was acting strange hanging to one corner and not eating. a little later I fed again and he ate very little, but tried he was still hanging in the corner and then I noticed a white string poop hanging from him. He was also breathing rapidly. I did a lot of research that night and tried to think of what could be wrong so that I can treat him the next day. unfortunately when I woke up, the next morning was dead. I’ve also noticed the female once in a while, scratching or flashing. I’ve realized my mistake and I should’ve had a QT tank. since then I set up a 10 gallon QT tank that I will now and forever use. I’ve taken the female clown and the watchman goby out and put them in the QT tank. I’m currently treating with Metroplex but I am unsure that I’m using the right medication. I wanted to ask if I also could use Gc with metroplex to cover flukes too. my water to what I believe is in really good parameters which I’ll list below. I am so happy to be here and looking forward to reading some responses on thoughts. Thank you to all.

Display tank
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 7.5
PH 8.2
Alkalinity 9.5

Skip the metroplex which has to be applied precisely by weight and is already contained in General cure treatment

mikedees · Jul 19, 2024

Thank you very much

vetteguy53081 said:
Skip the metroplex which has to be applied precisely by weight and is already contained in General cure treatment

Can I add to the water or does it need to be mixed with food

vetteguy53081 · Jul 19, 2024

mikedees said:
Thank you very much

Can I add to the water or does it need to be mixed with food

General cure- to water
Avoid metro unless absolutely necessary and it makes most foods taste bitter to the fish

Jay Hemdal · Jul 19, 2024

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

General Cure is praziquantel and metronidazole. It can only be dosed in water, not food. If you dose it along with metroplex, you will over dose the fish with metronidazole, since both products contain that.

There are other causes of mucus in feces, some are not treatable.

Did you see any rapid breathing in the clown that died?

Jay

mikedees · Jul 19, 2024

Jay Hemdal said:
Welcome to Reef2Reef!

General Cure is praziquantel and metronidazole. It can only be dosed in water, not food. If you dose it along with metroplex, you will over dose the fish with metronidazole, since both products contain that.

There are other causes of mucus in feces, some are not treatable.

Did you see any rapid breathing in the clown that died?

Jay

Thank you Jay. Yes I did but I only noticed it really the day before he died.

Jay Hemdal said:
Welcome to Reef2Reef!

General Cure is praziquantel and metronidazole. It can only be dosed in water, not food. If you dose it along with metroplex, you will over dose the fish with metronidazole, since both products contain that.

There are other causes of mucus in feces, some are not treatable.

Did you see any rapid breathing in the clown that died?

Jay

Would you recommend GC or should I go a different route?

Jay Hemdal · Jul 19, 2024

mikedees said:
Thank you Jay. Yes I did but I only noticed it really the day before he died.

Would you recommend GC or should I go a different route?

Of the treatable conditions, GC in a treatment tank is your best bet.

Here is some text I wrote about mucus in fish feces:

Excess mucus in fish feces:

This will present as white or light colored, stringy fecal material that often hangs from the fish’s anus for a longer than normal period. There are a number of different causes for this, some benign, others very serious. Without access to a microscope, there is little that can be done to diagnose this issue effectively.

Idiopathic mucus feces: this fancy term is just to describe white mucoid bulky feces of no serious consequence, but of an unknown cause. Some suspicion is that this can be caused by changes in diet or diets high in fats.

Starvation: Fish that have no food moving through their bowels may excrete white mucoid feces with little bulk to them. The primary diagnostic for this issue is evident in that the fish won’t been seen to be eating. Resolving the anorexia is of course the prime focus to resolve this issue.

Bacterial infection: internal bacterial infections can cause stringy feces as well. While some of these may resolve on their own, medicated foods containing a broad spectrum, gram negative oral antibiotic may be required.

Metazoan infections: multicellular worms are often blamed for mucoid feces, but in reality, they are almost never the root cause for this, and really, can only be diagnosed through looking for their ova in fecal samples. Fish can harbor tapeworms and nematodes without producing mucoid feces.

Protozoan infection: Hexamita and related diplomonad flagellate protozoans very frequently cause white stringy feces, especially in newly acquired clownfish. Metronidazole is the most frequent treatment for this issue. It can be dosed orally at 25 mg per kg of fish body weight, or 5 g in a kg of food. However, it is a very bitter medication, and some fish will refuse to feed on food containing it. It can be dosed in the water at 25 mg/l, but this is more effective in treating marine fishes, as freshwater fish do not “drink” aquarium water.

Coccidia: These microscopic, spore-forming, single-celled parasites are common diseases in dogs and cats. In fish, they cause epithelial necrosis of the gut, enteritis and the copious production of mucus (Noga 2010). These cannot be diagnosed without microscopic examination, and there is no well researched cure for this in fishes, although Toltrazuril has been tested.

Constipation: This malady is often given as a cause for stringy feces, but it is not as common as one would think. When it is seen, the feces are usually dark, not light in color. Often touted as a “cure for constipation”, many aquarists add Epsom salts (magnesium sulfate) to the aquarium’s water – do not do this in marine aquariums, its use is primarily as a tonic/dip for freshwater fish. Seawater formulas already contain between 7 and 19 grams of magnesium sulfate per gallon (depending on the recipe). NSW magnesium level is around 1200 ppm and sulfur is around 840 ppm. Some benefit might be seen using it as a dip in additional concentrations, but adding a small amount to a marine aquarium itself has no benefit. Epsom salts do have some possible benefit when mixed into the food as a 3% by weight adjunct. Another commonly heard remedy for constipation is; “feed fresh peas”. This is an effective cure for fancy goldfish and Malawi cichlids that develop constipation and bloating. Again, overextrapolation has marine aquarists trying to feed peas to carnivorous fish, etc. The best method to enhance gut motility in fish is to feed frozen adult brine shrimp – not as a permanent diet, just long enough to get the constipation resolved.

mikedees · Jul 19, 2024

Jay Hemdal said:
Of the treatable conditions, GC in a treatment tank is your best bet.

Here is some text I wrote about mucus in fish feces:

Excess mucus in fish feces:

This will present as white or light colored, stringy fecal material that often hangs from the fish’s anus for a longer than normal period. There are a number of different causes for this, some benign, others very serious. Without access to a microscope, there is little that can be done to diagnose this issue effectively.

Idiopathic mucus feces: this fancy term is just to describe white mucoid bulky feces of no serious consequence, but of an unknown cause. Some suspicion is that this can be caused by changes in diet or diets high in fats.

Starvation: Fish that have no food moving through their bowels may excrete white mucoid feces with little bulk to them. The primary diagnostic for this issue is evident in that the fish won’t been seen to be eating. Resolving the anorexia is of course the prime focus to resolve this issue.

Bacterial infection: internal bacterial infections can cause stringy feces as well. While some of these may resolve on their own, medicated foods containing a broad spectrum, gram negative oral antibiotic may be required.

Metazoan infections: multicellular worms are often blamed for mucoid feces, but in reality, they are almost never the root cause for this, and really, can only be diagnosed through looking for their ova in fecal samples. Fish can harbor tapeworms and nematodes without producing mucoid feces.

Protozoan infection: Hexamita and related diplomonad flagellate protozoans very frequently cause white stringy feces, especially in newly acquired clownfish. Metronidazole is the most frequent treatment for this issue. It can be dosed orally at 25 mg per kg of fish body weight, or 5 g in a kg of food. However, it is a very bitter medication, and some fish will refuse to feed on food containing it. It can be dosed in the water at 25 mg/l, but this is more effective in treating marine fishes, as freshwater fish do not “drink” aquarium water.

Coccidia: These microscopic, spore-forming, single-celled parasites are common diseases in dogs and cats. In fish, they cause epithelial necrosis of the gut, enteritis and the copious production of mucus (Noga 2010). These cannot be diagnosed without microscopic examination, and there is no well researched cure for this in fishes, although Toltrazuril has been tested.

Constipation: This malady is often given as a cause for stringy feces, but it is not as common as one would think. When it is seen, the feces are usually dark, not light in color. Often touted as a “cure for constipation”, many aquarists add Epsom salts (magnesium sulfate) to the aquarium’s water – do not do this in marine aquariums, its use is primarily as a tonic/dip for freshwater fish. Seawater formulas already contain between 7 and 19 grams of magnesium sulfate per gallon (depending on the recipe). NSW magnesium level is around 1200 ppm and sulfur is around 840 ppm. Some benefit might be seen using it as a dip in additional concentrations, but adding a small amount to a marine aquarium itself has no benefit. Epsom salts do have some possible benefit when mixed into the food as a 3% by weight adjunct. Another commonly heard remedy for constipation is; “feed fresh peas”. This is an effective cure for fancy goldfish and Malawi cichlids that develop constipation and bloating. Again, overextrapolation has marine aquarists trying to feed peas to carnivorous fish, etc. The best method to enhance gut motility in fish is to feed frozen adult brine shrimp – not as a permanent diet, just long enough to get the constipation resolved.