# Unknown external parasites



## Bug Girl (Jan 23, 2012)

One, possibly two of my angelfish have recently shown signs of having some form of external parasite that I cannot identify. It's not ich, the little buggers are a bit more elongated than ich parasites, a slightly different color and don't seem to be causing as much discomfort as ich typically does (the fish do have their fins half folded, but they're not trying to scratch themselves on the substrate and plants).

I have an ich medication with the active ingredients of malachite green and nitrofurazone and am wondering if it might work for external parasites other than ich.

Additional relevant information: The tank is heavily planted, there are three large pieces of bog wood, it has a gravel substrate and is kept at a temperature in the neighborhood of 80 degrees. It contains one one clown pleco, six angelfish, numerous snails of different sizes and species.


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

How big, and what color are they?


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## Bug Girl (Jan 23, 2012)

About the same size as an ich parasite, just more elongated. In terms of color they're what I'd describe as clear to silvery looking.


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## phlyergirl (Nov 6, 2011)

Could you get a picture?

I wouldn't use that med unless you take the snails out.


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## Bug Girl (Jan 23, 2012)

The parasites are way too little for me to get a good picture of them and the fish won't keep still when I go to the tank because they think that I'm going to feed them.


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## Fishpunk (Apr 18, 2011)

I would use praziquantal in the form of PraziPro per the directions on the bottle. I've used it with inverts (nerite snails and glass shrimp) without losses, but do follow the instructions to the letter. And get a magnifying glass to read them.


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## Bug Girl (Jan 23, 2012)

Alright, I'll look into ordering some PraziPro ASAP since I don't think that any of the stores in my area carry it. I just have to hope that my fish stay in good shape until it arrives.

Thank you all for your responses.


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## Fishpunk (Apr 18, 2011)

Call and ask your LFS. PraziPro is more expensive than many meds and I would hate to see you pay shipping on top of that unless it's really necessary.


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## Bug Girl (Jan 23, 2012)

I've checked out as best as I can and it seems like out here the selection is pretty limited. And PraziPro is less expensive than it looks at first. Once you do the math and figure price relative to gallons treated it's much less expensive than most other medications even if shipping is factored in. That stuff must be really concentrated.


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## phlyergirl (Nov 6, 2011)

I hope you got the liquid kind. The powder is a pain in the patootie to measure/dissolve.

With the liquid you start with a water change, remove your carbon, then add 1 tsp per 20 gallons. It will make your water cloudy for a bit but it clears up. I usually leave it in for 4 days then do a big water change, wait 3 days, and dose it again.


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## Bug Girl (Jan 23, 2012)

I got the liquid type, though if it had been powder I'm sure I could have managed. I'm going to be glad when it arrives since it seems like something that's just plain good to have around the house if you're keeping fish. Based on what I've read about it the stuff is good for just about any parasite and a lot less harsh on the tank as a whole.


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## phlyergirl (Nov 6, 2011)

It's very gentle. I use it routinely when I quarantine new goldfish because they pretty much always come with gill flukes.


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## Lori (Feb 8, 2012)

My friend used to have external parasites on her angels. I forget what she called them but she always caught her angel and hand-picked them off. I think she also treated the tank with a external parasite control med. --just a thought.


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

Clout is another good med for this.


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## Bug Girl (Jan 23, 2012)

Just giving an update: Medication (The PraziPro didn't arrive in time so I started treatment with QuICK Cure at the recommendation of a friend since he figured using something was better than waiting while the fish kept getting worse) coupled with gradually increasing water temperature seems to be having positive results. It looks like I might lose one of the affected fish since it has stopped eating, but the two others who turned out to have the parasites are improving. I'm starting to think that the bugs were cold water critters since they appeared shortly after an unexplained drop in tank temperature.

It looks like we might be able to beat this thing, though there's still a ways to go. I'm still going to be treating with PraziPro since while observing the fish I noticed that two of the fish that didn't get the external parasites have symptoms of internal parasites.

I can't thank you all enough for all the advice you've given me. I forget where I first read it, but 'there's no feeling more helpless than having a sick fish' and I'm glad to have you all to turn to so I don't feel so alone when things start to spiral out of control.


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