Metronidazole "Fish Zole"

[KJoFan]

Has anyone ever treated their tank with this? I have some to treat my tiger barb tank with and am a little unsure on the dosing regiment...or more specific the length of time to medicate. I was told this med can be hard on the kidneys of fish and after "3 treatments" they will start to fail. However, the bottle of Fish Zole says to repeat treatment every 24 hours for at least 5 days. So I'm unclear if the 5 day "continuous" treatment is considered one treatment or if each time I add the meds is a treatment. Does that make sense? Has anyone used this or have more experience with it and can clear this up for me?

 

[liv2padl]

what are you treating for exactly?

what are chemical parameters of your tank including size, number and type of fish in there.

etc. ... alot more information would be helpful.

 

[KJoFan]

Well I didn't include that information because I had already gotten advice via WetWebMedia on what the problem is and what to treat with, however I'm treating for Octomita and gill flukes. It is a 46 gallon tank with 16 tiger barbs, 1 cae, and 2 striated loaches. Water parameters are:

Ammonia= 0
Nitrite = 0
Nitrate = 10

I've had two tiger barbs die from what seems to be some kind of wasting, and I currently have a couple that spit food back at feeding time. So after several emails back and forth with the wetweb crew, it's been determined this is the best course of action. I was previously treating with medicated fish food however they've gotten picky now and won't eat it.

I'm just a little unclear on what's considered one treatment is all.

Thanks for the help!

 

[liv2padl]

I'm treating for Octomita and gill flukes

perhaps you mean 'hexamita' ?

while Fishzole may be useful for treatment of hexamita, it's of no use in treatment of gill flukes. moreover, unless you get at the cause of the parasites, treatment will be ineffective. if the fish in question are new, you should have quarantined them prior to installing them in an established tank to prevent the potential transfer of pathogenic bacteria and/or parasites to your tank.

Hexamita and Spironucleus are two protozoal parasites commonly found in the intestinal tract of some freshwater fish, although systemic infections can occur. Hexamita is also known as "hole in the head disease." Small holes appear in the body, especially the head region, and often strings of mucus trail from the lesions. Lesions may also develop at the base of the fins and near the lateral line. They have a direct life cycle, and are principally acquired by oral ingestion of trophozoites (the active, motile feeding stage of a sporozoan parasite) or cyst stages.

In addition to skin lesions, fish often stop feeding and develop a hollow-bellied appearance. They also typically have stringy, off-color feces. Hexamita often exist at low levels in the intestines of tropical fish, especially cichlids (including discus, angelfish and oscars) and gouramis. If conditions in the tank include stress, overcrowding, low oxygen levels, improper water parameters, changes in temperature or poor diet, the parasites can multiply, and the fish may then develop signs of systemic disease.

if the fish are still eating, the best way to treat Hexamita infections is with medicated food. For both Hexamita and Spironucleus, metronidazole can be used and is available commercially in fish food flakes. However, because infected fish often do not feed, they usually won't ingest an effective dose. In such cases, a bath of metronidazole can be used instead, immersing the fish for six to 12 hours, with 250 mg of metronidazole per 10 gallons of water. Metronidazole tablets, capsules or liquid can be used to prepare the bath.

Several courses of treatment may be necessary to successfully control these parasites.

as for gill flukes, they are commonly found on the gills, skin or fins of fishes and aquatic invertebrates. There are a number of gill and body flukes that commonly parasitise fish and can be introduced to the aquarium with new fish and plants. Mortality of aquarium fish caused by excessive parasite infestations is usually associated with crowding, inadequate cleaning, deterioration of water quality and undernourished fish that have been subjected to temperature variations.

Freshwater fish infested with flukes become lethargic, swim near the surface, seek the sides of the aquarium or pond and their appetite dwindles. They may be seen rubbing the bottom or sides of the aquarium (flashing). The skin where the flukes are attached show areas of scale loss and may ooze a pinkish serous fluid. Heavy gill infestations result in respiratory disease. Gills may be swollen and pale, respiration rate may be increased, and fish will be less tolerant of low oxygen conditions. Gulping air at the water surface may be observed in severe respiratory distress. Large numbers of flukes on either the skin or gills may result in significant damage and mortality. Secondary infection by bacteria and fungus is common on tissue, which has been damaged by flukes.

A few flukes on a healthy mature fish are usually not significant, however, moderate numbers on a young fish can cause significant mortalities. When fish are crowded or aquarium management practices are poor, the potential damage from flukes is greater.

Treatment of flukes is usually not satisfactory unless the primary cause of increased fluke populations is found and alleviated. If the disease is not in the acute phase, the simple addition of salt (1 level tablespoon per 20 litres of water) is often enough to solve the problem if combined with water changes and general cleaning of the aquarium environment.

also, Praziquantel (Droncit) used at 2-3 mg/L is very effective for control of both gill and body flukes and has a wide margin of safety for fish.

 

[KJoFan]

It is my understanding that Hexamita and Octomita are the same thing or at least similar and treated with the same thing. Additionally, the fish were quarantined prior to being added to the established aquarium. It is also my understanding that these such infections are common in tiger barbs. I understand that Fishzole does not treat both ailments, I have treated seperately for the gill flukes and now, since the medicated food is no longer being accepted I am moving on to another form of treatment for Hexamita/Octomita.

I am not looking for suggestions on treatment or a diagnosis for the fish, I have already thoroughly investigated this and come to a conclusion in that area. I am simply asking if anyone has used this medication before and what is considered one treatment.

Thanks for your thorough and informational response.

 

[liv2padl]

Octomita = Hexamita

you're right ... i've never seen the disease referred to as the former. i learned something.

 

[KJoFan]

I didn't know either, but that was what I was told, according to Bob Fenner from WetWeb. So do you have any suggestions on treatment? I have the first dose of Metro in the tank, do I continue treating daily for the 5 days? I treated for gill flukes with Jungle Parasite Clear but I'm not sure that fixed the problem, as I'm still seeing flashing. Do you know of anything better to treat for that?

 

[Cathy G]

Metronidazole and lots of clean water with healthy food is the treatment of choice for HITH. The Parasite Jungle product may or may not do the job. I'd keep doing good gravel vacs, Metronidazole and then try Fluke Tabs if you don't see any improvement in flashing. However, some cichlids do flash on particular rocks, etc as a marker for their territory.
As to the Metro. I believe it takes longer than 2 treatments for kidney damage. In fact, in the Metro+ instructions for feeding the fish internally, they have you treating 3times/day for 5 days...

Cathy

 

[KJoFan]

I just wanted to bump this up and see if anyone had any suggestions. I'm treating with Metro right now and everything seems ok, but I do have one tiger barb that's getting quite skinny and not eating. It tries to but just spits the food back. This is the same thing that happened previously to two other barbs, which both died. I've treated with Jungle Parasite Clear to no avail, I've tried just salt, now I'm on Metro. The problem is I don't know exactly what's wrong and I would really like to get this kicked before whatever it is, picks off my entire barb population one by one.

The symptoms just seem to start with getting thin, then spitting food back at feeding time and from there they just get weaker and thinner and eventually die within a few days. Does anyone know what this could be?

The others are ok but there is flashing going on. There's no visible signs of illness on the bodies that I can see, but I don't have a microscope or anything like that.

If anyone has suggestions on what it might be or what I should try to treat with next I would really appreciate it.

 

[H3D]

I would be interested to know your water parameters including pH and temperature.