So my HG is having stringy white feces out of no where today. What kind of medicated food should I be feeding him? He doesn't seem all too interested in regular flake food and has been hanging around the rocks. I asked on another forum but they didn't really explain much other than give him medicated food for internal parasites??
Honey Gourami with stringy with feces
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Sorry I didn't see your reply csong. Praziquantel and Metronidazole are pretty gentle on fish and are safe for plants. It's a good idea to treat the whole tank/all the fish just to make sure no one else gets sick with parasites. For this case, since you don't for sure what exact issue your gourami has, I might recommend Metronidazole more so, as it treats a little more than Prazi does. Make sure to follow the instructions.
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From what I gathered with this fish they are overbreed and dont live more than a year or two.
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Now that you mention it, I might just do that. I'm gonna go look for it at the LFS since I'm going to return a power head that I don't need.
Also, after doing a quick research on Google. Seachem states it's better to use Aquazole for freshwater aquariums and their Metroplex is better suited for saltwater aquariums. Says it's not as effective if used in freshwater.
Bump:
Yeah for the few months that I had him, he was awesome! Always came up to the tank and flared his fins at me. Every time I came up to the tank he would go to the surface thinking I would feed him every time. Now, I can't even imagine replacing him with another HG. :crying:
Metronidazole uses ions to pass through the fish's membranes. Saltwater does have plenty of ions so Metro is certainly effective in saltwater. But Freshwater does also have ions, though less amounts than saltwater. The amount of ions present in Freshwater aquariums varies depending on the water. Most freshwater aquariums do have enough ions for Metro to work, unless your water is really soft. Of course, the more ions, the more likely Metro will be effective. Most freshwater does have a good amount of ions unless your water is really soft. Many people have used MetroPlex in freshwater aquariums and it has worked (but again it does depend on your water).
MetroPlex label even still says "Marine & Freshwater". Aquazole is guaranteed to work because it includes Potassium Sulfate (P2SO4) which act as the necessary amount of ions for adequate absorption. Yep, the same Potassium Sulfate people use to fertilize their plants. If you have that on hand, you can simply dose some of that along with MetroPlex and it is the same as Aquazole. Aquazole just includes Potash Sulfate, to makes sure enough ions are provided for the med to work. if you already have enough ions in your water, MetroPlex is fine.
You can be on the safe side though and get Aquazole (not sure how it equates, price to dosages though). Or you can feed Metronidazole medicated fish foods to the fish, that method bypasses the need to pass through the fish's membranes via the dosed water column. Or you can just use PraziPro (though that doesn't as much as Metro does).
One more question if I get the medicated food will the otos eat the flakes as well? Or would I have to add it to some sort of algae wafers? All I see them eat is the things off of glass and when the algae wafers break down. I'm assuming if there are some flakes that make it to the bottom the pygmy will eat is as well correct? I just want to make sure they eat it before I buy the flakes, or if its easier to dose the water column I don't mind doing that. Just trying to figure out an easier way to treat them just in case they have parasites.
That's my personal gripe with feeding medicated flakes. It's a bit hard to make sure each fish is getting the required amounts for the med to really work (not enough or too much which is not the best thing for the fish). And some fish don't end up eating the medicated food, whether they are too sick to eat or just don't eat certain kinds of food such as otos.
Some people have otos that eat commercial fish food, some don't, with them only eating natural growing diatoms/brown algae, soft green algae and microorganisms. The pygmy corys would eat the flakes that land on the substrate.
I know having fish ingest the medication via medicated foods is quicker acting and more effective to treat intestinal tract parasites, but I find not always being the easier method to do. I find dosing the water column is still effective and so no need to worry about this or that when treating, just simply dose the tank. Dosing the water column is also good for killing free floating or other parasites that may be free swimming in the water column or substrate.
As mentioned Metronidazole can/dose pass through the fish's membranes (with enough ions) which is pretty much just as good as feeding the fish. You can dose Prazi or Metro/Aquazole directly in the water column and still have it be effective.
Some people have otos that eat commercial fish food, some don't, with them only eating natural growing diatoms/brown algae, soft green algae and microorganisms. The pygmy corys would eat the flakes that land on the substrate.
I know having fish ingest the medication via medicated foods is quicker acting and more effective to treat intestinal tract parasites, but I find not always being the easier method to do. I find dosing the water column is still effective and so no need to worry about this or that when treating, just simply dose the tank. Dosing the water column is also good for killing free floating or other parasites that may be free swimming in the water column or substrate.
As mentioned Metronidazole can/dose pass through the fish's membranes (with enough ions) which is pretty much just as good as feeding the fish. You can dose Prazi or Metro/Aquazole directly in the water column and still have it be effective.
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