PlanetCatfish.com

Now that I have discovered this wonderful site, I would like to do some "brain picking". I do feel awed to be in the company of such knowledgeable and caring folk.
Would appreciate input on what preparations have been successfully used to treat the fluke overload that it seems ALL fish arrive with, be it domestically raised or import.
I have tried them all with mixed results, but there seems to be a dangerous sensitivity to some paracitides with the Loricariidae. Sometimes it is a judgement call - one knows the fish is struggling with gill fluke infestations but is not built up enough yet to withstand serious treatment. Opinions, please. Thanks!

The best place for this to be dealt with is at the importer level. They are in the best position to give the fish a much needed stage to recuperate and be medicated so that the final owner doesn't receive fish that have little reserves left.
It can make all the difference in the world to the final owner if their fish are given this chance or not. At the prices so many of our fish fetch I do not think it is too much to ask that vendors take some responsibility and some are very good about it. Some are not.

I totally agree, Larry, but quite simply, it ain't gonna happen! My husband used to work in the exotic import trade (many years ago and even then he was desperate to get out of it) and we unfortunately know all of the horrors that are connected with shipping and handling livestock.
It is also especially discouraging as most of our catfish that finally reach local stores are wild caught. With the diminishing resources in wild habitats, it is even more of a crime that more care is not taken and more knowledge imparted to a novice owner from the fish supplier. Soooo, here I am, battling ectoparasites with every new specimen brought in. Cure the disease or kill the fish -don't like 50/50 odds! Thanks for the reply.

I agree that the trade has room for improvements.
I rarely buy from LFS but rather more on-line. I have found some sources are outstanding although that knowlege did not come free. Prior to winnowing down to best sources(for me) of Corys and Plecos my odds were much worse than 50/50. They are much closer to 90% good, now.

That wild or for that matter tank raised fish have horrific losses throughout the distribution chain is the darkside of our hobby. It dampens ones enthusiam to know the realities of the business. Just for the purpose of an example, I know that very few of the discus I raise and sell to LFS's will ever make it to their 1st birthday and of those that do few will receive the level of proper care necessary for them to ever become viable full sized breeders. Doesn't make me feel well to see unsold fish in a shop one third the size of some I kept back that are two months younger!

Good luck and don't spare the Flubenol.

Thanks again, Larry, for the reply. I firmly believe that, just like reptile breeders finally had to rise to the increased demand for animals and diminishing resources in the wild (or flat out illegal) and concentrate on captive propogation for the pet trade,
dedicated fish people need to concentrate on captive propogation and education, education, education. I also raise Discus but am able to sell my offspring still by word of mouth rather than to a store. After 2 years of almost non-stop albino Ancistrus fry, I actually shut it down before selling to the ONE local store.
I have not had good luck with online fish buying. The 8 Queen Arabesque fiasco where they were dead and decomposing in the shipping bag because the shipment got lost between airports finished it for me!
Now, Flubenol? I looked it up and see that it is strictly a UK product. Can we get it shipped to the U.S. with all the tight regulations these days? Never tried this one - sounds good. Would like to try some but not if I will be hauled off by the Feds for importing a white, powder substance. Ha.
Thanks for all input.

The world's first liquid praziquantel treatment for flukes, tapeworm, flatworms and turellarians. Extremely effective yet won't negatively impact your biological filtration. Now the best treatment for your pond or aquarium is available in a ready-to-use formulation!

http://www.uskoi.com/prazipro.htm

The praziquental Bryan recommended is very good stuff. Also Ultra Cure PX is good as it is a blend of prazi, flubenol and metroniadazole. This product kill range(of worms)is broad spectrum approach to treating for worms and is easily found, fully legal.

It does help to have fish still alive enough to eat treated foods. Always a catch in medication regimes aimed at worms. Prazi may have an edge as far as soluability in aquarium water which is the only route left if the fish aren't eating due to illness which is usually the case. Pure flubenol isn't very soluable but it is also very low in toxicity to fish so efficency is not as important as it is with sulfate and hydrochloride salt forms that antibiotics are formulated in. They are made much more bioavailable in solution than the antihelminthics.

Treating fish diseases is not the pinnacle of success in veterinary medicine as far as I can tell. The reasons are obvious enough but of little comfort to us fish keepers. We fish keepers have a lot of room for refining treatment of fish diseases.

Thanks again, Larry, for your informative post. I have tried Prazil-Pro with "so'so" success and the gel foods are fine if fish will eat - mine tend to look at those gelatinous little spheres with both horror and disdain!
Working in the veterinary field, I have many drugs available to me that are fine for domestic pets, but you are right, the fish hobby needs more. However, I remember way back in my early beginings of aquaculture when salt, malachite green, methylene blue and potassium permanganate were all we had, so things have come a long way! Back when I lived in San Diego, we were called upon to orally administer metronidazole to a $3,000 Koi and don't think I was sweating that one. Success, happily. I guess it all boils down to firstly understanding the target disease/parasite you are dealing with, knowing the life-cycle and and then hoping for the best outcome with whatever treatment of choice. I still use good old formalin with decent results but must be monitored closely.
It is a pleasure to chat with such helpful and informative people such as yourself! Thanks.