# Treating with praziquantel



## dorabaker (Jul 3, 2010)

today I started treating my fish for gill flukes with praziquantel tablets. I'm following this treatment schedule reccomended by Lupin :

25/7 -- remove carbon, perform water change with vacuuming, and add Prazi to tank
26/7 -- add Prazi
27/7 -- do nothing
28/7 -- do nothing
29/7 -- do nothing
30/7 -- add Prazi
31/7 -- add Prazi
1/8 -- normal partial water change with vacuuming
7/8 - normal partial water change, then add prazi
14/8 - normal partial water change, then add prazi
21/8 - normal partial water change, then add prazi
28/8 - normal partial water change, add carbon, treatment is complete

(I replaced the numbers (day 1, day 2, etc.) with the actual dates to make it easier for me to keep track.)
the dosage I'm using is 2.5 mg Prazi per liter, so in my 60 liter tank that's a tablet and a half.
anyway it says on the bottle of tablets 'there will be some cellulose residue when you dissolve the tablet. this will not harm the fish' or words to that effect. when I dissolved the tablets there was all this white stuff left over which I assumed was the residue. I dissolved them in a jug of aquarium water first then mixed it with the water in the bucket which I was using to replace the water after the water change.
anyway when I put it into the tank it looked like it had snowed...but that's not the point  my corys started eating it...and even though it said it was harmless on the packet I just wanted to check that it won't hurt them. they twitched a bit when they ate it like they got a shock or something, and have been acting a bit funny ever since. I'm keeping an eye on them. it's hard to tell how much is the gill flukes and how much is the medication effecting them. the gourami in the tank pecked at some of the white stuff as well but doesnt seem bothered. she isn't as sick as the cory's though.
just wanted someone's opinion on this as I don't want to hurt my fishies 
p.s. the dosage I'm giving was recommended by Lupin and is half the dosage it says on the bottle.


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## aunt kymmie (Jun 2, 2008)

Not being familiar with this medication, but being familiar with Lupin I would simply follow his advice. Hopefully he will come along and answer the question in regards to your concern over the cories. I know when I've treated my Discus with Metronidazole I'm thrilled when I see them eat it (which they mostly won't due so I soak live foods in the the Metro) as it works that much more quickly when ingested. I'd assume it may work that same way with praziquantel??


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## dorabaker (Jul 3, 2010)

i was kind of thinking the same thing - but the corys are delicate little fish and i doubt they've been exposed to meds before, so maybe it was just a bit of a shock to their system. they seem ok now though, (this is the second day of treatment) so i'll just keep an eye on them.


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## jeaninel (Aug 24, 2007)

I'm kind of thinking along the same lines as aunt kymmie. I've used Jungle Parasite Clear before which has Metro and Prazi in it and it does the same thing as far as leaving a white residue on the substrate. My fish picked at it also and it didn't seem to do any harm. In fact I kind of wanted them to ingest some since they wouldn't eat the medicated pellets I had bought (anti-parasitic). Most medicine is bitter so maybe the cories just didn't like the taste of it. LOL


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## dorabaker (Jul 3, 2010)

actually your probably right about the taste thing...hehe  praziquantel is the same stuff the vet puts on the back of my cat's neck to de-worm her, and i can tell you, it still STINKS even after months and months! (I worked out it was the same thing when i caught a whiff of the prazi tablets and they smelt the same...)


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