Quarantine Procedures: What's the Scoop?

[steve-s]

In regards to worms, the Prazi would need to be used in a SW bath for an hour or so. It should not affect the health of the coral unless stressed or possibley recently collected. As we've both pointed out, constant moving/dipping/acclimation will take it's toll on more sensitive species. I would actually say the Prazi could be added directly to the invert QT instead of the dips and probabley yield much better results. At least in terms of reduced corals stress/reduced handling. There are some posts I've noticed where it has also helped/cured possible PM in clams.

In regards to red bugs, can't help you there. I've never studied the issue properly so I can't offer an informed opinion.

Cheers
Steve

 

[NaH2O]

I'm aware of the pinched mantle issue, as is Nick...been there done that . I lost my clams right before I was going to try another treatment method.

If you're interested in learning more about redbugs, and you have a few weeks , there is a long thread in the Advanced forum.

I'd be very interested in anyone's results using Praziquantel against AEFs.

 

[Maxx]

Trying not to derail this thread....

But what other considerations does one need to take when treating inverts/fish in QT?

Specifically, what is the half life of Praziquantel and can I use it constantly in the QT environment or will it need to be run for a period of time, then water changes + carbon use to remove it from the system? If the latter wouldnt that potentially stress the invert by constant water changes?

Since it really is all about me here....
What I had planned on doing was very similar to what you suggested earlier with tank changes. I plan to run a 20 gallon QT tank and swap it out weekly with another spare 20. The unused tank will be sterilized and remain dry for a period of 7 days before being used again. This should prevent any undiscovered egg clutches from hatching and releasing new AEFW's.

Nick

 

[steve-s]

Trying not to derail this thread....

But what other considerations does one need to take when treating inverts/fish in QT?

That is rather a largely encompassing question. Considering what is possible, I wouldn't be comfortable offering a "standard" answer. Each circumstance should be dealt with on it's own merits.

Specifically, what is the half life of Praziquantel and can I use it constantly in the QT environment or will it need to be run for a period of time, then water changes + carbon use to remove it from the system? If the latter wouldnt that potentially stress the invert by constant water changes?

It will last about a week and should be removed via water change and carbon afterwards. If the "egg cycle" of the parasite is known, a redose should be administered 2-3 days before the eggs hatch to prevent reinfestation.

Since it really is all about me here....

:lol: why shouldn't it be...

What I had planned on doing was very similar to what you suggested earlier with tank changes. I plan to run a 20 gallon QT tank and swap it out weekly with another spare 20. The unused tank will be sterilized and remain dry for a period of 7 days before being used again. This should prevent any undiscovered egg clutches from hatching and releasing new AEFW's.

You would still potentially transfer the eggs to the new QT system. While the instances of egg masses would be much less than that of an infested tank, there would still be some. You would need to ensure that each transfer to a new tank has been pretreated with the Prazi to ensure newly hatched eggs are erraditaed, at least in theory. I would suspect at least three transfers/treatments would be needed if you chose this route.

Cheers
Steve

 

[steve-s]

If you're interested in learning more about redbugs, and you have a few weeks , there is a long thread in the Advanced forum.

No promises...

Cheers
Steve

 

[Maxx]

Steve,
I appreciate your responses in this matter. I linked to this thread from a larger one on RC, so you may get some PM's or replies from all sorts of people here shortly.....or you may not.

In any event, here's my plan of action:

I plan to run a 20 gallon QT tank and swap it out weekly with another spare 20. The unused tank will be sterilized and remain dry for a period of 7 days before being used again. This should prevent any undiscovered egg clutches from hatching and releasing new AEFW's. Once a week, I will dip the corals in an Iodine solution to wipe out any AEFW's on the corals. I will be dipping them in Tropic Marin PRO-CORAL CURE for approx 15 minutes and then placing them in the "new" 20 gallon QT tank. The main tank will not have any acros in it for a period of at least a month.

After reading your most recent post on Praziquantel, I'm seriously considering running Prazi in the QT tank in addition to the TMPCC dips. I realize the dips will be stressful to the corals, but alledgedly, the TMPCC has some buffers and additives to reduce the stress on the corals. I have used Iodine dips on corals before to treat AEFW's, but was unaware the AEFW's will lay eggs on surfaces other than acros....so they returned...

Do you feel this will be too much going on at once for the corals to handle?

Nick

 

[steve-s]

I think you will be putting the coral to it's limits at the very least. I'm not a big fan of medicated dips for the most part. If you consider many will not affect egg masses and if there's a med solution in the QT (such as the Prazi), the dips are an uneccessary redundancey and at least initially, not worth the risk.

If it was me, I would treat with just the Prazi (properly soluable with ETOH or premixed solution like Prazipro) for the worms as a one time treatment lasting 5 days. Run the carbon, do the water changes and then retreat in another 7 days. That would overlap with your 14 day egg cycle and should catch all of them. I would be the least stressful route that I can see. The tank transfers could be left as a "reserve" option should the dosing alone fail.

Cheers
Steve

 

[NaH2O]

Steve - no one actually knows, yet, if the prazi will work against AEFs, unless there is something new out there I haven't seen? It would certainly be worth trying it oug, but what is it about the acro eating flatworms that makes you think Praziquantel will kill them? How long of a process would it be to see if the dosage used will be 100% effective?

 

[steve-s]

Nikki, I can't guarantee it will work but I don't see a reason not to try. I have yet to find an actual reference that ID's the species of this particular pest. If polyclad, tubellaria or the common ectoparasitic worms, there's no reason why the Prazi shouldn't work.

Since it is safe even if overdosed, I would even suggest upping the manufacturers suggested dose by double. I think the key will be in finding the right concentration.

Cheers
Steve