Chlamydiogobius eremius and Tateurdina

[Colin_T]

if the fish are starting to rub on ornaments in the tank they could be coming down with whitespot. Many fish get infected at the shop and then develop/ show the symptoms a few days after they go in your tank. Salt can help with some problems but doesn't do a lot to whitespot. However, adding a bit of salt won't hurt either.
I would probably add some salt (use the dosage I mentioned previously) and then monitor the fish for any signs of disease, (white dots on the body, grey or cream areas over the body, in particular around the top half of the body). If the fish show any signs of whitespot, treat the tank immediately with a whitespot remedy.
You can also use Flubendazole/ Flubenol if you can get it. Apparently it treats whitespot and other external skin parasites, as well as internal parasites like worms.

[Cathsem]

OK, thank you Colin. The fish actually didn't stay at the shop. I picked them up on the day of their arrival from the producer. They were still in their transport bags.

[Colin_T]

keep an eye on them anyway. They might have caught something at the suppliers

[Cathsem]

Can you tell me more, Colin, about the treatment with Flubendazole/ Flubenol? This is something I sometimes use to deworm my cats. I didn't know you could use them for fish. What is the dosage?

[Colin_T]

Hi Colin. This is the same thing,

This info is from a friend who uses this stuff on his fish.

Flubenol is a trade name, Flubendazole is the chemical's official name.
The dosing is 2mg/l.

I'm not sure how often he treats the fish (I'll let you know when I know) but I gather it would depend on what you are treating. Intestinal worms would be treated once a week for 3 weeks. White spot probably every couple of days for a week (depending on temperature). External skin parasite would probably get done once a week for several weeks like intestinal worms).
Before doing a treatment or re-treating the tank after a week, etc, it is advisable to do a good size water change and complete gravel clean. This reduces the number of pathogens in the water and substrate and allows the medication to work more effectively. You should also remove carbon (black granulated substance) from any filter in the tank before treatment begins.

Exactly the same dosing is for Fenbendazole (but this is another medication, albeit pretty similar chemically).

Many dog & cat (pet) medications/ treatments can be used on fish. In particular Praziquantel, which is commonly used to treat dogs & cats for tapeworm. It also treats tapeworm in fish and apparently kills gill flukes, external skin parasites and whitespot. However, I haven't used it to treat whitespot or gill flukes but my local fish shop uses it for that.
Praziquantel & Flubendazole is safe for all types of fish unlike some of the commonly sold intestinal worm & fluke treatments for fish, which contain Trichlorphon (also known as Dipterex & Masoten). This is a really nasty drug that kills more fish than it cures and should not be used in an aquarium or on any animal.

[Cathsem]

Many thanks for the information, Colin.

[Colin_T]

ok, I have some more info.
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first the stuff must be thoroughly dissolved in water for it to work.

In most cases, one treatment is sufficient. If possible, don't do any water changes for four days after the treatment (or add more medication to compensate). The medication is stable and remains active in the tank for a long time... if you want to put pond snails into the tank, you need to wait a couple of months for the stuff to be fully gone.

Multiple treatments (1 week apart - correct) are basically just a reassurance that the cycle is broken. My feeling is if one does not do too much w/c and gravel cleaning, one dose will remain potent throughout a couple of weeks if needed.
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Basically if you treat the tank and don't do any water changes, then chances are the drug will remain active in the water for at least a week. Then you can do a water change f required and then re-treat the tank to make sure all the nasties are gone. You don't have to do the water change in between but it is preferable to do so, as it helps remove nitrates and fish waste that inhibit good fish health. It also means that the drug should be fully viable to kill off anything that survived the first dose.

[Tomtom]

Mine do the same from time to time, but don't present any disease... You can make a preventional treatment, but they're not necessary ill.
The gobies (the males) hunt the snails off the breeding tube, eggs ae not eaten. If there are still snails you didn't see, you can let them.

[Cathsem]

I'm worried for my Tateurs who still don't eat and who keep scratching at times. I think I'd better do a treatent in case they are indeed ill. I'll ring the vet tomorow and pick up the medication. I'll also start removing the remaining snails. They're useful little critters and I don't want them to die because of the medication.

As the tank is small, I need to do lots of water changes along with gravel cleaning, especially with frozen food which tends to be messy.

The Chlamydiogobius seem fine, fortunately, and they feed well. I feed them frozen brine shrimps (defrozen, of course). The female tateurs tried to eat it but they spit it out very quickly.
The micropellets were ignored.

What else could I try to give them? What do you feed your Tateurs with, Tomtom?

[Colin_T]

You can usually pick up Flubendazole from petshops and they often sell it cheaper than vets, and you don’t need a prescription.

Try some raw prawn/ shrimp that is cut up finely. Most fish take that without any problems. If they don't then reduce feeding and treat the tank. If the fish have a disease they will be less inclined to eat anything.
You can try feeding them raw fish, squid, mussels and frozen or live daphnia and mosquito larvae. Live brineshrimp can be used to encourage them to eat and you can hatch brineshrimp eggs before feeding the baby brineshrimp to the fish. If they ignore those then there is something wrong with the fish.

[Tomtom]

I feed them with mosquito larvaes (frozen or alive), baby brine shrimps, dry food (novo tab by jbl), or flakes. No problem. I really don't see what is the problem with yours. Try mosquito larvaes, they enjoy it.

[Cathsem]

Thank you for your answers, Colin and Tomtom.

One of the female Tateurs has starting eating, but I noticed the frozen brine shrimp I give them seems a bit too big for their mouth. I bought Tubifex and Daphnies at the pet shop, but they still spit the food. There wasn't any live food or mosquitoe larvae at the pet shop. But some members of my fish club are about to order fish food, so I'll join the order and try to get mosquitoe larvae and frozen baby shrimp.

Otherwise I haven't seen the Peacocks flash for quite a while. The salt seems to have helped (2g/l). The male Tateur is chasing the biggest female and I have seen them investigate every nook and cranny in the tank. The Chlamydiogobius male has grown olive green and has chosen his cave. He looks great and his right pectoral fin seems to be growing back. Fingers are crossed.

PS: it's still too cold for me to try to breed mosquitoe larvae on my balcony, but as soon as the weather allows it here, I'll start my breeding program.

[Colin_T]

PS: it's still too cold for me to try to breed mosquitoe larvae on my balcony, but as soon as the weather allows it here, I'll start my breeding program.

just a word of caution, it is illegal to grow or culture mozzie larave in most countries, so don't do it. However, if you happen to have a container of water outside, and the local mozzie population decides to have fun in it, then you are fully entitled to remove any of the larvae for health reasons

if you have cool weather (preferably without snow) then perhaps daphnia can be cultured outdoors.

[Tomtom]

Try a culture of artemia salina, with eggs you can bought easily. And give your fish the new hatched babies. What size are your tateur? They seem to be very small, if they can't eat what you gave.

[Cathsem]

I treated my fish with Fenbendazole (Panacur) but one of the female Tateurs died last Tuesday, and the Chlamydiogobius eremius male is presently dying. Another female CE is showing signs of illness.
It's a real nightmare.

I'm going to try another treatment with Praziquantel, but the only medication I could find was Drontal P, which is a mixture of 3 things: Praziquentel + Pyrantel + Febantel.
My vet told me to treat in a hospital tank, but what about the parasites who are present in the main tank? If I put my fish back into the main tank, it'll start all over, won't it?