DavidP....Need help again

[Sea~Horse~Whisperer]

My female is looking dangerously thin. From all of the reading I have been doing on syngnathid.org and seahorse.org boards, I've come to the conclusion that she has internal parasites. The meds I have on hand are Formalin (formaldehyde-37%), Bio-bandage, saltwater Maracyn-Two, and CopperSafe. Can I use any of them to treat her? I can get some of the gel based meds (antibiotics) in the morning but which ones should I get?

I have read that sometimes just a 5 min soak in the formalin will help. I will do whatever I have to to get her better. How much formalin should I use in a 10G tank? Or should I use a 5G tank instead? I can buy one when I buy the other meds.

I have also read that hyposalinity will also work. I'm not sure if I'm comfortable doing hyposalinity on the sea horse. But I will do whatever you suggest. I understand that it may be too late to save her, but when I see her swimming around for long periods of time I have to think she has a chance. She isn't giving up easily so neither will I. I can not figure out where she is getting the energy to swim. Her poor little tummy is all caved in so I know there isn't anything in there. She doesn't even look at the food anymore, live or frozen. I ordered live mysis shrimp from Sachs systems and I'm hatching brine shrimp now. I will keep trying untill I find something she will eat.

I know I should try to gutload her food with the meds.....but since she quit eating all together that wont work. I'm at my whits end but I just can't give up on her.

Any suggestions are welcomed.
Thanks, Angie

[JustDavidP]

Angie,

Well... first and foremost, I'd try to treat her in a different tank. Separate her from the rest of the seahorses and treat her in an isolation tank. No need for gel type or other bacterial meds. Her problem is internal. Truth be told, it may not be a parasite at all...

In some cases, seahorses that do not take prepared foods and do not get enough live foods, hit a certain "point of no return". There's a time during starvation that even if the fish WANTED or tried to eat. It could not. This also happens with mandarins and other finiky fish. If it were a parasitic episode, I'd imagine that you'd see others in the tank suffering as well.

However, if you truly think that it is an internal parasite (most often worms) then I'd first use the Maracyn-Two that you have on hand. Use it AS PER DIRECTION and again, preferable in a hospital tank (I'm pretty sure that stuff could cause the silicone in your tank to discolor too). If you are looking for other options, try to find some meds such as praziquantel or anything else commercially available to treat INTERNAL parasites. The rest of the antibacterial products would help little, if at all.

Hyposalinity is okay in some cases, and more often than not for EXTERNAL parasites, but if there are any problems with her skin (ie. breaks, cuts, lesions) then you may cause greater problems by creating a troublesome cause in SG and the osmosis process, possibly causing her to expel internal flesh through the open wound(s)..not pretty!

In the end, if you feel that she's not going to make it, don't let her suffer. Do some research on the proper euthanization of fish.

D

[Sea~Horse~Whisperer]

Here is a pic of the skinny female

[JustDavidP]

Yeah...she doesn't look stoked..

I'd put her in her own tank, try the meds as directed, OVERfeed that same tank, and do water changes as per the meds direction.

Best of luck!

Dave

[Sea~Horse~Whisperer]

I did an 8 min. fresh water dip on both this afternoon. I emptied my 12G nano and I re-set it up for an easy QT tank. I matched the ph and right now I'm trying to get the temp. the same as the other tank. The directions on the Maracyn-Two say to add 2 tabs for every 20g on the first day. (I added 1 tab for the 12G nano) then I'm supposed to add 1 tab for every 20G for the 2nd through the 5th day. (1/2 tab for the nano). It also states that no water changes are needed. The only filteration on this nano is chaeto where the sponges used to be. Should I add a small HOB filter to it? I have one for a 10G tank but wont the charcoal filter out the meds too fast? I will try to get some of the praziquantel you mentioned. Where would I get it from? I'm going to the SH boards to look up other possible meds.

I'm going to treat the male as well since I haven't seen him eat yesterday or today either. Plus I noticed white patches on him. Looks like his skin is bleached in 2 spots. I think I read on another site that that is a bacterial infection.?. I'm never buying sea horses from a LFS again. ( I never meant to in the first place...they were a rescue) Only private breeders from now on.

I just want to say thank you for all of your help and advise. Your knowledge and patience is greatly appreciated.

Angie

[Sea~Horse~Whisperer]

I went on a Medicine hunt today and this is what I came up with.
Methylene Blue
PraziPro (praziquantel)
Furanase
BiFuran+ (nitrofurazone & furazolidone)
Furan-2

I bought all I could find off the Med list on the Other sea horse board, lol.

Since I'm on day 2 treating with the maracyn-two, is there anything Else I should use from the above list? Is one of them better than the maracyn? Should I stop using the maracyn and do a water change and start useing one of the above meds? Neither one of the seahorses is eating that I can see.

The only noticeable benefit from the 8 min. fresh water dip was that all of the red cyno that was on the horses has disappeared. Nice side effect, lol.

I wish I knew someone close by that knew about this stuff. Then I could stop bugging you and call them. Sorry. Besides Susan and Dave, I don't even know anyone (in person) who has or has had sea horses.

Thanks Again

[JustDavidP]

Personally, I'd not mix treatments/medications. Each has its own specific goal and could be interrupted/delayed/or neutralized by the other. You could complete one treatment and follow up with another type, but I try not to mix and match unless recommended by a vet etc.

A freshwater dip would surely help you rid the ponies of any EXTERNAL parasites. But, at this point, you state you feel that it is an internal parasite correct? Something keeping them from eating... With that said, a dip will do nothing to correct that. I'd not dip any further as it DOES cause some stress to the fish and would not be providing any benefit. To the contrary, it may weaken them and they may finally succumb to the internal parasite.

Continue with the Marcyn-2. PraziPro is for external parasites. Furanase is an anti-fungal/bacterial; again, an external condition treatment. BiFuran+ same/same...but is good because it helps replace slime coat on fish. Furan-2 same/same (hint..this stuff really discolors water, rock, silicone etc.)

If you see no results from the Maracyn...try to find a product by "Jungle" that is called "Internal Parasite Guard".

I'd also continue to use garlic or another enrichment formula to try to stimulate feeding.

Dave

[dakar]

Angie, where did you track down the meds? we need to make a visit to our vet this week and thought maybe we'd need to start there for some of the more exotic cocktails...

[JustDavidP]

Owner dude....

IF you are not in a hurry...the best deals had are found on the web. A review of the "suggested med cabinet" on SH.org will give you a list of proper names, and marketed names of the various meds. A google search thereafter will find most of them. FWIW, some are hard to find in certain regions/countries. This is another reason why online shopping may be the best option.

Dave

[dakar]

Cool... thanks. Though to this point, we've been more fortunate than Angie, and not had any issues at all with our charges (such happy litttle critters ), contingincy planning will always be a benefit.