One of the goldfish we keep in our pond has been diagnosed with body flukes. She's in a bad way and, after treating the pond, we have removed her to a quarantine tank because she was just getting knocked around by the other fish.

This is the fourth day that she's been suffering. She is almost completely motionless (she occasionally moves a fin). She is listing to one side and her eyes are very visible and dark. Her skin is very patchy and pale. She can often be found gasping at the surface of the water although the gasping has slowed down presently.

The pond and quarantine tank are being treated with Tetra Pond Medifin and this is the third day of treatment.

What I want to know is, when can I expect her to start to improve? It's heart-breaking to see her in this condition. Any advice gratefully received.

Annie

Hi Annie, I've never heard of Tetra Pond Medifin as being a successful treatment for flukes (to be honest, i've not actually heard of it before). Have you tried Prazi (Praziquantel)? It is a very effective treatment for flukes and is extremely gentle on your fish also.

In all honesty, a friend of mine had a fluke outbreak some time ago and the hardest part was eradicating gill flukes (which are most likely present also). Gill flukes seem to be the biggest problem as they're well protected by the slime coat.

We ended up doing a salt dip prior to placing into the medicated tank as it loosened the slimecoat and allowed the meds to do their job. This was after unsuccessfully trying to treat a couple of times before and the meds we used were Fluke & Tapeworm tabs - each tab is 100mg of Praziquantel. Third time worked a treat and after a scrape and scope, found they were destroyed within 4 days

What are the active ingredients of Medifin?

Please post back soon

Hi Jen

Thanks for the prompt response. As far as I can tell, Tetra Pond is a British product and may only be available in the UK and Ireland. We have used their products before for White Spot and all the fish treated are still alive and free of white spot 3 years later.

The active ingredients are Formaldehyde and Malachite green oxalate.

Best wishes

Annie

Formaldehyde? I've heard this can be used to treat flukes as it has the ability to penetrate the slime coat...

Do you know what % is formaldehyde?

How long ago did you start treating?

How did you find out it's flukes? Did you do a scrape?

Hi Jen

The active ingredients per 100 ml are:

Formaldeyde 4.762g
Malachite Green Oxide 90.0mg

We started treating 3 days ago. We noticed that she was ill the day before that when she came up to the surface and stayed in the same spot all day without moving.

We took her to the local aquatic centre where they did a scrape and diagnosed flukes.

The dreadful gasping has stopped now but she is totally motionless and listing to one side, and, if it were not for the fact that her mouth moves occasionally, you'd think that she was dead. Poor thing.

I've been reading about salt dips, but she's so lifeless, I'm wondering if that would just finish her off.

Annie

Yes, I agree, if she's fairly lifeless then a salt dip may not be the way to go...

How are the parameters in the tank?

Do you have loads of air?

Also is the tank covered? Malachite green is rendered ineffective when exposed to light and even though i think it's the formaldeyde that will be most effective in their eradication, i don't know how successful the treatment will be if one of the meds loses efficacy.

Is she still eating at all?

How does her poop look?

Are you able to check her gills? Are they a nice meaty red? Or starting to pale?

Hi Jen

Just thought I'd let you know that sadly, she died yesterday afternoon. I was hoping that when the gasping stopped, that was a good sign and that she might be starting to improve, but she gradually became more and more lethargic until she stopped breathing altogether. She's now buried under a cherry tree in the 'pet graveyard' in the garden. We felt it was the least we could do because she has (hopefully) saved the lives of her pondmates.

Many thanks for your help. This site is a fantastic resource. I only found it yesterday and, already, I have learned so much. I won't hesitate to recommend it.

Best wishes and thanks again

Annie

Hi Annie,I'm really sorry to hear that the poor fish didn't make it.How are the other pond fish doing?

Aw geez Annie - I'm so sorry It sounds like you've laid her to rest in a beautiful spot

Hi Devs and Jen

Thanks for your condolences. As far as I can tell, the other fish in the pond are okay. We've been out most of the day, (it's Mother's Day here in the UK) and now that we're back, it's started to rain and quite a few of the fish are up at the surface, enjoying the shower, I think. I'm going to keep an eye on them for at least the next few days. Fortunately, I'm self-employed and work from my office at home, so I'm always around and can check on them regularly. The pond is due to be treated again on Wednesday, if necessary. I'll let you know what happens.

Thanks again

Annie