# Proper use of PraziPro



## joeygirl (Feb 26, 2013)

I have a Demasoni that I have not seen eat for almost a week now and he hides when it's time for feeding. Also, I have lost two fish recently (a red jewel and an Acei). I have seen a few clear/whitish stringy poop floating in the tank. This worried me and I quickly did a water test and all parameters were good. So I paid a visit to my LFS which produced a diagnosis of possible bloat/internal parasites and the recommendation to use PraziPro. I've never heard of this product before and so I trusted their advice and bought it. Since coming home and doing some research on the web, I'm not entirely sure if it will work on bloat (since it only talks about worms/flukes???? I am new to the hobby and therefore have had few experiences with sick fish. Can anyone confirm if this product is appropriate to use, and if so, can you please clarify the usage. I interpret the instructions as follows:

First treatment (one time only) lasts for 5 - 7 days - if the situation requires further treatment, then once every 3 days is the limit.

Also read that Epsom salt will help purge their bellies (like a laxative)


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## GTZ (Apr 21, 2010)

As far as I know, praziqantel is not an effective medication for bloat, as you say it's more effective against worms.
Epsom salt and metronidazole are the most common medications used for bloat like symptoms. Check the bloat article linked below for more information.


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## joeygirl (Feb 26, 2013)

Okay - I picked up some Epsom salts and Metronidazole. Can you please clarify if the 2 tbsp of Epsom salts/10 gallons refers to the total amount of water in the tank or only to the amount I am changing (30- 40%). Same for the Metro - is the amount calculated on the changed water or the entire tank. Thx.


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## GTZ (Apr 21, 2010)

Dosages are calculated using the total volume of the tank being treated.


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## joeygirl (Feb 26, 2013)

Thank you - just wanted to be sure. Fingers crossed all goes well.


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## joeygirl (Feb 26, 2013)

joeygirl said:


> Thank you - just wanted to be sure. Fingers crossed all goes well.


oops, sorry, I did have one more question - when it comes to the Epsom salt - do I need to dose the tank each time I add the metro?


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## GTZ (Apr 21, 2010)

Only when performing water changes. You want to keep the 'before' and 'after' salinity levels the same.
Easier to do when using buckets, 1tbsp per 5g bucketful of water.


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## joeygirl (Feb 26, 2013)

GTZ said:


> Only when performing water changes. You want to keep the 'before' and 'after' salinity levels the same.
> Easier to do when using buckets, 1tbsp per 5g bucketful of water.


...about that - salinity. I have never tested my water to know what the level of salinity is - it's a freshwater aquarium, so I never considered this. So, when you say the "before and after levels of salinity", what exactly do you mean? If I have never added any kind of salt to the tank, how do I know what the before level was? Right about know I am feeling like I missed something very important - please advise.


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## GTZ (Apr 21, 2010)

In this case, salinity refers to the epsom salt (magnesium sulfate) content of the water and not regular salt (sodium chloride).
As per the instructions in the bloat article, you'll add 2tbsp of epsom salt per 10g of aquarium water, over a time period of 5 or 6 hours. So once that's added, we have a salinity level equal to 2tbsp per 10g.
When you perform a water change, you want to replace the water that was removed with new water containing the same amount of dissolved epsom salt.


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## joeygirl (Feb 26, 2013)

GTZ said:


> In this case, salinity refers to the epsom salt (magnesium sulfate) content of the water and not regular salt (sodium chloride).
> As per the instructions in the bloat article, you'll add 2tbsp of epsom salt per 10g of aquarium water, over a time period of 5 or 6 hours. So once that's added, we have a salinity level equal to 2tbsp per 10g.
> When you perform a water change, you want to replace the water that was removed with new water containing the same amount of dissolved epsom salt.


Got it - now that's nice and clear to understand - thank you so much.


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