Advice for transferring thin fish from OT to DT?

[Firefish15]

Hello all, 

I’m looking for some advice on a red firefish that I bought about 4 weeks ago. He’s currently still in the observation tank. He had flukes, has been treated with Prazipro, was doing well, but now seems to be hiding and losing appetite. Looks a little thin.
 

I’m wondering if I should throw him into the display now, which would get him a more complex, less sterile environment. Some live pods to munch on, some more space, and a tank mate that might help him feel more secure, be a dither fish. 
Or, should I focus on coaxing him to eat more again and continue to obverse him in the 10g observation tank?

Here is the timeline so far. 
Mar. 11: Bought red firefish, added to cycled 10g Observation Tank

 

Mar. 13: Notice he is swimming off-kilter, drifting and listing a little bit. Take advice of local reefer and do a 5 min FW dip, I definitely see flukes on his eye and body. 

Mar. 15: 25% WC, followed by first dose of Prazipro to combat flukes. He quickly starts shaking, “coughing”, and gaping his mouth. I assume that was from the remaining flatworms dying. Over the next few days, his swimming and appetite return to normal.

 

Mar. 22: 25% WC to remove Prazipro and do some siphoning.

Mar. 30: Small WC to siphon bottom

April. 1: I had read that it’s not a problem to do a second dose of Prazipro to make sure flukes are gone, so I dose again. No immediate reaction from fish, so I assume that the flukes are now eradicated.

 

April 2: Now is when I noticed that he’s really not interested in food. I do a rotation of Omega One Marine flakes w/ Garlic, and frozen LRS Reef Frenzy Nano, been offering once or twice a day. 
 

So this brings you up to speed a little bit. Let me know if there’s any additional information I can provide!

I am pretty confident he won’t transfer any diseases to the display tank at this point, but I don’t know if he would do better in the display or a continuing observation at this point. 
What are any thoughts you have?

 

[Humblefish]

Unfortunately, I think the timing of your second dose of Prazipro was off. The reason for the second dose is to eradicate the “next generation” of worms before they can lay eggs of their own. Because while Prazi does kill worms, it doesn’t eliminate any eggs they might leave behind.

 

So, you have to time the second dosage just right (with the egg laying) to completely eliminate flukes. This source takes temp & salinity into consideration (which affects the lifecycle), and provides the best window to do the second treatment: http://www.marineparasites.com/paratreatmentcal.html

[Firefish15]

2 hours ago, Humblefish said:

So, you have to time the second dosage just right (with the egg laying) to completely eliminate flukes.

Thanks for the input! An oversight on my part.
Alright, I followed that link you gave me and put in my parameters, says 6-8 days after first dose is when the second one is due. 
Should I treat my second, ill-timed dose as the first dose, and then do a water change and an appropriately timed third dose?

[Humblefish]

On 4/6/2022 at 2:51 PM, Firefish15 said:

Should I treat my second, ill-timed dose as the first dose, and then do a water change and an appropriately timed third dose?

Yes, I would start from scratch with the deworming process.

[Firefish15]

The fish wasn’t looking very good today, still looks thin, but was listing on the bottom too. Still no appetite. Swimming jerkily. 
Just did a 50% WC and dosed the third dose of Prazi, 7 days after the previous one. 
I’m not sure if it’s just the flukes, or if there are other factors at play. 
Let me test the old water I removed to see if there was ammonia. 
 

 

[Humblefish]

10 hours ago, Firefish15 said:

The fish wasn’t looking very good today, still looks thin, but was listing on the bottom too. Still no appetite. Swimming jerkily. 
Just did a 50% WC and dosed the third dose of Prazi, 7 days after the previous one. 
I’m not sure if it’s just the flukes, or if there are other factors at play. 
Let me test the old water I removed to see if there was ammonia. 
 

 

Are you noticing any symptoms (below) of intestinal worms or parasites?

 

White stringy feces, pinched stomach, fish has faded coloration, fish eats voraciously but still seems to be losing weight.

[Firefish15]

His stomach is a little pinched, as well as the upper area just behind the gills. 
Does not seem interested in eating. 
Have not noticed stringy feces, but will keep an eye out. 
Coloration seems normal, but will check again when I get back.