Oh good grief - why can't we delete our posts. Seems like a basic function that most forums have. Sorry about that!

My poor fishie died and I believe it may have been high nitrates as they were in their winter basement tank -actually nitrate may not have been really terribly high, but they could have been sensitized to nitrate by a bad summer we had a couple years ago before the pond got established. All the other fish are OK including some we've had a lot longer so I really don't know. Flukes may or may not have been an issue- I'm not sure how I would tell?

If someone would like to advise re: using praziquantel as a preventative I would be interested - is it really as harmless as they say? Anyone have any negative experience with it?

It's really as harmless as they say. I've accidentally double dosed in my pond w/ no ill effects. High nitrates wouldn't kill your fish but high niTRITES would.

Well, I thought nitrate because I got new test strips and tested after some substantial water changes and it was still about 20-30 ppm, which means it was most likely higher. And poor Redtop had died in the C- shape, like the pictures ... although apparently other things can cause that. His gills were pale pink which Ive read indicates parasites.

A few days ago I went downstairs (still in their winter tank) and ALL the fish were flapping their gills so I quick did a major water change and dosed them with the prazi I had bought but had not gotten around to treating them.

The next morning - they were all looking so much better - even their color looked better, fins upright, swimming happily around together. Isn't it funny how in tune with fishes' body language you can get. My plan is to get them into the pond when the 7 day treatment is up.

And re-think the winter tank situation.

You should have some nitrates - 20-30ppm is normal. That's the final stage of the cycling of a tank...it's what eats the nitrites.

If they have improved w/ Prazi, I would personally do a good water change and redose at full strength on day 5.

Gill flukes are VERY hard to get rid of. You don't want to take a chance that you've missed them.

I would water change...dose on day 5 and then return them to the pond 5-7 days later.

Thanks - I still need to clean the muck out of the pond so that would give me a little extra time.

Is there any danger there could be eggs still in the pond though? In which case maybe Id want to dose the entire pond with the fish in it (even though obviously it would be more expensive). Some places Ive read the eggs survive 7 months, other places say if the eggs hatch and theres no host they die off. They were moved indoors in November I think.

If all fish and frogs are out of the pond, I would dose it with potassium permanganate. That will kill everything and clean it.

If you have a lot of muck, etc...you will fight a losing battle trying to kill them off with Prazi.

Actually, my pond is small enough (8 feet diameter) that I can do a pretty thorough job vacuuming/cleaning out muck each spring - but I like to keep my string algae attached to the sides though. Wouldn't want to lose that and have to start over from pea soup! Does the PP kill bacteria/plants? Thanks Ademink !

I found out that PP does in fact kill bacteria and plants. It may come to that, but for now - I'll clean out the pond, vacuum the bottom (no rocks or gravel), air dry. Then fill 1/2 way and give the next treatment out there - should be more manageable/ economical in 400 gallons instead of 800. And then maybe a third later on in fall when the pond is full. Gosh its just so great to see them looking so much healthier and happier - why didn't I do this sooner!