What is this in my tetra?

Secondly how to I treat it. Im hoping someone recognises the illness.

I was going to add some treatment for internal parasites. Does this sound ok?

Hospital tank is kinder out of bounds as the little chap has 450l planted of tank to hide in. And a second tetra looks like it has the same thing on its fore head.

Poor thing.
Does the parasite have a forked tail, can' tell in the pic.

I'm not sure. Does not look like it. how ever some of the worm looks like its inside the fish so it could.

The second tetra that has one on its forehead just looks like a little grain or rice at the moment protruding from its head.

I would treat for internal parasites.
Whats your location.
Not sure if you can remove the parasite with tweezers.
Try a salt bath to see if that makes the worm come off the fish body.

what salt do you use to make a salt bath? im not sure if that will work as the parasite looks like is it internat as well as external.

I got some anti paracite meds today and i have added them to the tank so i will see how that goes.

My location is NE england.

Eek, personly id euthanise, thats got to be horrible.

Ok don't need the salt then.
What med are you using if you don't mind me asking.

This post has been edited by Wilder: Mar 14 2008, 07:35 PM

Im using anti Crustacean parasite treatment. Sodium choride is the active ingreadient it it.

the fish pictured had inforunatly died. I tryed to remove the parisite manuly how ever the fish died.

2 other fish in the tank are still exhibiting the syptoms. So im going to get a hospitial tank today and try and remove them away from my angle fish.

I intend to treat the main tank with meds to incase the paracite is cabable of living without a host.

Is it the interpet med as that destroys the benefical bacteria colony in your filter.
The med treats achor worm, gill maggots, leeches.

Yes it is. its the only med that would appear to destroy "higher order" parasites as it says on the box. All other treatments are for microscopic fungus etc.

Other than that im at a loss at what to do to get rid of this infection as 2 other tetras are infected in the tank. Wich i intend to euthanis if i can catch them tonite. To prevent infection.

Since the parasite will in all likelihood also have a larval stage in the water i need to get rid of it.

what else can i do besides remove the infected fish and hope the others natural immune systems stop the infection spreading. I suppose i could do this but what will stop the infection simply advancing through my entire fish stock.
Which i don't want to happen as my angle fish are also in the tank and I'm attached to them.

Cant really afford a tank to move the 3 fully grown angle until this clears up.

http://www.exoticpetvet.net/aqua/parasites.html

Taken from the above link.
Anchor worms are another crustacean parasite, Lernaea. Anchor worms are elongated parasites with two egg sacs at the posterior end. They usually embed in the muscle of the body wall, and often penetrate as far as the internal organs. A raised ulcer usually develops at the point of attachment, and secondary infections often occur at that site. Heavy infestations may cause weight loss and death.

Anchor worms are most often a problem with newly imported fish and in garden ponds in the summer, and don't often occur in aquariums. Males die after mating and have a short life span, and females are usually seen attached to the fish host. The eggs hatch to produce free-living juvenile parasites, which eventually molt to produce the adult stages. The juvenile stages can live without a host for at least five days. As with other crustacean parasites, organophosphate insecticides are used to eliminate the free living juvenile stages. Adult worms should be manually removed with forceps, and the site treated with a suitable antiseptic. Parasites can be removed weekly, until no more adult worms are found.



This post has been edited by Wilder: Mar 15 2008, 08:07 PM