Betta With Paracites...gone!

[danny101]

Hi,

So my betta has been rubbing himself, hes eating and swimming fine ortherwise..

upon closer inspection i can see very small like hairs under some scales, only a few...i think these are the paracites.

i was directed to this forum to wilder, jollysue said you advised someone with a similar situation? they dont look like anchorworm, the paracites are barely visible.(anchorworm is quite visible isnt it?).

thanks

Danny

 

[WILDER]

It does sound like a parasite what colour are the hairs under the scales.

 

[WILDER]

http/www.webdezine.freeserve.co.uk/parasites.htm

 

[danny101]

they are white, not very long, maybe 2mm max. is there any treatments i can do incase it is anchor worm or any other paracitic infection that wont harm the fish?

 

[tttnjfttt]

One good thing about many parasite medicines is the work on a broad number of parasites, not just a selected few. I'm not sure if Clout is avaliable in the UK, but i have use it quite successfully against a few parasites. The down side to clout is it can be harsh on scaleless fish, plants, and invertibrets. I have also used CopperSafe before on parasites, which was more gentle on the fish, but was still effective.

Also, adding aquarium salt can be very useful when fighting parasites.

 

[WILDER]

Been reading upon parasites and them beneath the scales is usually anchor worm.

No12 further down the list.
http/www.aquatics-online.co.uk/listsecti...tp=100&rets=235

Plus it is avery powerful med and will wipe the bacteria colony out.

 

[danny101]

Thanks very much for the detailed and helpful replys.

cheers wilder...and tttnjfttt.

Danny

 

[WILDER]

Good luck.
Also watch out for bacterial infections, as parasites can cause them.

 

[danny101]

I got the anti-crustacean paricite today and administered straight away. how long should i expect to wait until my poor betta is free of the little buggers??

 

[WILDER]

To be honest don't know, how long do you use the med for.

 

[Bloo]

Does it look anything like this photo below ?
If so, have a look at this thread - it may help you.

 

[danny101]

I could never get a photo as clear as that! but yes identical.however my guy has a lot less of them...
because he's a male he's in on his own anyway.
first i introduced more salt to his tank and increased the temp a little. i administered the anti paracite(no12) yesterday and just like yours did bloozoo he looks fine, eating, swimming, flaring.

should i move him to a smaller tank to isolate the paracite incase it is free swimming? ive got a little 2.5gal set up at 77f and with salt.

so did you ever identify the paracite positively?

Thanks

Danny

 

[Bloo]

Hi Danny. Unfortunately it never was identified - not even my very good lfs could identify a much magnified picture with fine detail of these hairy wormy things.

I think I went wrong trying to change the medication on an already weakened fish going through treatment. So whatever you do, take great care if you decide to switch medication. Interestingly enough, that little fish was in a community tank with other bettas and none of them ever got it. But parasites as parasites are, can and will transfer to other hosts. I'm not sure why it didn't happen in my case as I never medicated the tank. I just isolated the affected fish and treated her separately.

Good luck - sounds like you’re doing the right things so far.

 

[danny101]

Thanks, yeah i moved away from salt baths, i just wanted to kill the thing straight away. the 'hair' things are still on him 24hrs later...

should i move him to a smaller tank ans completely gut his 5.7gal? and move him back?

i'll repeat the anti-paracite in 5days or so..i just hope it doesnt get as bad as yours did, but it definately is the same thing.

Thanks Bloozoo

Danny

 

[Bloo]

No, if he's alone in his tank, there is no need to move him - it will only be more stressful. If you can get rid of the parasites on him, it will die off in the water too - as without a host it cannot live. Just make sure that you follow treatment as directed. Hope you have better luck than I did