AquaJen
New Member
This is a lengthy post, but could be very helpful.
I have posted on a few different boards about my bettas. I had one female named Crystal, she had developed black spots, and was having a hard time lifting her back end.
She died yesterday
, and today I found out what has been going on with my tank.
Here's is a link to my post about Crystal:
http
/www.fishinthe.net/html/forum/viewto...ighlight=#21932
This seemed important, so I just wanted to share this with everyone. This is what was wrong with her:
The cause of her behavior was Digenetic Flukes (Metacercaria).
I found this on a web site:
Question #10: How do I get rid of an infection of black spots on fishes?
Answer: The medication of choice is Kordon's Trifon, containing trichlorfon. Many kinds of fishes may be found to have tiny black spots the size of a pinhead up to 1 mm in diameter on various parts of their body, such as in their skin on the head and body, inside their mouth, on their gill arches, and on their fins. The black spots are caused by the adult cercaria life stage of parasitic flukes, which are digenetic trematode worms, occurring when the mature female penetrates the skin of the host fish and lays or secretes thin flexible egg sacs called cysts. These cysts become surrounded by the fish's skin tissue. The black spots are caused by the development of the metacercaria life stage of the flukes in the cysts which accumulate black pigment cells (melanophores) around them. The metacercaria hatch out into free-swimming young. In those trematodes with the simplest life history, the young mature, the sexes copulate, and the female lays her eggs in the fish's skin. In most of the marine aquarium fishes with black spot disease, there has to be an intermediary host, such as a particular species of mollusk. Most cases of marine aquarium fishes having black spot disease have been wild caught within the previous month or two and are bringing the infection into the aquarium. Crowded aquarium conditions with resultant stress in the fishes aid in the transmission of the parasite.
On another web site, it explains it a little bit different.
Typically seen in newly imported fish and in two forms. Black spot is caught from snails that release the Cercaria. Larval forms penetrate the skin and encyst in the tissue and may be seen as red or black nodules. If eaten by a Bird for instance they then develop into adults. Sanguinicola disease passes from fish to snail and then back as minute worms that live in the fishes bloodstream. There they lay eggs that block up the blood vessels which in turn causes Necrosis. As far as I know there is still no cure for this problem.
This can be cantagious. I did find some medication to try, even after the first web site said there is no cure available.
Peppermint (her sister) is showing behaviour similar to how Crytals was.
Be careful of snails everyone. I think my problems with my fish started because my bettas, love to eat snails.
Jen
I have posted on a few different boards about my bettas. I had one female named Crystal, she had developed black spots, and was having a hard time lifting her back end.
She died yesterday
, and today I found out what has been going on with my tank. Here's is a link to my post about Crystal:
http
/www.fishinthe.net/html/forum/viewto...ighlight=#21932 This seemed important, so I just wanted to share this with everyone. This is what was wrong with her:
The cause of her behavior was Digenetic Flukes (Metacercaria).
I found this on a web site:
Question #10: How do I get rid of an infection of black spots on fishes?
Answer: The medication of choice is Kordon's Trifon, containing trichlorfon. Many kinds of fishes may be found to have tiny black spots the size of a pinhead up to 1 mm in diameter on various parts of their body, such as in their skin on the head and body, inside their mouth, on their gill arches, and on their fins. The black spots are caused by the adult cercaria life stage of parasitic flukes, which are digenetic trematode worms, occurring when the mature female penetrates the skin of the host fish and lays or secretes thin flexible egg sacs called cysts. These cysts become surrounded by the fish's skin tissue. The black spots are caused by the development of the metacercaria life stage of the flukes in the cysts which accumulate black pigment cells (melanophores) around them. The metacercaria hatch out into free-swimming young. In those trematodes with the simplest life history, the young mature, the sexes copulate, and the female lays her eggs in the fish's skin. In most of the marine aquarium fishes with black spot disease, there has to be an intermediary host, such as a particular species of mollusk. Most cases of marine aquarium fishes having black spot disease have been wild caught within the previous month or two and are bringing the infection into the aquarium. Crowded aquarium conditions with resultant stress in the fishes aid in the transmission of the parasite.
On another web site, it explains it a little bit different.
Typically seen in newly imported fish and in two forms. Black spot is caught from snails that release the Cercaria. Larval forms penetrate the skin and encyst in the tissue and may be seen as red or black nodules. If eaten by a Bird for instance they then develop into adults. Sanguinicola disease passes from fish to snail and then back as minute worms that live in the fishes bloodstream. There they lay eggs that block up the blood vessels which in turn causes Necrosis. As far as I know there is still no cure for this problem.
This can be cantagious. I did find some medication to try, even after the first web site said there is no cure available.
Peppermint (her sister) is showing behaviour similar to how Crytals was.
Be careful of snails everyone. I think my problems with my fish started because my bettas, love to eat snails.
Jen
B) 
