Is My Fish Sick?

[Blade510]

Hi. recently i have noticed that my Oscar cichlid has thin, worm like things crawling along its body, mainly on the head area. they are very small and i have noticed them disappear into the fish's sensory pits. at first i thought hole in the head, but as there are no visible sores, i started to think otherwise. i hope someone can tell me what this is, if it is a problem, and how to treat it. i feel that i should mention that they are only present on the oscar, and not on any of my other fish. i have also seen them floating in the water. please help..

thank you-
-Blade

 

[Blade510]

also as a note, from a behavioral standpoint, Oscar (yes i know, its so origional) is acting sluggishly, his appetite has decreased, and he spends most of his time laying on the ground. he usually sits on the ground, but not this often. he also usually eats about half of the food i put into the tank to feed them, but lately he has been eating one to two pellets before returning to the bottom.

 

[WILDER]

Any pitting in the head region.
Are the worms white in colour.
There definately worms and not disc shaped with legs.
Do any of the worms have y shaped tails.
Also any red pierce marks on the fish or red sores on the body of the fish.

What are your water stats in ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and ph.

 

[Blade510]

Any pitting in the head region.
Are the worms white in colour.
There definately worms and not disc shaped with legs.
Do any of the worms have y shaped tails.
Also any red pierce marks on the fish or red sores on the body of the fish.

What are your water stats in ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and ph.

no obvious pitting other than the sensory pits. from what i can tell they are worms. they are very small and thin, and do not appear to have "y-shaped" tails. as for pierce marks or sores, no.
test results: pH: 6.0 that surprised me, it was 7.2 two days ago. Nitrite: 0
the ammonia was very high. that also surprised me. im going to put some ammo lock in right away.

 

[WILDER]

It could be these if you have a high ammonia reading.
Get you a link.

http/www.aquarticles.com/articles/management/Ali_Planaria_Worms.html

 

[Blade510]

that seems to be accurate, thanks a lot

 

[WILDER]

Good gravel vac and water changes to remove them.
They can attack the gill area.

 

[Blade510]

already on it. ill be doing a daily gravel cleaning and partial water change till they go away