Lice?

[Mollygirls]

Hi everyone,

I have an issue.. sigh..It would be my husbands issue but seeing as he is gone Icefishing well it looks like I better take care of it!!

My husband has a 120 gallon fish tank housing Oscars.. I went to look at them just a few minutes ago and they have these weird little white things crawling on them and these little buggers are on the gravel as well.. I googled it and it looks like lice.. What can I purchase to get rid of these little nasty critters.. I cant deal well with my kids getting lice forget the fish getting them.. ugh..

Any suggestions on meds would be appreciated..

Thanks..

 

[fatheadminnow]

Are they like white specks like salt?

-FHM

 

[Mollygirls]

Are they like white specks like salt?

-FHM

No my tropical tank has had ich before so I doubt its that.. Plus these little critters are climbing and moving around on the oscars.. Its really gross to see and makes me itchy just thinking about it.. ugh

 

[fatheadminnow]

Oh dear! Not sure what that is, hopefully someone who does know will be on soon! Wilder...lol...

-FHM

 

[WILDER]

The lice parasite will be disc shaped with legs.
Get you some info.

If it turns out to be fish lice and you are located in the uk don't get anti crustaceon med by interpet. It wipes the beneifical bacteria out in the filter.
There a med by waterlife called parazin.
http/www.waterlife.co.uk/waterlife/parazin.htm

Argulus (a.k.a. Fish Lice)



Symptoms:

Infected fish will have flattened, disc-shaped crustaceans measuring between 0.4 and 1.2 cm in diameter. These parasites may be visible anywhere on the body of the fish, including the eyes, gills and fins.



Cause:

The parasitic crustacean Argulus (a.k.a. Fish Lice). Argulus adhere to the flesh by means of sucker-type discs. Once attached, the parasite pierces the flesh using stinger mouthparts and will suck the blood of the fish. Argulus inject a toxin that will kill smaller fish and leaves reddened, inflamed lesions on larger fish. This lesion often becomes infected. The intense irritation brought on by the Argulus parasite causes fish to rub or scrape against objects in the aquarium. Your fish may even try to jump out of the aquarium. Once the parasite has finished feeding it will swim freely in search of a new host and can survive for up to 3 weeks without a host.



Treatment:

Visible Lice should first be killed by dabbing them with Potassium Permanganate or an anti-parasitic medication. Then, they should be carefully removed from the fish using tweezers. It is paramount that you kill the parasite before attempting to remove it from the fish. It will make it easier to remove and less stressful to the fish. It is a good idea to then dab Methylene Blue on the lesions to prevent secondary infections. It is recommended that you feed your fish medicated food to prevent a bacterial infection from occurring. The whole aquarium will need to be treated to kill any unseen, free-swimming juvenile parasites. Fluke Tabs, Clout, Paragon, and Trifon work great.