Observations On Worms

[dwarfgourami]

I've been thinking about worms for quite some time now, as I feel fairly sure my livebearers brought some with them and one guppy is presently in the hospital with what I think are worm-related problems. Yet the symptoms are slightly different from the ones in my book, so I thought I'd just set them out. Any comments much appreciated. Presumably there are quite a few different types of worms they could get, so you would expect different symptoms? Anyone recognise these:

-there are no red worms sticking out of anus

-anus is not red, but the vent appears white and swollen (probably due to size of poo, like piles in constipated humans)

- the most notable symptom is thick dark poo, in a long segmented transparent bag (like one of those sailors bags with string tied round it in intervals); this is extremely difficult to pass due to sheer size/thickness; some white stringy poo sometimes follows this, but not always

- extreme emaciation is not apparent, at least not at first

- appetite remains good

- the only time when fish appears in distress is when passing faeces, but this can take hours and hours (yes, I do feed peas); otherwise she happily explores the tank

- her spine is now slightly deformed, but her swimming is fine except when trying to pass something

- it is not a fast killer, my female guppy has had these symptoms for months and is still not dying; the other fish died of secondary infections, so it clearly weakens the fish

- it seems to cause problems with pregnancy= abortion, but not totally, I saw her abort but have found one live fry in the tank since; my platy who presumably had the same did give birth to a healthy batch which is still thriving

- it seems to be possible to recover, one of my female guppies has shown no symptoms for several months, and is now acting like a healthy fish, if rather thin

Any thoughts?

 

[Ddraig Goch]

Could it be an internal bacterial infection?

 

[guppymonkey]

Have you tried any of the antiparasite foods they have? Those are pretty effective for the most part. Any of the meds that you just dump into the tank aren't going to have much effect on internal parasites.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Hmm, i don't think your fish have worms- do their symtoms more match up to this over time;

Physical Signs; wasting away, shrunken stomachs, occasionally skin infections, spinal curvature deformity in advanced cases.

Behavioral Signs; anorexia/refusal to eat, lethargy, hiding behavior, "hanging", clamped fins, loss of appetite, general constitutional signs.

Yes?

 

[dwarfgourami]

Hmm, i don't think your fish have worms- do their symtoms more match up to this over time;

Physical Signs; wasting away, shrunken stomachs, occasionally skin infections, spinal curvature deformity in advanced cases.

Behavioral Signs; anorexia/refusal to eat, lethargy, hiding behavior, "hanging", clamped fins, loss of appetite, general constitutional signs.

Yes?

No.

I've listed the signs above. They eat happily when not passing painful stools, the present case is not emaciated, she is not lethargic, seems happy in herself apart from the bent spine and the bits coming out of her vent. These do include very long white stringy poo, I just mentioned that this is not the only thing their poo does. The problem is clearly in the gut/stomach rather than a general infection. The thick poo looks really odd,,as if encased in a segmented bag, and WAY too thick. No sign of skin infections. The symptoms sound more like Capillaria worms (as described in Tropical Fishlopedia)- except that she is not a cichlid.

I have given medicated food.

Have you tried any of the antiparasite foods they have? Those are pretty effective for the most part. Any of the meds that you just dump into the tank aren't going to have much effect on internal parasites.

I have given her food soaked in TetraGeneralTonic, which my lfs keeper (experienced) says has worked for him. Can you recommend a better brand?

Could it be an internal bacterial infection?

Could be, but there is the question of her odd-looking faeces, which do include white stringy stuff (a bit like dental floss) though more often like thick dark stuff in bag. The other factor is that it is clearly very slow-acting, she has been like this for months.

 

[dwarfgourami]

Just fed her and no- anorexic is definitely not the word. She gobbled two large flakes in under 10 secs, if I'd stuck to the 2 minute feeding rule she'd have had half the jar (I think 2 flakes is quite sufficient for a guppy's breakfast). She looks fine apart from her poo and the bent body.