Parasites?

[fish_face]

Hi guys,

One of my dwarf neon blue gouramis is behaving a bit strangely. He is hanging around at the bottom of the tank most of the time and looks a bit gaunt! I did see a tiny white worm in my tak a while ago, could this be a parasite? He also seems to be doing..well..er.. alot of fish doo doo

 

[sylvia]

That does sound like an internal parasite - don't know about the worm thing you saw though

 

[fish_face]

Is there any medicine I can give him and do I have to isolate him to do so?

 

[sylvia]

I can't give a specific brand name but your LFS should have medications for internal parasites. Well actualy, I see you are from the UK - I think there are no medications in the UK for internal parasites You should probably isolate him and keep the water as clean as possible. Adding a little salt might help and you can try something that works for any parasite (not just internal) though I don't know if there are any of those at your LFS either. Isolating him would be best considering that there is no medication available but he may have to stay there for quite a while. You may be able to order the medication but it would take some time to get there so isolate meanwhile. I've also heard of people using worming tablets for internal parasites - the kind used for other pets - but I've never tried it and don't know any details. A google search may help.

 

[lucky62]

The worm is most likely planeria , and harmless .Usually a sign of over feeding .

Do some partial water changes on a daily basis for a few days , see if it peps up .

You normally wouldn't actually see intestinal parasites , some can be tough to cure , like calamanus nematodes [ spelling ] these you can see hanging from the fishes anus and would most likley be a reddish color .


Try posting in trop fish emergencies , and check pinned articles .

 

[BlueIce]

Is his poop white and stringy?

If it is then it's internal parasites and this is the cure

http/www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod...4+113017+113565

 

[fish_face]

I just purchased some internal parasite stuff from my lfs, who suggested I treat the whole tank. I'm a bit worried that it will affect my water though

 

[fish_face]

.....and his poop is white and stringy

 

[sylvia]

You could move any fish with white and stringy poop to an isolation tank and only treat those.

 

[fish_face]

He is the only one affected (seemingly), but I thought I should treat the whole tank in case other fish were affected, but not showing symptoms yet. The medication that I have started using is a 10 day course to kill of internal parasites at all stages of the life cycle. Hope it works! He still looks bad today, but hopefully i'll save any other affected fish who are not so ill.

 

[sylvia]

Well good luck and I hope he recovers!

 

[fish_face]

Oh dear, I found him laying rather helplessly on his side last night and we have to euthanise him, sniff sniff I'm going to finish the course of medication, but so far, no other fish are showing symptoms

 

[sylvia]

Oh well that's too bad Dwarf gouramies are rather fragile little fish. I'm very sorry for your loss...