UHHH, WHAT IS THIS!?!?!

FishForums.net Pet of the Month
🐶 POTM Poll is Open! 🦎 Click here to Vote! 🐰

xxEMOxLIZZARDxx

Fish Crazy
Joined
Sep 14, 2014
Messages
217
Reaction score
138
Location
Massachusetts
Photos because legit don't know. It was not there this morning and I just got home from errands and bam! Thing. Fish is swimming normally. No other fish seem affected. Purchased these fish on Friday and nothing was on them.
Water params:
pH: 7.4
Ammonia: 0.0ppm
Nitrites: 0.0ppm
Nitrates: 0.0ppm
Temp: 78F
20230205_152621.jpg


20230205_152633.jpg


20230205_152635.jpg
 
That looks like anchor worms, a parasitic copepod resembling a worm. Hopefully, your new arrivals are in quarantine, because this parasite is not easy to get rid of. I would research what is suggested for anchor worms, or lernea. Then see what you can get where you live.
 
That looks like anchor worms, a parasitic copepod resembling a worm. Hopefully, your new arrivals are in quarantine, because this parasite is not easy to get rid of. I would research what is suggested for anchor worms, or lernea. Then see what you can get where you live.
*insert string of curses* I didn't want to hear parasitic worm. Really did not want to hear that.

How much time do I possibly have before this pretty much destroys my tank?
 
Also, is it safe to just remove the worm from the fish? From what I'm reading it doesn't start releasing eggs until after a bit on the fish. I'm assuming heavily that if I remove the worm, no eggs means no ongoing issue?
 
You can try to remove it. The head is buried under the scales, so it;s a delicate job. The parasite is not common on tropicals - one of those things I've noticed reading but thankfully not seen live.

I would try treating it via a dip, or euthanizing the fish. But since you just got them, you don't know their story.There could have been an exposure for all the ones you bought.
 
I took a look around for treatments for Lerneae. It used to be said there weren't any and manual removal was it. That is difficult and can case infections.

I found this: Dimilin, effective against Lernaea (anchor worm)

I found the below as well.

Treatment of Lernaeasis in Carps With Thunder: An Organophosphate​

Iqbal, Zafar; Rani, Iffat; Pervaiz, Khalid.  Pakistan Journal of Zoology; Lahore Vol. 44, Iss. 2, (Apr 2012).

Abstract.- The carps; Labeo rohita Hamilton, 1822, Catla catla Hamilton, 1822, Ctenopharyngodon idella
Valenciennes, 1844, Hypophthalmichthys molitrix Richardson, 1845 and Aristichthys nobilis Richardson, 1845 were
collected from earthen ponds reared under semi-intensive conditions. The parasitic examination of these fishes showed
that all fish species were infected with crustacean copepod parasite Lernaea cyprinacea and other Lernaea spp. C.
catla, L. rohita and C. idella had higher prevalence (62.5%, 68.75% and 76%, respectively) and mean intensity (12.1,
8.45 and 8.84 parasite/fish, respectively) compared to H. molitrix (9.1% and 3.0 parasite/fish). A locally available drug
“Thunder” an organophosphate (2, 2 dichlorovinyl dimethyl phosphate) was used to treat lernaeasis in these fish
species. Three concentrations (0.10, 0.15 and 0.20ppm) of the Thunder were sprayed on the surface of the infected fish
ponds to eradicate lernaeasis. The 0.20ppm dose proved to be the most effective in controlling the infection, without
harming the fish. The water quality parameters remained in normal range and suitable for the fish after treatment
indicating that ‘Thunder’ has no harmful effects on water quality in fish pond.


Trying to find this stuff isn't so easy. I found this name "Dichlorvos" This stuff looks to be nasty and I am not sure I would want to use it in any of my tanks. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dichlorvos
 
You can try to remove it. The head is buried under the scales, so it;s a delicate job. The parasite is not common on tropicals - one of those things I've noticed reading but thankfully not seen live.

I would try treating it via a dip, or euthanizing the fish. But since you just got them, you don't know their story.There could have been an exposure for all the ones you bought.
I gently removed the parasite last night. The fish seems to be doing just fine and I haven't seen anymore parasites. I'll check again when I get home from work tonight.

I swear I've never had any issues with fish from PetCo and now I'm starting to have issues.
 

Most reactions

trending

Members online

Back
Top