Unknown Parasite

Australiannatives

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I have a Queensland (Australian) native biotope aquarium, and while observing my purple spotted gudgeons I noticed that one of them had something in it's eye. After a closer look, I realised that it's right eye ball is harbouring approximately ten tiny white worms all finer than a human hair, a couple of millimetres long and wriggling frantically. The host fish is beautifully coloured and displays absolutely no visible signs of stress at all. It's fins are held proudly, it holds it's own in the tank pecking order, is of solid build and eats greedily. I have been aware of the condition for a week now and it has shown no other signs of sickness. I have never seen anything like it! Does anyone have any clue as to what this could be?
 
Yes, I have tried googling parasites with little success. Can anyone suggest a good all round wormer for fish that will not harm crayfish and shrimp? I don't know if it is a larval stage of something more sinister or simply a case of worms. I may as well try to kill it with a wormer I guess.
 
It might be eye flukes.
Are the worms behind the lens of the eye.
Do the worms have a forked tail. Hair like worms can also be anchor worm.


Eye Flukes (a.k.a. Eye Cloud)



Symptoms:

Fish with this condition will have white specks inside the lens of the eye. This can lead to further damage, ranging from cloudiness of the eye to rupturing of the lens and blindness. In severe cases the eye may actually be pushed out and removed from the socket, leaving the fish eyeless.



Cause:

The larval stage of digenetic fluke parasites, such as Clinostomum, Posthodiplostomum and Diplostomum spathaceum. The parasite lodges in the lens, humour or retina of the fish’s eye. If present in large numbers, severe damage can occur. Minor infestations may go unnoticed. The life cycle of these flukes begins when fish-eating birds and other animals ingest fish infected with the parasites. Once ingested the parasites mature in the intestines of the host animal where they produce eggs. The eggs are then deposited into the water where they hatch and infect the livers of aquatic Snails. The parasites then develop into a second and third larval form before leaving the Snail to seek out a fish host. This type of parasitic infestation is most common in wild-caught fish and fish kept in ponds.



Treatment:

Treatment with Copper or Organophosphorous antiparasitic remedies have proven most beneficial. Prevention, however, works best. This entails avoiding any obviously infected fish, discouraging fish-eating birds from visitng your pond, and remving any snails from the aquarium or pond to end the cycle of infection (so as to interrupt the life cycle of the parasite).
 
Thanks wilder!
I had totally disregarded eye flukes.
All fish in the aquarium were wild caught which explains a lot.
Thanks again!
 

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