Urgent! What In The World Did I Just See

[MCatLvr2A&X]

I bought some ghost shrimp a few weeks back. At the time I noticed one of the largest had a white rope like object running thru its insides. Having never delt with ghost shrimp before I thought it was neat and didnt think much more about it. But with in the past few days 5-6 of them have died. I expected losses and havnt thought much about it till just a few minutes ago when I went to do a head count and give there nightly small feed.

One of the smaller shrimp that didnt have a white rope previously had developed one and it looked like it was pooping out the white string that I saw. the longer I watched I noticed that it was moving and actually lifting the little shrimp up in the water. I ran to get the dip net and a bowl to put the shrimp in but by the time I got back there "worm" was almost out and as I watched it pulled free and burried itself in the gravel at the bottom of the tank. Other than a complete tank change what should I do? What was this "worm"? HELP!!!! I am also dealing with my male beta who has ICK

Please any thoughts what do I do?

I just went back and the "worm" was up top and one of the other shrimp was eating on it so I immediatly got it out of the tank. It is definatly alive but I have no idea what kind of worm it is or if it may have colonized the tank. Ugggh never thought I would see something so icky.

 

[ICEEGRL]

At the very least you need to remove the "pets" and clean the gravel. I would. Just incase there are more. It may take away some of the beneficial bacteria, but I would think that the worm will do more harm than that would. You really need an emergency tank so you would have somewhere to move them to. Good luck.

 

[MCatLvr2A&X]

Thank you so much for the links Amerce. The shrimp is still alive that passed the worm I hope it didnt lay any eggs in my tank I will just have to keep a sharp eye out. And remove any shrimp that get the parasite back.

Only one of the shrimp had the worm in there when I bought them. That shrimp no longer has the worm. This other shrimp didnt have a worm but it developed fast. So I guess that means that hidding in the gravel somewere is a worm producing eggs. All my shrimp are probably infected now I sure hope that isnt the case. Time will tell.

 

[Yetti]

Yeah, I had the same thing happen to me. The worm is a tapeworm, they won't kill their host, because if the host dies they die. They do not lay eggs in the gravel, they lay eggs in the host, and the host just passes them by along with waste. If you treat for internal parasites, then I'm sure they will cease to develop. Also, wash your hands after even touching the aquarium water, tapeworms reproduce quickly, and their eggs/ larvae can survive in harsh conditions.

 

[MCatLvr2A&X]

Eww Ewww Ewww OMG I so hope no water splashed in my mouth while I was changing the bowl. I scalded everthing with super hot water and put things back together. The really bad news is out of 16 ghost shrimp I only have 5 left I am not sure what is going on there. I sure hope my poor betta dosnt get infested.

On a side note I took the worm out and put it in a bowl with a lid in water because I wanted to show it to my husband. The thing is still ALIVE. now I am curious to see how long it lives. Gross I know but I am weird that way.

What would be the best medication to use to treat the ones that are left?