Worm On Fish Scale

[fionah]

Hello,

Is this a worm on my fish? (sorry I forgot what type of fish this is!)

It started off like a small thread stuck to the side of the fish a few weeks ago. Just over the past few days it has grown, and the scale started sticking out slightly. Otherwise the fish seems quite active and eats normally.

I have a 65 litre tank with external filter.
The water results are zero with 7.4pH.
The temp is approx 25C.
Other fish: honey gouramis, blue dwarf gourami, corydoras, neon tetras, snails, amano shrimp.

Unfortunately I don't have a quarantine tank set up to put the fish in.

Thanks.

 

[Katty]

I don't know what it is other than some sort of parasite, but perhaps a salt bath could dislodge the worm?

 

[fionah]

Hello, thanks. Hopefully someone can identify it as I'd rather find out what it is first before attempting a salt bath.

 

[fionah]

I have also now noticed some little beasties crawling around on the glass just above the water line. They look like little dust mites: clear body and less than 1mm in size, with little legs and what looks like antlers. They do not touch the water.

 

[Katty]

Thats... Odd. Fish tanks get a lot of strange things in them, you may never find out what the little mites are. I had these weird tiny white worms in my tank that I once took into the biology lab at my school, got to look at them under a microscope, the teacher was quite sure they were insect larvae. I have never seen any insects emerge from them though...

Anchor worms come to mind but I don't see the characteristic split tail on the worm, and it looks a little too long. Does the worm have two "tails"?

Is there a reason you want it IDed before trying to remove it?

 

[fionah]

Hi Katty,
I was comparing it to anchor worm pictures and it doesn't look the same. There is no split tail.
I don't have a quarantine tank so the only way I know to remove it would be to kill the fish. Are there any other options?

 

[fishnovice]

A quarantine tank doesn't have to be a "tank". Large plastic tub or crate with heater and filter (or very frequent 90% water changes) is fine - I've even used a clean bucket in emergency
Don;t kill the fish! At least give it a chance but try reposting in Emergencies section before using salt bath

 

[Katty]

Wait, what? Why would you have to kill the fish? Unless it is a very large fish, a salt bath could be in a big tupperware container, a bucket, or a large salad bowl. The fish would only be in the salty water for a few minutes. I have heard of people manually pulling off parasites with tweezers, but I'd hold that off for a "last resort".

Also, I agree on the Emergencies section bit, the people over there typically know their stuff and can help you figure out this thing better than I can.

 

[fionah]

Thanks guys, I have reposted to Emergencies.