Plec Problems

Hi, hope somebody can help. I recently upgraded my tank so now I have two tanks.

All of the levels are ok in the tank - the issue I have is what a group of guppies brought to the party.

I have a few books and they conflict in the description.

My plec couple had two sets of fry, the first now 25-30mm - the second lot have gone the journey.

I have attached a pic of one plecs - a pinky as you can see the critter better, I am about half way through medication for Gill and Body Flukes (Waterlife Sterazin) I have also purchased their Parazin Treatment which is for lice and anchor worm.

What I really need is confirmation of what the critter is as I am losing one per day!

Please help.

Gross.
Has teh parasite come out of the anus.
Does it have a forked tail.
Can you describe it in more detail.

could it be an anchor worm? (or is that coldwater only? i cant remeber)

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Anchor worm has a forked tail.

Hi, as far as I can tell it hasn't come from it's anus.

it does have a forked tail and was definitely from the either the Guppies of the water that they came in.

I have attached again in more detail.


Also I do apologise if the pic makes you gip - queezy!!

its anchor worm.
I would treat the tank.

Symptoms:

Infected fish can be seen with whitish red worm-like threads, about ¼ inch long. Trailing at the rear of female parasites are two long, tube-like egg sacs. The parasites can be found anywhere on the body of the fish, including the eyes, gills and fins. Raised ulcers may appear at the site of attachment. Consequently, secondary bacterial infections may occur. The tale-tale sign that your fish is infected will be if you notice it rubbing or scraping against objects in the aquarium. It does this in an effort to remove the parasite.



Cause:

The parasitic crustacean Lernaea. Lernaea burrow into the muscle and gill tissue of fish, often times reaching as deeply as the internal organs, causing severe damage. Heavy infestations can cause significant weight loss and death.



Treatment:

You should kill all visible worms by dabbing them with a cotton swab, dipped in Potassium Permanganate or an anti-parasitic medication. Then you should carefully remove them from the fish with tweezers. You should kill the parasites before removing them because if they have burrowed deeply, removing them alive could cause the fish pain and significant physical damage. Once you’ve removed the parasite, you should then dab the wounds with Methylene Blue to prevent secondary bacterial infections from occurring. It is highly recommended that you feed the fish with medicated food. The tank will also need to be treated to kill any unseen, free-swimming juvenile parasites. You can use Fluke Tabs, Clout, Paragon or Trifon for this.




A picture of anchor worm.

Wilder said:

Anchor worm has a forked tail.

Click to expand...

Hi, if it is anchor worm I will need to swap my medication - currently Sterazin, but on the Parazin tub it states Anchor worm.

But also says leave 48 hours between meds, problem there is it more risky to swap or leave - i am losing 1-2 per day down to 15 little ones.

Thanks for the diag. as to touching up the worms would this be too risky with them being so small?

You will need to treat the tank with a med that kills anchor worm.
Tells you in the link how to remove the adult parasite.
I know you have to be careful using Potassium Permanganate, don't know much about the med.
Also make sure in the meds instructions that the med dosn't wipe all the beneifcal bacteria out in the filter as some do like anti crustaceon med by interpet.

With fry think you have to add less than half dose of the med.

Do a water change and run some black carbon to get the other waterlife med out.
Then add the parazin, I would only half dose for now to see how the fry handle it.
Though the med will kill them or the parasite.


Parazin - Parasiticide
Fish lice (Argulus), anchor worm (Lernea), gill maggots (Ergasilus) are just some of the horrific parasites/predators, which can attack fish and are almost invisible to the naked eye. New Parazin destroys these and other insect and crustacean parasites/predators found in aquaria. This is a unique and revolutionary product that usually only requires one dose per infestation. For use in tropical freshwater and coldwater aquaria.

Features:

Destroys insect and
Crustacean predators/parasites
A single dose is all that is usually required
"Easy to use" tablet form
Parazin's ingredients are exclusive to Waterlife and will not be found in competitor products.
Parazin is safe with fish, plants and filtration. Before use: Read instructions carefully. Switch off u.v. sterilisers and remove carbon and/or ammonia removers. Replace after 10 days.

Available in the following size (treatment volumes in parenthesis)
20 tablets (450 litres)

Always check water quality parameters before attempting disease diagnosis.
N.B. Do not use simultaneously with other disease treatments

YIKES...that is really gross and doesnt look very comfortable to the fish

Cheers again, just checked instrucs - remove carbon but bacteria will be ok.

I am getting quite desparate so I am thinking of doing a partial and adding the Parazin - it states 48 hours between swapping meds and the last dose was 8am yesterday............................

You need to get the other med out of the tank.
Do a 50% water change and just add some black carbon for a few hours and add the med.
Use new black carbon to remove the med as black carbon only works for 2 to 6 days.

Will do, on it now.

Good Luck.

Hi, done my water and the carbon is in....................

Meds later tonight. Will keep you posted and thanks again.

Paul.