I have a large panther grouper who has a couple of flat worm-like parasites on his eyes. They are like wavy and only attached on one end. Earlier this year I had a Niger trigger who I had for 2 years and he passed after being completely covered by the same parasites, his fins rotted and he passed a while later. I had dipped him and we put copper in the tank and it didn’t get rid of them. Now that my grouper has them, we’ve put 3 rounds of copper in the tank and I’ve fed him metroplex and kanaplex medicated shrimp with garlic guard multiple times but nothing will get rid of them. They got on him after he scratched one of his eyes. Has anyone else seen these? Does anyone know how to get rid of them??? I tried to use Reddit but got no response so hopefully someone here has an answer
Hello 
I think it is "Lernaea cyprinacea" or simplier "anchor worms".
You have to isolate every fish exposed in hospital tank.
You can try to remove parasites by taking the fish out of the water (handled carefully with a wet cloth) with disinfected tweezers. Then, using a Q-tip disinfect anchor point with iodized disinfectant or hydrogene peroxide (H2O2) if possible in gel-form that sticks better to fish.
After that leave fish in hospital tank for at least 2 days to check its behavior before reintroducing it in main tank.
Never remove parasite in main tank water to avoid eggs propagation.
In case of chemical product use, potassium permanganate (KMnO4) works well.
Then, complete disinfection of the aquarium and replacement of the filter. A single egg can restart the infection.
Good luck.
I think it is "Lernaea cyprinacea" or simplier "anchor worms".
You have to isolate every fish exposed in hospital tank.
You can try to remove parasites by taking the fish out of the water (handled carefully with a wet cloth) with disinfected tweezers. Then, using a Q-tip disinfect anchor point with iodized disinfectant or hydrogene peroxide (H2O2) if possible in gel-form that sticks better to fish.
After that leave fish in hospital tank for at least 2 days to check its behavior before reintroducing it in main tank.
Never remove parasite in main tank water to avoid eggs propagation.
In case of chemical product use, potassium permanganate (KMnO4) works well.
Then, complete disinfection of the aquarium and replacement of the filter. A single egg can restart the infection.
Good luck.
Thank you so much, when you say isolate every fish do you mean each in separate tanks?Hello
I think it is "Lernaea cyprinacea" or simplier "anchor worms".
You have to isolate every fish exposed in hospital tank.
You can try to remove parasites by taking the fish out of the water (handled carefully with a wet cloth) with disinfected tweezers. Then, using a Q-tip disinfect anchor point with iodized disinfectant or hydrogene peroxide (H2O2) if possible in gel-form that sticks better to fish.
After that leave fish in hospital tank for at least 2 days to check its behavior before reintroducing it in main tank.
Never remove parasite in main tank water to avoid eggs propagation.
In case of chemical product use, potassium permanganate (KMnO4) works well.
Then, complete disinfection of the aquarium and replacement of the filter. A single egg can restart the infection.
Good luck.
I mean (sorry english isn't my first language) each single infected fish in in only one hospital tank.
I know it's a little alarmist but believe me, anchorworms are sh*t hard to get rid of !
Thank you so much again, now i know what happened to my Niger months ago i appreciate it a lot since no one at my local fish stores knew what they were. I’m going to do exactly that thank you so much!
I have no idea what you are talking about. Either post better pictures and circle the thing or do something so we can see what you mean.
Metronidazole and Kanamycin are anti-biotics that should only be used to treat know bacterial infections that have not responded to normal treatments. Improper use of anti-biotics has lead to drug resistant bacteria that kill people, birds, animals, reptiles and fish.
If the fish doesn't have a bacterial infection, why give it anti-biotics.
It's not anchorworm because the fish is in seawater not freshwater, and anchorworm don't live in salt water.
If the fish have a parasitic worm, then a deworming medication might help. A freshwater bath might help remove parasites from the outside of the fish but you will need to treat the tank to get rid of them from there.
Copper should kill most invertebrates in an aquarium. Maybe the medication was expired or you underdosed.
Metronidazole and Kanamycin are anti-biotics that should only be used to treat know bacterial infections that have not responded to normal treatments. Improper use of anti-biotics has lead to drug resistant bacteria that kill people, birds, animals, reptiles and fish.
If the fish doesn't have a bacterial infection, why give it anti-biotics.
It's not anchorworm because the fish is in seawater not freshwater, and anchorworm don't live in salt water.
If the fish have a parasitic worm, then a deworming medication might help. A freshwater bath might help remove parasites from the outside of the fish but you will need to treat the tank to get rid of them from there.
Copper should kill most invertebrates in an aquarium. Maybe the medication was expired or you underdosed.
Okay thanks! The copper was straight from my local fish store and i used the exact amount then a couple days later i dosed more and it didnt do anything. The small white circular thing on my groupers forehead and on his eyes are what im talking about its very hard to get a picture because he moves so much.
There are anchor worms in salted water. Reef forums atlk about it :
www.reef2reef.com
Help identify please
Hi i am posting these pictures from a fb club. I saw this once back in 1989-90 but never again. Can someone identify and if possible give treatment info. I have not seen these fish in person but my understanding is that this has been going on for at least 1 month possibly longer.
www.reef2reef.com
Hello! I think I solved the issue. I bought a bottle of microbe-lift for lice and anchor worms, it seems to have gotten rid of the visible ones on my grouper. Not sure if it got rid of all of them but he looks much better after a dose of this medicine. Thank yall so much again for helping me figure this out!!!
That isn't anchorworm. It looks like epistlis but that is a freshwater parasite too. However, it could be something similar to epistylis.There are anchor worms in salted water. Reef forums atlk about it :
Help identify please
Hi i am posting these pictures from a fb club. I saw this once back in 1989-90 but never again. Can someone identify and if possible give treatment info. I have not seen these fish in person but my understanding is that this has been going on for at least 1 month possibly longer.
---------------------
For the OP, good to hear the medication seems to have helped
Similar threads
Most reactions
-
240 -
210 -
201 -
173 -
169 -
155 -
144 -
131 -
103 -
100 -
97 -
90 -
89 -
83 -
77