Is This A Parasite Or A Fungus?

This is a Swordie in my daughters tank. I also have a guppy in a different tank that has the same thing, though in a different place. It looks like a string, it is attached, but it floats along with the fish. None of them seem bothered, eating fine etc. I have gone ahead and started a fungus treatment, but if anybody has any idea on what it is, and how I should treat it I would appreciate it.

WendyinWichita said:

This is a Swordie in my daughters tank. I also have a guppy in a different tank that has the same thing, though in a different place. It looks like a string, it is attached, but it floats along with the fish. None of them seem bothered, eating fine etc. I have gone ahead and started a fungus treatment, but if anybody has any idea on what it is, and how I should treat it I would appreciate it.

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They are anchorworms; a parasite often found in streams and ponds. Rather rare in aquariums though. I would stop the use of the fungus treatment immediately. Use Aquazole, Clout or Fluke-tabs instead. Other anti-parasite medication may work as well. Be warned, however; anchorworms take quite a while to get rid of.

Oh boy. Now another question -is the entire tank infested, or can I isolate the affected fish and treat them (or euthanize). If the entire tank is infested, euthanizing won't gain me anything. But if it is just the individual fish, it might be worth it to save all of the rest. How does it spread?

It look like anchor worm to me as well as it looks like a forked tail at the end of the stringy thing.

Not the writer of this information below.
Anchor Worm (see photos) worms appear as 1/4 to 3/8 inch piece of string that has a forked tail. Anchor worms that grow large are easily detectable and cause considerable distress to the fish. In most cases, the parasite is introduced into the aquarium from live foods. Anchor worms will bore through the skin of the fish, creating ulcerations or blood spots on the fish's body. (Don't confuse this ulceration with those caused by bacterial diseases). You will want to treat for this immediately it is contagious! Symptoms: Clear to white, green or brown-red string-like worms, with forked tails are visible on the skin, head or mouth of the fish. Open sores may also appear on the fish's skin with the worms(parasites) protruding from the sore. Treatments: If you can see the parasites you can kill them with Dimilin. It is a gyrase inhibitor that is added directly into the water. It is non-toxic to the fish. It will clear the parasites within 3 to 4 days. Visit your local petstore and purchase some medication that states it treats anchor worms and follow directions accurately! Another method is to take a pair of tweezers and carefully remove the worm. (back to top)


Not the writer of this information.
Anchor Worm (a.k.a. Lernaea)



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.

Thank you for the tips. I also did a search in the archives and had quite a lot of good reading last night. Today I bought Dimilin and treated the two tanks that are affected. Unfortunately, I move fish from tank to tank and can't be sure my main planted tank is pest free. I will keep an eye on the fish and make sure there isn't any rubbing going on. So far all is clear.

The bottle did not say if Dimilin is safe for shrimp. I have a bad feeling that it is not, does anybody have any experience with that? My main planted tank (not being treated at this time) has 5 Amano shrimp and I would hate to lose them. I don't think I would be able to locate them to move them because of the densness of the plants.

You could email the company and ask, but same as you i doubt the med will be good for them, good luck.

Besides treating (and no, I don't believe it's safe for shrimp), pull the anchor worm off the fish carefuly. It's a little stressful for the fish and you may not like the thought of doing it much but it will help somewhat.

I did pull the "worm" off of the fish. As it turns out, I had a Gourami with a worm attached to a fin as well. Not as easy to do as a person might think! In the tank, the worm is easy to see, but with the fish out of the water, the worm literally disappears! (especially when my near vision isn't as good as it used to be!) I solved the problem by netting the fish and using jewelers forceps geting the worm off while the fish is still in the water. The place where I got the Dimilin is a huge outdoor Koi place and they recommended not pulling the worm. The instructions on the bottle also said not to pull the worms. Common sense tells me to pull the worm because that is an egg sack, if I pull it, I will have less to kill in the tank. I have segregated the two fish with the female worms on them and they are in a hospital tank I assume there is a wound where the worm was pulled off. So they are getting Dimilin in the hospital tank, as well as a bit of antibiotic and Melafix. They are doing quite well.

I am a bit concerned about the length of time treatment will take, I had to pull the carbon from the filters, (left the foam media in place). It is a 14 day treatment, then a second 14 day round, with NO water change. My tanks are used to 20% at least water change weekly. I need to keep the meds in the tank to kill the pupa or whatever it is, but I am concerned about ammonia and Nitrites. Nitrates won't be a problem because the tank is planted. I guess if the fish appear stressed, I will do a water change regardless of the med, then dose it again.

WendyinWichita said:

I did pull the "worm" off of the fish. As it turns out, I had a Gourami with a worm attached to a fin as well. Not as easy to do as a person might think! In the tank, the worm is easy to see, but with the fish out of the water, the worm literally disappears! (especially when my near vision isn't as good as it used to be!) I solved the problem by netting the fish and using jewelers forceps geting the worm off while the fish is still in the water. The place where I got the Dimilin is a huge outdoor Koi place and they recommended not pulling the worm. The instructions on the bottle also said not to pull the worms. Common sense tells me to pull the worm because that is an egg sack, if I pull it, I will have less to kill in the tank. I have segregated the two fish with the female worms on them and they are in a hospital tank I assume there is a wound where the worm was pulled off. So they are getting Dimilin in the hospital tank, as well as a bit of antibiotic and Melafix. They are doing quite well.

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Actually, you shouldn't pull the worms off from the fish is because it leaves a wound. This only invites bacterial/fungal infection. Unfortunately, addition of antibiotics may kill your bio-filter. Besides, sometimes, the small piece of the worm still embedded in the fish will grow back! BTW, if you're going to add antibiotics, you need to add proper dose. A 'bit' isn't going to help fish.

I am a bit concerned about the length of time treatment will take, I had to pull the carbon from the filters, (left the foam media in place). It is a 14 day treatment, then a second 14 day round, with NO water change. My tanks are used to 20% at least water change weekly. I need to keep the meds in the tank to kill the pupa or whatever it is, but I am concerned about ammonia and Nitrites. Nitrates won't be a problem because the tank is planted. I guess if the fish appear stressed, I will do a water change regardless of the med, then dose it again.

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Actually, the plants prefer ammonia over nitrIte, and nitrIte over nitrAte. Depending on the type of plants and how densely the aquarium is planted, it may not even matter. But you may be able to speed up the process by increasing the temperature. Increase in temperature speeds up the metabolic rate of the parasite (and fish). So they reproduce and die quicker.

Well, I took the advice of the first people who had replied to my plea. The above posts also indicate that the affected fish had been isolated in a hospital tank, because I knew the antibiotics would kill off the bacteria in the filter and I don't want to have to re-cycle.

I also isolated the affected fish because of the wounds created by pulling off the worms. The hospital tank is much cleaner (with no substrate). The wounds have healed very nicely.

There are no plants in the hospital tank, no substrate and only coarse floss in the HOB filter, that is why I am asking about water changes.

The medication for Anchor worms says to do no water changes during the 30 day treatment cycle. My tanks are used to 20% weekly.

As far as the antibiotic, I could not get my hands on "fish TCN" so rather than not treat at all, chose to use what I had on hand. I suppose you can liken that to choosing to have cancer treatment for a normally fatal type of cancer. I had to give it a try, I would not have been happy with myself if I just ignored the problem. At least I can sleep knowing I have done all that is in my power to do.

I do work in the medical fiels (eyes specifically) so have a pretty good knowledge on dosing meds. I do not claim to be an expert, that is why I ask questions here. If I had waited until now (when you responded Blue Ram) I suspect the fish would be deceased, or in much more discomfort.

I don't mean to sound angry, but a person just has to do what they feel is in the best interest of the fish.

I agree actually you go with your instincts, wait and the fish goes down
hill to fast then the meds are useless, good luck, if you do have to preform a water change, just add the correct amount of med back to the water removed, you sound a sensible person you have increased aeration with having more than one med in there.

PARASITE!!!