Anchor Worm, I Think?

[scousemouse76]

ok, i bought 2 sailfin mollies 2 weeks ago, and euthanised them the next day, reason being, the male(had the tall fin so assuming he was male) went crazy and when i caught him i noticed he had a parasite with a forked end sticking out of him, well there where a few of them, on closer inspection of the female i noticed she had them aswell, so by this time, the male finished spinning madly round the tank and died, and i euthanised the female.
I used a general tonic on the tank and hoped that it wouldn't of had time to infect the rest of the occupants, the fish had been in there 8 hours tops.Now i see my female siamese fighter has what looks like a worm coming from her tail fin, no fork though so thinking it could be a female anchor worm?
My koi angel also has a strange lump on the base of his tail fin, and i'm sure i can see something coming from it.\i'm hoping and praying it isn't, but if it is, can anyone give me ideas on a good treament i can get hold of quickly, i'm very attatched to this angel fish and don't want to lose him.
So if anyone knows somewhere in the merseyside area that stocks decent treaments please could you let me know
thanks in advance
scouse

 

[Saedcantas]

The male fish may have died from the secondary effects of a heavy infestation but anchorworm themselves should be easily treatable with Waterlife's "Sterazin" which is no doubt available at shops in the Northwest. Probably costs about £4.20 for the smaller bottle.

Did it look anything like this;

 

[WILDER]

You can remove anchor worms with tweezers.
Interpet anti crusteaceon med by interpet wipes all the benefical bacteria out in the filters, so I would remove the anchor worm with tweezers then dab the area with melafix.

 

[scousemouse76]

The male fish may have died from the secondary effects of a heavy infestation but anchorworm themselves should be easily treatable with Waterlife's "Sterazin" which is no doubt available at shops in the Northwest. Probably costs about £4.20 for the smaller bottle.

Did it look anything like this;

Thats exactly what they looked like, and there where quite a few of them on each fish, so i'm going to phone around for sterazin tomorrow, 1 problem though, my angel is a bit ...jumpy..he's see's that net and goes absolutely ape,how do i keep him still to tweeze the thing out, plus i'm the biggest wimp on the face of the earth.

 

[WILDER]

I will check on the waterlife med for you I don't think it treats anchor worm.
You wrap the fish up in a cloth soaked in tank water.
No it dosn't say it treat anchor worm.
http/www.waterlife.co.uk/waterlife/sterazin.htm

 

[scousemouse76]

You can remove anchor worms with tweezers.
Interpet anti crusteaceon med by interpet wipes all the benefical bacteria out in the filters, so I would remove the anchor worm with tweezers then dab the area with melafix.

Thanks Wilder and saedcantas, i'm writing them all down as we speak, i'm still terrified of lifting that angel out of that tank though lol, i guess i'll have to get over it

 

[Saedcantas]

Sorry! My mistake, it's specifically "Parazin" that is used for treating external macroparasites such as Anchor worm (Lernea)

 

[WILDER]

You have to be careful that you remove the head of the worm and not leave in enbedded in the fish.
[URL="http/www.exoticpetvet.net/aqua/parasites.html"]http/www.exoticpetvet.net/aqua/parasites.html[/URL]
Taken fro the link.
Anchor worms are another crustacean parasite, Lernaea. Anchor worms are elongated parasites with two egg sacs at the posterior end. They usually embed in the muscle of the body wall, and often penetrate as far as the internal organs. A raised ulcer usually develops at the point of attachment, and secondary infections often occur at that site. Heavy infestations may cause weight loss and death.

Anchor worms are most often a problem with newly imported fish and in garden ponds in the summer, and don't often occur in aquariums. Males die after mating and have a short life span, and females are usually seen attached to the fish host. The eggs hatch to produce free-living juvenile parasites, which eventually molt to produce the adult stages. The juvenile stages can live without a host for at least five days. As with other crustacean parasites, organophosphate insecticides are used to eliminate the free living juvenile stages. Adult worms should be manually removed with forceps, and the site treated with a suitable antiseptic. Parasites can be removed weekly, until no more adult worms are found.

 

[WILDER]

I would only use this med if you can keep your filter running somewhere else as it wipes the benefical bacteria completely .out



No 12 Anti Crustacean & Parasite 100ml
ANTI CRUSTACEAN PARASITE No 12 : Eliminates anchor
worm, fish lice, gill maggots and leeches.

Larger higher level parasites can be introduced into the aquarium on new fish or plants. They cause life-threatening damage and should be eradicated quickly.

Crustacean parasites are very difficult to eradicate so this treatment is powerful. Therefore, take care to carefully follow all instructions and note all warnings

For use with coldwater and tropical fish in marine and freshwater systems

WARNING: This treatment negatively affects biological filtration.
Damages Plants
Do not use with UV filters
Do not use below pH 6.5
For Marines, use only in separate treatment aquarium
Use only if sure of diagnosis

 

[scousemouse76]

I would only use this med if you can keep your filter running somewhere else as it wipes the benefical bacteria completely .out



No 12 Anti Crustacean & Parasite 100ml
ANTI CRUSTACEAN PARASITE No 12 : Eliminates anchor
worm, fish lice, gill maggots and leeches.

Larger higher level parasites can be introduced into the aquarium on new fish or plants. They cause life-threatening damage and should be eradicated quickly.

Crustacean parasites are very difficult to eradicate so this treatment is powerful. Therefore, take care to carefully follow all instructions and note all warnings

For use with coldwater and tropical fish in marine and freshwater systems

WARNING: This treatment negatively affects biological filtration.
Damages Plants
Do not use with UV filters
Do not use below pH 6.5
For Marines, use only in separate treatment aquarium
Use only if sure of diagnosis

Wow, thank you both of you, i think i'll be getting parazin, and the life cycle sounds about right, it also does look like an ucler developing on the base of the angels tail fin, so i'm guesiing that is whats wrong with him, can i ask, does flukes look similar to this, i mooched around the internet and saw a pic that looks a little like it, and if it is, would parazin treat it? i don't think i'll be able to use the anti crustacean treatment as there is nowhere else to put my filter. thanks =)

 

[Saedcantas]

Parazin info

Parazin is safe with your filter but will not treat for flukes also.
Sterazin in that case instead

 

[WILDER]

You can hardly see flukes with the naked eye.

 

[Juice]

Hmm get him with the net, then get a wet towel (soak it in tank water) and hold the towel unwrapped a bit lay him on the towel and pull the worms out slowly. Like pulling a splinter out of a childs toe. First get him still & calm him down, then slowly & carefully pull out with tweezer.

 

[thestick]

ive gotta do this later on on 2 gourami's that i bought 2 wks ago and they are still in my quarantine tank, poor little beggars