Cardinal Tetra With Worms?

[Ninja Dave]

Hi,

I bought 6 Cardinal Tetra and 2 guppies last Sunday and noticed today that one of the tetras has a number of white thread like worms on its fin and bottom of belly. Details are below.

Could anybody shed any light on:
What these are?
Whether they can be treated?
How serious they are to the infected fish?
Whether they are contagious?

Also, I noticed an original guppy which seems to have a prolapse. Although this happened around the time I got the new fish I think it was more of a coincidence.

Tank size: ~63litre
pH: 6.2
ammonia: 0
nitrite: 0
nitrate: ~10
tank temp: 24C

Fish Symptoms (include full description including lesion, color, location, fish behavior): A Cardinal tetra has a thread like worm in it's fin and also on the bottom of its belly.

Volume and Frequency of water changes: 2 times per week at approx 30% each time.

Chemical Additives or Media in your tank: N/A

Tank inhabitants: 6 Cardinal tetras, 4 guppys and an assassin snail.

Recent additions to your tank (living or decoration): 6 Tetra and the snail last Sunday 10/07.

Exposure to chemicals: N/A

Digital photo (include if possible):

 

[Ninja Dave]

Any ideas?

 

[fluttermoth]

Never seen anything like it, sorry

 

[Ninja Dave]

From what I've seen online I think it may be roundworm.

Does anyone know whether this is roundworm and what the best treatment may be?

 

[Caprichoso]

One of my Cardinals had this worm on his side fin. Only he had it and was acting normally otherwise. After not being able to find any solid info on what type of worm it was or how to treat it, other than the typical bombardment of toxic medication, I decided to take matters into my own hands. Now this is something that you may not feel is an option but just wanted to share my story about it. I netted the fish and as usual, Cardinals "play dead"...I kept the net in the water then gently turned the fish on it's side so that I could inspect the worm. With a small pair of sterilized tweezers, I tried to pull the worm off. It refused to detach! So, I pinched the worm instead, hoping to kill it. I put the fish in another tank and within 2 days, the worm was gone. Now, obviously, I couldn't have done this if the worm was on it's body, but it wasn't. I kept the fish in the tank for another week and then transferred him back to the main tank where he is healthy and worm free to this day.

If you need to medicate, I would suggest you try Api general cure or Fenbendazole(Panacur is one brand name). Both of these kill worms and flukes. The Api is safe for snails and shrimp(though some of the more delicate types like Crystal Red may not do well IMO). The other med is a dog dewormer and so you may have to search around to find it plus you have to be careful not to overdose. I've never personally used it but I've heard claims that it's highly effective and that most inverts are ok with it. Api has to be used for 2 or 3 rounds before it kills everything because of the worms life cycle.

Anyway, good luck!

 

[Ninja Dave]

Well, I've been keeping an eye on this fella all week. There does not seem to be anything on the bottom of the fish now and the worm like thing in its fin seems to have shrunk (but not quite disappeared).

He seems healthy enough other than this, is the biggest out of the 6 Tetra's (he might even be a she).

I'll wait and see what happens.

Cheers,

Dave.

 

[johnhutch2000]

The pictures look very similar to what has happened to my Neon Tetra. However mine has the unsightly addition of a round blob around the worm too. Here is the link if anyone has any ideas at all.
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/367000-help-identifying-fish-parasite-or-fungus-on-neon-tetra-please/page__gopid__3063674#entry3063674

 

[Ninja Dave]

Developments from this.

The worm like things disappeared a while ago but the fish infected (only 1 out of 6) now seems to be acting strange.

He's virtually always hiding and when he rarely ventures out, usually to try and get a bit of food, he is slow and cumbersome.

He hasn't lost any colour at all and doesn't seem bloated but he does seem to be twitching quite a lot (like he's having a bit of a fit).

Any ideas?

 

[Ninja Dave]

He's venturing out a bit more but is still twitching away.

Can anyone help with diagnosing this?

 

[Caprichoso]

There must be a parasite on him, it could be very small and you can't see it. I would continue with water changes and see if he improves. If he starts to get worse or doesn't improve, you may have to consider dosing a general anti-pararsitic.

Good luck