Help With Anchor Worm

[wastegate]

I just finished cycling my new 125l tank. I did this by running my mature jbl filter along side the new flulval filter.

On Saturday night i noticed that my two swordtails had what seems to be an anchor worm hanging out of their left hand side fin. (Coincidently both fish has same fin infected) Also my guppy had some along its back and tail.

Sunday morning i stripped out my 50l tank. Cleaned and prepped it to use as a hospital tank. I went to lfs and bought a second heater and Iterpet anti crustacean parasite treatment.

I filled the hospital tank with water from my main tank, set up the new heater and took the mature jbl filter from the main tank and put it in the hospital tank. I left it running for an hour and added the meds along with some aquarium salts and then added the infected fish. As soon as i added them I seen about 6 worms fall to the bottom of the tank lifeless. I could still see the worm on each of the swordtails fin. And directions state to treat for 1 week.

Next day i awoke to find the guppy dead! The 2 swordtails didn't look good either. Tested water and the nitrite was high 0.5mg/l. I done a 40% water change and re-medicated.

It is now Wednesday (4 days into treatment) The anchor worms are still on the fish (only 1 per fish) Nitrite levels still come up 0.3mg/l and I'm doing daily water change. I think the meds have wiped out the bacteria on the filter. Fish seem a little stressed but are ok'ish apart from the worm.

I dont know what to do now, these last 2 worms are determined to cling on to the fish and its not doing their stress any good been stuck in the hospital tank with bad water. Please, any advice welcomed!

All fish in main tank are thriving and no signs of anchor worm.

(Sorry for the long post) Joe

 

[WILDER]

Do the fish look pale, clamped fins, laboured breathing.

Anti crustaceon med by interpet does wipe the beneifical bacteria out in the filter.
Also it's a pretty harsh med.

I would remove the anchor worm with tweezers.
Get you some info.

Also you will have to back up with a bacterial med afterwards. As anchor worm causes bacterial infections.

earch for:

Anchor Worm (a.k.a. Lernaea)

Symptoms:

Infected fish can be seen with whitish red worm-like threads, about � 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.

 

[wastegate]

Thanks Wilder.
The male sword tail does have a clamped fin. The fin where the worm is. Breathing seems fine and they don't look pale. Strangely they have Not been rubbing them selves off anything. The worms are not red as you say but are white and prob about 5mm long. I don't see any of the egg sacs.

Would the attached worms already be dead as iv been treating with Interpet No12 for 4 days now?

How do you remove the worm with a tweezers? I'm afraid that the fish may jerk suddenly causing me to accidentally stab it with the tweezers.

 

[WILDER]

Do the worms have a y shaped tail.

The clamps fins might be due to the med.

Wrap the fish in a cloth soaked in tank water.
Ask someone to hold the fish down for you.
Don't forget to sterilise the tweezers in boiling water.

Dab the med on the worm then remove the worm. Give the med a few seconds to work. Make sure the worm is dead before removing.

 

[wastegate]

Cheers Wilder.
Yes the worms do have a y-shaped tail. I didn't remove the worms with a tweezers as today (day 7) They seem to have gone by themselves. The male's clamped fin also seems a bit better. I have noticed that the female now has a new worm on her back. I cant understand how this is possible as the hospital tank is full of meds to treat this

 

[WILDER]

I think I would dab the worm with the med and once it dead remove it.

 

[wastegate]

Final Update...........

Its been 5 days since any sign of anchor worm. Iv placed the sword tails back into the main tank and all is great. All fish are healthy and Its a joy not to be worrying about sick fish.

The hospital tank has been stripped and cleaned and put away, hopefully for a good while. fingers crossed ha ha.

Thanks for the help