My Fish Has a Mite!

[Iron Man]

I know this is a goldfish but no one ever seems to look at the goldfish forum at the bottom, and they seem to have taken the emergency section away, so I posted in here.

I just bought two beautiful ryukin goldfish today and everything has been fine, that is until I found a mite (or whatever it is...its too large to be called just a "parasite") on the tail of the big red one. It looks similar to this thing (the arrenurus, you may have to click to the third image), accept the body is a little more elongated;

http/www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/indexm...dec99/mite.html

When I first saw it I thought it was just a blemish on the tail but after studying it....it looked like a sinister looking tattoo of some evil little monster. This thing freaked me out...and it won't move off of my golfish's tail.....I want it off as bad as he does....is this possible?

Is there some way I can take this thing OFF of the goldfish, treat it, kill it, whatever?

Is it gonna reproduce in my tank if I leave it alone....or will it just maybe die?

Please anyone give me some HELP on this I'm close to calling a vet!!

Thanks!!

 

[Angry_Platy]

I would think salt would do it (since it kills other land insects etc.). But i know nothing about goldfish so I could be totally off base here

Is it moving at all? would it be possible to take it off with tweezers or something?

 

[Iron Man]

Thank you angry platy.....at least you tried and I appreciate it.

I thought about salt and tweezers.....and will try either or both if I have to...just don't want to put him through anymore trauma than is necessary.

I hope someone can give me an expert opinion soon.....if there is one thing I really hate in a fish tank.....it is an outbreak of something.

 

[quintessential]

I've never had those in my tanks but I found as a general tonic try Malachite green.
It might not work but its all I can think of.
If you catch the fish in a net then only dip the tail in a strong solution for about 30 seconds it could kill it. I know it may stress the fish a bit but that thing looks nasty.

 

[reg2k2]

My guess is a fish louse (argulus).
link1
link2

Should be able to find treatmt at lfs.

 

[Iron Man]

Thats it!!!!!!!!

Thank you reg!!!!!!!

Its a fish louse and it looks just like that. The fish was more calm this morning so I could get an even closer look at the parasite. The thing is definately nasty looking and a real creep.

I could dip his tail in a saltwater bath I guess and see how that goes. I've thought of taking a steak knife or razor blade and gently scraping it off or at least kill the the thing in the process of trying.....but an ornamental goldfish's tail is so extra delicate......what if he tries to flip around while I've got the knife on his tail.

Its so weird to be faced with this kinda thing as I've never even heard of this until now. But obviously the fish was raised in a pond (hence why it is so beautiful and big) and I guess there's always a chance of this?

I'm going to let my lfs know about this....their breeder(s) needs to be aware!!!

Thanks again reg and the rest of you for all the help!!!!!

 

[reg2k2]

nasty looking and a real creep.

That I believe...didn't realize until recently just how big these things are.

As far as pulling it off...don't think I'd try, just because of the hooks it has embedded in the fish. In the case of anchor worms, you usu. need to weaken/kill them w/ med's (salt?) so as to be able to remove them...not sure if it's the same w/ these, but going by the one article, I think it may even just fall off.

Salt dip might be worth a try. Once it's off, return him to the tank. Since it's a new fish, I suppose chances are good this adult is the only one?...do keep a close eye for next month or two, tho.

If the problem resurfaces, I think med's that list anchor worm usu. list argulus as well. ie. Jungle's Parasite Clear.

good luck

 

[Iron Man]

Thanks reg you have given me very good info. I put 2 cups of salt (half a cup of aquarium salt per gallon going by experienced goldfish keepers) in a 4 gallon tank (its supposed to be a 5 gallon but that's not the case). I poured the main tank water in the 4 gallon tank and mixed it up to dissolve ALL the salt and then I immediately took the fish out and dipped it in the salted tank.

He immediately floated to the top but still moved. I made sure he kept moving (if he stops moving even after you nudge him with your finger take him out immediately and return him to the tank), but I had to nudge him along a few times. I could have kept him in there up to 5 mins but I did not want to put him through that. Then I saw the little legs on the "Thing from Outerspace" begin to twitch and kick and swim....and I KNEW I had him. HAHA!!

He still stayed on there though and my fish didn't look so hot so I took his tail between my fingers and tried to gently scrape this Thing off of his tail. It eventually slid off and started swimming!!!! So I took the goldfish and put him back into the main tank, leaving Thing in there to die.

The fish was disoriented for a few seconds but then he immediately started looking around the sand for something to eat, taking it in and spitting it out, and swimming up to me like, "where's the food?"

What a trooper!

So everything's fine now....my fish is happy, the Thing is dead, and I can relax.

I will def keep my eyes open on this tank for a few weeks now though.

Thanks for the helpful info and support!!

 

[reg2k2]

Glad it went well.

 

[black angel]

Its really important that you follow up the removal with a suitable treatment for fish lice. The louse itself could have left many eggs or there could be more swimming around. Keep an eye out for any on the skin and in particular the gill area. The bite of these things can go really deep so there is the risk of a secondary infection.

 

[Angry_Platy]

Thats awesome