Neon tetra suspected worms

[PygmyPepperJulli]

Hi all,

sorry this post has to be quick. A neon tetra in my tank is now schooling with the others, however was before hanging alone in a corner. Seems to be very skinny, hence suspected worms, with a brownish patch near dorsal fin. It is not raised or fluffy (the patch) but looks to bee internal. How to treat? I have no medication and no way of getting any, but I may have a qt tank ready soonish and salt. Not sure how it happened, but if this is related this morning I open my hikari sinking pellets (which everything in the tank eats) and they were infested with bugs, so... yay. Have not seen poop. Unknown parametres. How to stop contagion?

I will try to update soon.

 

[GaryE]

There may be no contagion. A thin bodied neon could be a runt. The patch on the back is mysterious - that I'm unfamiliar with. Using salt would be using a strong medication with no justification - you would be using it for you and not for the fish, so you could feel you were doing something.

If it's worms, then you have to determine if it's nematodes (they hang out the vent) or the more likely gutworm/tapeworm group. The meds for each are different, but you would need an Australian for brand names.

The pellet bugs aren't likely to be a problem. Live food! The pellets are done though.

 

[Lcc86]

*if* it's worms or another internal parasite the only way to treat it is with a de-wormer (speaking as someone who may be experiencing similar atm and is desperately waiting for meds to arrive!). Maybe try and post a pic when you can and check parameters to make sure there's nothing untoward in the water.

 

[PygmyPepperJulli]

Thanks for the replies.

I can't do anything at the moment and it'll be several hours until I get home and do Colin_T's emergency stuff. I believe it'll be gutworm/tapeworm, as I haven't seen anything. I don't believe it's a runt as I've never seen any of them look so skinny before (I think it was normal not long ago), thus my suspicion of worms. I only just have enough money to buy a test kit (I'm waiting for my lfs to restock it atm) so meds are out of the question, unfortunately, hence why I was asking if salt could be used. How to stop the whatever-it-is from spreading is my main issue at the moment. I've heard vacuuming the substrate will work to stop them multiplying, is that right? The last thing I need is all my new fish dying of worms... I'll try and post a pic but my device's camera is playing up (don't ask..) so I my need to borrow someone elses.

 

[Lcc86]

We're you able to quarantine the new fish? Just wondering if they introduced something. Perhaps it isn't worms and this one is just poorly. Are there any other symptoms?

 

[Colin_T]

Worms don't cause fish to swim off on their own and hide in a corner. Fish infested with parasitic intestinal worms will eat normally but lose weight over time (several months). They usually do a stringy white poop.

Brown patches can be anything and without a picture and video, I am not even going to guess.

There is no point quarantining a fish like this because if it has a disease or intestinal worms, every fish in the tank has it too.

Section 3 of the following link has information about treating fish with intestinal worms.

What to do if your fish has Stringy White Poop.

Fish do a stringy white poop for several reasons. 1) Internal Bacterial Infections causes the fish to stop eating, swell up like a balloon, breath heavily at the surface or near a filter outlet, do stringy white poop, and die within 24-48 hours of showing these symptoms. This cannot normally be...

www.fishforums.net

 

[PygmyPepperJulli]

Sorry again for the lack of pics, I am trying.

A rubbish morning for the tank... I found a dead cory. One of the peppers was floating around, very dead, a while after I fed them. Not sure when it died, but it's eyes were filmy and body not super white, so I'd say sometime this morning or last night. The most remarkable (and disgusting and disturbing and depressing) thing was it had no stomach. There was a hole where the stomach usually was. It also had a nipped tail, but seeming as it was dead I suspect that was a fish nibbling on it post death rather than before.

Yesterday I saw it floating with it's tail in the air of the ground and panicked, but when I got the net down to it it swam away. I also did a 50% water change yesterday.

What could be the issue? Worms? Bacterial infection? I really really hope the angel didn't bully it to death... otherwise that angel is moving out...

 

[Lcc86]

If you weren't able to quarantine the new fish before you added them and are now seeing deaths then the most likely guess (and I emphasise it's just a guess) is that the new fish may have introduced something to the tank. I don't know if the injury to the stomach indicates a parasite or not, hopefully someone else can clarify.

 

[Seisage]

I don't know if the injury to the stomach indicates a parasite or not, hopefully someone else can clarify.

I can't say anything regarding the cause of death, but... well, the missing guts is almost certainly a postmortem occurrence... Fish aren't generally known to pass up an opportunity for a snack.

I really really hope the angel didn't bully it to death... otherwise that angel is moving out...

While I can't provide any actual insight into whether it was likely to be the angel, if it were me, I'd be watching that thing like a hawk. Wherever the tank is, park yourself in that room for the day (or evening, or whenever you're home) and keep things in your peripheral. Just sit there and take time to observe behavior over a longer period of time.

 

[GaryE]

When an angel scavenges, it goes for the belly. That's pretty standard, and the emptied belly is not a sign of disease.

I'd be watching for a bacterial infection. It would hit the weakest first, so if you had a runt, you had a weak link.