Parasite?

greatfish123

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I bought a couple of white clouds and have been keeping them in a cycled(ammonia: 0, nitrite, 0.0, nitrate, 10) tank without a heater. I recently noticed that one of them has a sort of "hook" around its mouth. It doesn't look like cotton mouth to me. But I've attached a picture below. Can y'all take a look at it and tell me what you think?

 
Can't make much out in the pic.
Can you describe what you see in more detail.
 
Can't make much out in the pic.
Can you describe what you see in more detail.

If you look near the mouth area of the fish, you can see a something that is attached to it. Whatever that thing is, it doesn't look like it is columnaris or of that sort. It looks pretty stiff and the fish is able to close and open its mouth properly. I've included the same picture below with the area circled. Maybe this will help:

 
Does it look like a parasite attached to the mouth.
Can you see a forked tail.
 
it looks like a parasite attached to its mouth. I looked at it closely but i don't think i see a forked tail.
 
Got to find out which parasite it is as you can't remove some of them.
Whats your location.
Is the parasite white, have a thick or hair like body.
Any other noticeable features.
 
It's not completely white. Sort of off white. I'm in the US. As far as noticeable features, it is the only fish that has it and bit it seems active and all; i.e not resting anywhere
 
To be honest I don't know which parasite it is.
I can't make much out in the pic.
How are the other fish.
I would maybe try one of these meds suggested in this article.

Anchor Worm (a.k.a. Lernaea)



Symptoms:

Infected fish can be seen with whitish red worm-like threads, about ¼ 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.
 
Thanks for all your help Wilder. All the other fish are active and unaffected. I've started treament with Malachite green/ formalin. I'll see how things go from here. I don't think it is anchor worm as the pictures from the internet don't look like the one that this fish has.
 
I will pm a member called colin t to take a look at your thread.
I can't make much out in the pic i'm afraid.
 
I would also post in tropical discussion with the pic to see if other members might know which parasite it is.
 
Sorry, I can't tell anything from the picture. Can you make them bigger and get a couple from different angles.

It doesn't look like anchorworm and is probably just a bit of fungus or inflamation from bumping into something.
 
Thanks Colin T. I tried to take another picture. This is the best my camera can do. Anyway, here is another picture which shows the whole fish. I've boxed off the area of interest.

 
Does the mouth look swollen, bleached out, or cotton wool fungus on the mouth. Does the mouth look like its rotting away.
Any redness to the mouth. Any lumps on the mouth.
Are you sure it's a parasite on the mouth, not strands of cotton wrapped around the mouth.
 

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