Rope Fish Has Anchor Worms!

[sawickib]

So I'm noticing worms on my ropefish as well it looks like it's on the bottom of my delhezis bichir jaw to. I don't have a hospital tank for any of these fish and there is scaleless fish in the tank as well. Is there salt treatment or something I can do? Also what bad things can these guys do?

Ammonia- 0
Nitrite- 0
Nitrate- 5
Actually the worms don't look like anchor worms, and don't move much but definitely are coming out of the scales of the ropefish.

 

[sawickib]

Anyone know anything?

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Can you post a decent picture of them on the fish?

 

[sawickib]

Sorry i was so late, my retropinnis has them to now. They are very tiny little white lines coming out of their scales.

 

 

 

 

 

[TwoTankAmin]

I am going by what i could find researching not from personal experience. So please do not accept what i am saying without independently verifying it yourself from your own research.
 
- I could not find anything besides anchor worm as to what it was. Perhaps these are newly hatched.
 
- It is very hard to cure.
 
- What seems to work is something called dimilin. This is not made for tanks and you should read here because it can be found easily in the USA it appears.
http/www.fishdoc.co.uk/treatments/dimilin.htm
 
Read here too you will see

 
Diflubenzuron (also known as Dimilin) is a pesticide that interferes with growth of the parasite and will kill molting adult and larval stages at a dose of 0.066 mg diflubenzuron/liter.

from http/edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fa185
 
Again, I am not telling you to use this stuff, only pointing you in a potential direction if the problem is indeed anchor worm. I could not tell from your pics which would need to be mach more closeup (macro lens likely) to show the worms themselves.

 

[sawickib]

I added some salt to the tank to try and help, i'll see if they progress without meds what do the anchor worms really do to the fish? Right now I can see about 3 fish infected with the worms, but are they supposed to move as well? I don't see much movement from any of the worm like strings.

 

[sawickib]

Alright so it's getting much worse, worms are all over the rope fish and it's even itching I feel so bad for him and I fear it will only spread, which doesn't help is my synodontis seems to be only sucking the slime coat of my rope fish making him much more susceptible. Will this medication kill filter bacteria?
I'm also adding a lot more salt to try and help recovery.

 

[sawickib]

Ok so I figured out what this is it's a species of anchor worm commonly on wild caught polypterus I suspect it's been laying dormant in any of my latest arrivals. It's name is Lernaea haplocephala, and what I've seen recommended for treatment is Jungle brand's "Parasite Guard" used at 3/4 dosage for a single treatment, over about ten days. I can't find any photos but it's described as this "These resemble fine hairs or very fine pieces of thread,they are visible to the naked
eye as symptons include rubbing and rolling its body and thrashing it can be cured"