Unhappy Platy rescue

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Just get a standard internal parasite cure. (API makes one.)

Not sure why everyone think the microscope images are so bad... lol.

I don't think the microscope images are bad. I just have no idea what fish poop should look like under a microscope. Maybe that's normal for fish poop! I have no clue if those images are how fish poop always looks, if it it's packed full of worms. I'm sure microscopic photos of poop could be very useful for someone who knows what they're doing though.

 

[CassCats]

Red worms in fecal matter in fish usually means camallanus worms, which may not respond to General Cure, they might need more intense treatment, which is why I think maybe Byron or ColinT should take a look and see what they suggest. I've not dealt with these worms so I cannot say for sure.

Normally these worms are seen hanging out of the fish's rear end, but can sometimes be expelled by the fish in poop too.

Camallanus worms are bad news and very likely to spread to other fish.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Red worms in fecal matter in fish usually means camallanus worms, which may not respond to General Cure, they might need more intense treatment, which is why I think maybe Byron or ColinT should take a look and see what they suggest. I've not dealt with these worms so I cannot say for sure.

Normally these worms are seen hanging out of the fish's rear end, but can sometimes be expelled by the fish in poop too.

Camallanus worms are bad news and very likely to spread to other fish.

Can confirm that they're bad news. Had to battle camallanus worms about six months into starting my guppy colony tank. They're difficult since it's not always obvious the fish have them, until it's pretty bad and the whole tank is affected, and some fish have so many worms that they start to get skinny and lethargic. Normal worm treatments didn't work, and it was a nightmare. I had wormed the fish with a general wormer and parasite treatment when I first got them, and they seemed healthy at first, until one became skinny and lethargic. Then started seeing some losses, especially with young fish. Finally actually saw worms protruding from a fish and could ID them, then order the meds with the specific ingredient needed to kill them.

Treatment included that special wormer, blacking out the tanks for three days, lots of major water changes, then repeating the treatment and blackout weeks later. Even after the med had killed the worms, there are often still losses (and I had a few) from fish getting bacterial infections from the damage the worms inflicted to their digestive tract, or from not being able to expel the now dead worms. It is a rough process on the fish and the keeper that I never want anyone else to have to go through!

I share this not to diagnose, just to stress the importance of quarantine, and that throwing general cures and wormers at fish doesn't always work if you don't know what you're treating.

But I obviously don't have the experience or info needed to know whether this fish has worms, has other issues, or is absolutely fine and just suffering from the previous owners neglect. It looks worrying enough to me that quarantining and waiting for help from experts is the right call though.

 

[EmmaTheCabbage]

Would love to hear how he's doing later, either way it goes.
Wanted to suggest you try emailing these people here http://www.wetwebmedia.com/index.html
Include details and photos, I imagine they will have a lot more knowledge about what to look for under a microsope, and they certainly have a lot of experience and science based info on the site. While you're waiting for a reply, try searching their FAQ for sick platies, or internal parasites, or any symptoms you're worried about. I've picked up a lot of useful information and become totally absorbed just reading through their email exchanges about different issues in the past. I would trust their information.

Thanks so much for the link. Just messaged so hopefully will get a reply over next day or so. Been doing quite a bit of reading on parasites however it’s so hard to find any reference to them under a microscope ;-;

 

[EmmaTheCabbage]

Red worms in fecal matter in fish usually means camallanus worms, which may not respond to General Cure, they might need more intense treatment, which is why I think maybe Byron or ColinT should take a look and see what they suggest. I've not dealt with these worms so I cannot say for sure.

Normally these worms are seen hanging out of the fish's rear end, but can sometimes be expelled by the fish in poop too.

Camallanus worms are bad news and very likely to spread to other fish.

I looked up camallanus worms however they look quite big compared to the small ones in mine that literally I couldn’t see without the microscope. Maybe these are baby ones tho. I’ve also been keeping a close eye on him and noticed nothing unusual coming out of his butt. Still a strong possibility though. So thanks for the heads up.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Thanks so much for the link. Just messaged so hopefully will get a reply over next day or so. Been doing quite a bit of reading on parasites however it’s so hard to find any reference to them under a microscope ;-;

You're welcome, I hope they get back to you soon and that it helps! Please keep us updated on progress, rooting for the poor little dude

@Byron @Colin_T sorry to tag you guys, hope you don't mind, but concerned for this poor little rescued fish, and others suggest you guys know a lot about fish health!

OP, most fish get treated for worms without being diagnosed via microscope, so it might not be crucial! But if anyone can discover something through them, I believe the folks on WWM can. It might be a case of treating him with a general wormer, keeping him in quarantine and monitoring him, and seeing if he picks up and fills out. Then if he didn't pick up and still seemed wormy, trying other treatments. But any type of medicating, even adding salt to a freshwater tank for ich or fungus, causes stress on the fish and can weaken them. Which is why I and others are suggesting to keep him in quarantine and hold off on throwing any chemical treatments at him until someone with more knowledge can suggest the best things to try first. We don't want to kill him by trying to treat something he may not even have, ya know?

How is he doing otherwise? Eating and swimming well? Active or lethargic? Any fin clamping?

 

[EmmaTheCabbage]

You're welcome, I hope they get back to you soon and that it helps! Please keep us updated on progress, rooting for the poor little dude

@Byron @Colin_T sorry to tag you guys, hope you don't mind, but concerned for this poor little rescued fish, and others suggest you guys know a lot about fish health!

OP, most fish get treated for worms without being diagnosed via microscope, so it might not be crucial! But if anyone can discover something through them, I believe the folks on WWM can. It might be a case of treating him with a general wormer, keeping him in quarantine and monitoring him, and seeing if he picks up and fills out. Then if he didn't pick up and still seemed wormy, trying other treatments. But any type of medicating, even adding salt to a freshwater tank for ich or fungus, causes stress on the fish and can weaken them. Which is why I and others are suggesting to keep him in quarantine and hold off on throwing any chemical treatments at him until someone with more knowledge can suggest the best things to try first. We don't want to kill him by trying to treat something he may not even have, ya know?

How is he doing otherwise? Eating and swimming well? Active or lethargic? Any fin clamping?

He’s actually doing super well. When I first had him I put some stress coat and aquarium salt in there. Did a 50% water change yesterday so most of it’s gone now. Gonna have to keep doing frequent water changes too which is a bit of a pain but as long as lil fish is happy it’s all good xD. But his belly has filled out a tad and he’s eating like an absolute beast. I’ll add a before and after. He’s very active however I think that’s just because he wants to explore and he’s quite confined in where he is. No clamped fins or anything other than his shape, doesn’t look sick at all.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

He’s actually doing super well. When I first had him I put some stress coat and aquarium salt in there. Did a 50% water change yesterday so most of it’s gone now. Gonna have to keep doing frequent water changes too which is a bit of a pain but as long as lil fish is happy it’s all good xD. But his belly has filled out a tad and he’s eating like an absolute beast. I’ll add a before and after. He’s very active however I think that’s just because he wants to explore and he’s quite confined in where he is. No clamped fins or anything other than his shape, doesn’t look sick at all.

Well that's great that he isn't lethargic and clamping! Hopefully means we've got time to wait for help from experts. I am concerned about his shape though. I don't want to assume worms, because I really don't know. But he looks wormy, if you know what I mean. How my guppies looked when they had worms. But even if it is worms, it could be any type.

Little dude is still better off where he is right now than where he was, even if he's a bit cramped. But come on now. How hard can a water change be when it's a half gallon?

 

[EmmaTheCabbage]

Well that's great that he isn't lethargic and clamping! Hopefully means we've got time to wait for help from experts. I am concerned about his shape though. I don't want to assume worms, because I really don't know. But he looks wormy, if you know what I mean. How my guppies looked when they had worms. But even if it is worms, it could be any type.

Little dude is still better off where he is right now than where he was, even if he's a bit cramped. But come on now. How hard can a water change be when it's a half gallon?

You’d be surprised how hard it is. With very little water and such a big heater it’s hard to get it positioned to warm the new water without breaking it from being out of the water. Then the pain of measuring such a small amount of water conditioner for the water. Then using a cup instead of a siphon because the tanks on the floor xD.
Also those guys messaged back on the link you sent. No offence to them but I didn’t find it helpful at all. Although they were probably angry because apparently I accidentally filled up their email server and messed it all up because the image files were too big. And most of the email was just linked to that. All I got was that the worms are likely dead because they aren’t moving (That’s a given) however they didn’t say specifically if there were parasites or not. Was so wishy washy. They said if I suspect worms I should treat it but I was asking them if they could tell me if there were worms from the pictures. And they also said Camallanus worms are common too in live bearers but they didn’t say if he had them or not. So frustrating xD. Ah well. It is what it is. Thanks for the link anyway wish there was a book or something with just a bunch of parasite pics in xD.