question about anchor worm?

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dixienut

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one of my shub when i took them out of quarantine to put them outside in their container after a while i noticed a Orange/red lump, at the base of the tail and just thought it was just a tumor, it got large at least for the fish as they were small, and after a few months out there it seems to be gone,.. and last night i was surfing the web and seen a pic of a Goldie with anchor worm starting, and it looked the same,..
they are in a 100gal tub ATM, and the water is green being out side in the sun, so kinda hard to tell and they are only about 4inches including the fins, still small is there something that i can put in there just to be sure as i am planning one switching tanks around and setting up my 90gal for them and some dojos and i don't want the dojos to get this decease IF they really have it,.. nor do i want it in my tanks,.. they are by themselves in the tub and fast so i really can't see them good,.. i can change a lot of water to get the green out to look at them but just glancing they seem fine,.

just worried,..
the dojos are ordered and not here yet,.. and really don't know how to treat them as i have never had them before (dojos).. but know they are scaless,..

any info is appreciated,..
 

dixienut

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just netted one and it looks clean bright and healthy shoul i be worried?

if a tumor do they sometimes go away?
 

Lupin

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A lot of cases involving tumors do not involve them disappearing. They usually stay there for sometime and most are not life threatening. Only surgery would completely remove tumor areas.

In my experience regarding anchorworms, the part where they tried to suck blood would have a red circle with white edges. You could consider this "unexplained/mysterious injuries" as there would not be anything else that would cause such issue but the possible external parasites themselves such as anchorworms and fish lice.

For external parasites, I used trichlorfon to destroy both parasites that infested my goldies. Dimilin powder also works but both substances are quite toxic and trichlorfon may be banned in some states. Coumaphos was also recommended by a friend of mine but I chose not to use coumaphos and went for trichlorfon instead as it was exceedingly powerful and could potentially kill my own goldies. Of course, you should also remove the adults latched on the fish with forceps/tweezers and swab the wounds with iodine solution.
 

dixienut

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they were quarantined before going out and a teeny bump was starting to grow, where the tail fin meets flesh is where it was

after putting them outside it grew. so top view only, it was pointy sideways from the tail like plane rutters,.. it slowed down the swimming of the fish a wee bit compared to the others,..

but know nothing on anyone, and no worms hanging, or wounds????? and no lump anymore???

perhaps something that outside in the sun helped? or free range bugs, are making better diet?
i feed them kens no carb, green pea sinking pellets...
very strange
 

Lupin

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Hmmm...I wish I had seen the photos. Photos are always necessary. It doesn't sound like wound to me from here but I could be mistaken without the photos. The injury inflicted by external parasites usually are there for at least a week or two but they gradually heal up. Anchorworms are excellent swimming crustaceans so they will not hang out on the same area all the time.
 

dixienut

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do they take a break like say ticks/fleas, and only hang on will feeding and then drop off? as i said i only change the water 1x a week about 60-70% and refill just so i can see them and after a few days the green takes over so i can't really see whats going one but when i do empty the tank, they seem clean and healthy,.. but i can't figure what happened to the lump which had grown so fast over a course of a month and then next i see them all at same time its gone? can't be nothing I'm a very suspicious person,.. and nothing good ever happens,..
 

Lupin

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do they take a break like say ticks/fleas, and only hang on will feeding and then drop off? as i said i only change the water 1x a week about 60-70% and refill just so i can see them and after a few days the green takes over so i can't really see whats going one but when i do empty the tank, they seem clean and healthy,.. but i can't figure what happened to the lump which had grown so fast over a course of a month and then next i see them all at same time its gone? can't be nothing I'm a very suspicious person,.. and nothing good ever happens,..
Anchorworm (Lernaea elegans)
Description:
The crustacean Lernaea is often called "anchorworm" by aquarists as it anchors deeply in the fish skin with its branched suction organ and has an elongated body without visible limbs. At the back end, there are two sac-like outgrowths where eggs develop.

It takes the eggs between several days and and two weeks to attain maturity. Then they fall off and the larvae hatch. The mother crustacean dies and is repelled from the fish tissue after the eggs have fallen off. The larvae are also parasites and go to the gills of the fish to suck blood. As larvae, they attain sexual maturity there. After mating, the female larvae leave the fish and swim around as planktonic organisms for a short time. Then they find a host and bore their way into its skin.

Treatment:
1. Dimilin Powder
The only known method of killing this parasite, without killing the fish is DIMILIN POWDER which can be used safely at any water temperature and has an action of sterilizing the adult and larval stages of this parasite which insures that all eggs produced, after the application of Dimilin, will not hatch.

Method: Dimilin Powder at the rate of 1 gram per ton of pond water. Measure out the quantity required and mix in a plastic bucket with pond water ensuring that the powder is dissolved then add to the pond in the previous manner. A second dosage may be needed to ensure that the life cycle of the anchor worm has been halted. After this second application the dead adults, which will still be hanging from the fish, can be removed using tweezers but making sure that the hooks, as well as the tail of the anchor worm are removed and then apply a proprietary topical dressing to prevent a secondary infection.

2. Potassium Permanganate
There is another way of removing anchor worm but more care has to be taken when removing all parts of the anchor worm which is to mix a strong solution of potassium permanganate crystals of 1 gram into 25 mls of hot water. Mix well until dissolved and then dip the tweezers into this solution prior to the removal of the anchor worm, once the solution touches the body, the anchor worm releases its grip immediately and it can then be lifted clear of the fish and the water. Wipe the end of the tweezers on a clean tissue to remove all traces before attempting to remove another anchor worm.

3. Sera Cyprinopur
Follow the instructions accordingly. Use Sera Baktopur to treat the wounds of the fish after the anchor worms have been pulled out. When pulling anchor worms out of the fish, firmly grasp the tweezers near its base where it is burying to the skin and quickly pull it out.

[URL="http://img260.imageshack.us/img260/1966/anchorwormbl3.th.png"][/URL]
 

dixienut

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