Fish Lice (Argulus) Infestation

[pdxmelissa]

Hello everyone

I need some help. I seem to have a large infestation of fish lice in my tank, a 10 gal. freshwater whose residents are 3 Mollies, 3 Neons and 2 Cory Catfish.

I guess the good news is that my fish show no signs of infection (no flashing or sores) but the little bugs are ALL OVER my tank.

I have treated my tank with Anti-Fluke by Aquarium Products, but that doesn't seem to have any effect (although the directions simply tell me how much to use, not how frequently I should use it).

I've been looking for other treatment options, but everything I read seems to deal with treating the individual fish, instead of the whole tank. I'm about at my wit's end, because I want to get this taken care of before my fish become infected or my tank gets overrun my the little buggers.

Any help is greatly appreciated, thanks!!

 

[kveeti]

Are these things attached to your fish? It is my understanding that if it’s free swimming around your tank, it’s not a parasite. You most likely have something else hence the Anti-fluke did nothing and that’s also why your fish show no signs of infection. More likely you have an infestation of something that shows you need to reduce feeding and step up your cleaning regiment.

Can you describe the things you see and how they behave? i.e. size, colour, are they swimming, crawling on the glass, only on the gravel, do they move fast, slow, etc.

 

[Roan Art]

Here is a link to some fish louse pictures:

http://www.fishpalace.org/Disease.html#Argulus

Roan